Chinese Traditional Music Concert, June 2nd, 2005

Program

1. Joyful Atmosphere - A contemporary ensemble composition by Liu Mingyuan (1931-1996) in 1958, Joyful Atmosphere is based on a folk melody “Grinding Flour” from Shanxi Province in northern China.
Introduction - plucked lutes: zheng, pipa, and ruan

2. Jasmine Flower – This ensemble, extolling the beauty of the jasmine flower, is a contemporary rendition of a favorite folk song from southeast China.

3. Picking Tea Leaves and Catching Butterflies – This piece is an ensemble arrangement of a popular folk song from Fujian Province in southern China, where tea leaves are widely grown.
Introduction - percussions: drums, hand gong, cymbals, woodblock, and small bells

4. New Year Festival - Based on a folk melody in northern China, this piece features the percussion instruments that play a characteristic role in Chinese festival music.
Introduction - bowed fiddle: erhu

5. Dark Sky - An ensemble rendition of a Taiwanese children folksong that begins with the sung lyrics “The sky is dark.” The song, in a comical fashion, is about an old couple quarrelling over the flavor of a freshwater fish that they are about to cook; the quarrel eventually becomes a fight that takes place in their kitchen. The hand gong in the piece humorously imitates the sound of pots and pans being broken during the fight.
Introduction - winds: dizi, sheng, and bawu

6. General’s Command - The ensemble piece is based on a traditional “labeled-tune” (qupai) named the General’s Command. Different versions of this piece exist in different parts of China, though almost all are associated with triumphant military scenes. The version performed here is very well-known nowadays because it is frequently used in Chinese martial arts movies, most prominently in Once Upon a Time in China (1991).

7. Fengyang Flower Drum - This is a song-and-dance folk genre from Fengyang of Anhui Province in southern China. Female street-musicians play the flower drum while singing folk songs and dancing. The concert piece is a modern adaptation of the folk music, retaining characteristic rhythmic patterns that originally accompany dance movements.

Performers

Xiao Chen (sheng—mouth organ)
Yzonne Chen (big drum, cymbals, hand gong, small bells)
Chi-Ying Cheng (cymbals, hand gong, small bells)
Mou-Chi Cheng (erhu—bowed fiddle, bawu—Chinese free reed)
Joys Cheung (zheng—board zither)
Hong Fan (woodblock, flower drum)
Teh Lin (erhu, gaohu—bowed fiddles)
Shu-Lan Hung (pipa—pear-shaped plucked lute)
Wan-Thai Hsu (dizi—traversely-blown bamboo flute)
Huey-Yi Song (ruan—moon-shaped plucked lute)
Hsin-Yu Yu (dizi—traversely-blown bamboo flute)

Special Thanks to Professor Joseph S. C. Lam, Director of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments, The University of Michigan, School of Music.