THE TENG ENSEMBLE in Collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay
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THE TENG ENSEMBLE In Collaboration with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay 11 OCT 2019, FRI, 7.30PM ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL 2 CREATIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE uch is the melting pot that is known as Singapore network of instrument dealers, luthiers, teachers and - I grew up in an English-educated family, but musicians. Many of these practitioners had other day jobs have been playing the traditional Chinese Pipa and stopped playing music for a decade or so, out of fear for the past 25 years. I dream in English, but of being labelled as communist in Singapore’s early years. my ears are most familiar with melodies from Chinese traditions. I also discovered the very different trajectory that S Chinese music took in Singapore, as compared to in Ten years ago, as a graduate student studying Singapore’s China. In Singapore, Chinese migrants who had brought Chinese music history, I learnt that the first Chinese music from their respective provinces began to integrate orchestra in Singapore was set up by the late Mr Yeo their traditions with each other, creating new methods of How Jiang in 1959, under the auspices of Thau Yong performance and even inventing new instruments. Amateur Musical Association. I had the honour of being the last student taught by Mr In 2016, I had the honour of finally meeting Mr Yeo, Yeo, who passed away in 2017. Through his experiences, who was still with Thau Yong. A very humble man and an I discovered how Chinese music innovated and adapted expert Pipa player himself, Mr Yeo had however stopped itself to Singapore, and how the Chinese forefathers in playing Chinese orchestral music for decades. Instead, Singapore approached music and music-making. he focused his attention on music from the Teochew and Waijiang folk music traditions, which were rooted in his Heirlooms is a documentary-concert inspired by the heritage and blood. music of our Chinese forefathers in Singapore. In similar fashion, The TENG Ensemble has innovated and Such folk traditions were unfamiliar to a musician such integrated these folk traditions with a sound of our own. as myself, who had been playing music that was rooted Through creating a new method of presentation and in the Chinese orchestral tradition. Unknown to most performance, we hope to invoke a greater appreciation Singaporeans, Singapore’s early Chinese music was not of these folk traditions. Chinese orchestral music, but migrant folk music from the south of China. Generally, younger Chinese musicians All these would not have been realised without the in Singapore are not exposed to such folk traditions. As generosity of our partners. Our utmost gratitude goes to such, most Singaporean audiences today find it difficult Mapletree Investments, whose steadfast support of The to appreciate Chinese folk music. Forefathers Project made possible our four-year long research process into Singapore’s Chinese music heritage. Mr Yeo’s music was so different from what I was accus- Special thanks must also go to Esplanade - Theatres on tomed to. He introduced me to the ebbs and flows of the Bay for coming onboard as our collaborative partner Teochew music: for a year, I learnt from fellow musicians for Heirlooms. in Thau Yong. Almost every weekend, the Thau Yong musicians drank tea and ate Malay kueh at a long table, This concert is dedicated to the community of first- while playing Teochew (and occasionally Waijiang) generation Chinese musicians in Singapore. music. The average age of these musicians was about 75 years. Nevertheless, despite the age gap between the musicians and myself, they generously accepted me into their ensemble as one of their own. Through this experience, I discovered an underground community of music practitioners in Singapore from DR. SAMUEL WONG the Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew and Hakka music Creative Director, The TENG Company traditions. This community was a small but close-knit October 2019 3 PROGR AMME (1hr 15min, no intermission) The Forefathers Project was initiated by TENG in 2016 to uncover and explore the music of Singapore’s early Chinese migrants. Over the course of four years, TENG interviewed, documented and learnt from a community of first-generation masters, luthiers, instrument dealers and proteges from local Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew and Hakka traditions to shed light on the lesser-known elements of Singapore’s Chinese music heritage. Heirlooms is a documentary-concert of eight new works that were inspired by such traditions. In each of the works, The TENG Ensemble re-imagines the sounds that were carried in the hearts of Singapore’s Chinese forefathers. INSPIRED BY NANYIN TR ACING 《寻迹》 Nanyin Pipa, Sheng, Pipa, Guzheng, Erhu, Gehu, Daruan, Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics XIN ZAO BEH 《新走马》 Pipa, Guzheng, Daruan, Electric Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics INSPIRED BY CANTONESE MUSIC HANG GAI 《行街》 Sheng, Cantonese Gaohu, Gehu, Cantonese Qinqin, Keyboard and Electronics REMEMBERING 《难忘》 Sheng, Pipa, Cantonese Qinqin, Guzheng, Cantonese Gaohu, Gehu, Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics DIPTYCH 《双重》 Yueqin, Guzheng, Pipa I, Pipa II, Keyboard and Electronics CONTEMPOR ARY 《时代》 Sheng, Pipa, Yueqin, Cantonese Gaohu, Electric Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics INSPIRED BY WAIJIANG & TEOCHEW MUSIC MEMOIR 《回忆录》 Teochew Zheng, Teochew Pipa, Keyboard and Recording FAR FROM HOME 《思乡》 Teochew Pipa, Sheng, Pipa, Teochew Zheng, Erhu, Gehu, Daruan, Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics All music composed by CHOW JUNYI and produced by BANG WENFU. 4 INSPIR ATION NANYIN Hokkien is a widely spoken dialect that originated from the region of Southern Minnan. Hokkien music is most commonly known as Nanyin (southern orchestral music). Traditionally, Nanyin is widespread among the Southeastern Coast of Quanzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou and Taiwan – where Hokkien is widely spoken, and was brought into Southeast Asia with the immigration of the Mainland Chinese. Nanyin heavily utilises sizhu (silk and bamboo) musical instruments with the belief that a sizhu ensemble is able to produce a much more harmonious sound. There are four key instruments in Nanyin: Pipa, Dongxiao, Erxian (similar to the Erhu) and Sanxian. CANTONESE MUSIC Originating from the Pearl River Delta. Cantonese music is mostly used as instrumental interludes during Cantonese opera performances and narrative singing. Cantonese music can be classified into three types, depending on their historical origin, musical structure and style, dramatic function and creative function. These three types are banghuang (arias), xiaoqu & paizi (short, fixed tunes) as well asshuochang (oratorical singing). The lead instrument of a Cantonese music ensemble is typically the Gaohu. Cantonese music ensembles also frequently feature instruments in the high orchestral register (similar to the soprano singers of a choir) due to their piercing sound and loud volume, as well as their close resemblance to the tone used by opera performers. WAIJIANG MUSIC Waijiang music - also known as ruyue (scholar’s music) - refers to a genre of music that is popular within the regions of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huai River. A pre-Cultural Revolution genre of Chinese music, Waijiang music traditions can be traced back to the Guangdong province during the Qing dynasty. Back then, Waijiang music was performed purely for the purpose of intellectual entertainment. As such, it was consumed mainly by officials, elites and the literate. With the passage of time, however, the music tradition soon reached the Teochews and Hakkas living in nearby areas. While classified by most as a genre of Teochew music, Waijiang music can also be considered as a genre of Hakka music, due to the strong Hakka influence. TEOCHEW MUSIC Teochew music is widely regarded as an integral part of Lingnan culture and a treasure of China’s folk music. It is widespread in regions like Minnan, Yuedong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as some East Asian regions. Teochew music is largely based on the pentatonic scale (as used in most Chinese music forms) and adopts the ersi pu (“two-four system tablature”) notation system. Over time, the development of Teochew music saw variations of the pentatonic scale being used, which has become so progressively complicated that even music experts struggle to understand it. 5 PROGR AMME NOTES TR ACING 《寻迹》 Nanyin Pipa, Sheng, Pipa, Guzheng, Erhu, Gehu, Daruan, Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics Tracing pays homage to Lovebirds Singing in Harmony 《鸾凤和鸣》, which was composed by Zhuo Sheng Xiang and the late Cultural Medallion recipient Teng Mah Seng, who was also the former Chairman of Nanyin group Siong Leng Musical Association. Using structured improvisation and inspiration from the concept of breath used in performing Chinese music, the melody of Lovebirds Singing in Harmony is effectively rehashed with a new musical language. While this melody is one that is typically familiar to audiences of Nanyin, the overwhelming presence of counterpoints between the Nanyin Pipa and the other instruments in Tracing creates a limbo that evokes the sentiment of déjà vu. Tracing invites audiences to begin reconsidering their relationship with their roots. How do we retain an appreciation of the past, whilst retaining the impetus to continually move forward and strive for greater heights? XIN ZAO BEH 《新 走 马》 Pipa, Guzheng, Daruan, Electric Guitar, Keyboard and Electronics In Xin Zao Beh, the four plucked string instruments – supported by the keyboard and electronics in the background – alternate between coming together to play the melody, and undertaking brief, yet virtuosic solos. The result of this musical collaboration is a jazz harmony that occasionally breaks into atonality and dissonance, and a funky re-imagination of the carefree image of horses galloping around open grasslands in Eight Horses 《八骏马》 – which is widely considered as one of four must-know classics in traditional Nanyin repertoire. 6 PROGR AMME NOTES HANG GAI 《行街》 Sheng, Cantonese Gaohu, Gehu, Cantonese Qinqin, Keyboard and Electronics In everyday usage, the Cantonese words hang gai is commonly used to refer to the act of shopping.