The concert “Guangdong Music Classics” by the Hong Kong Cantonese Orchestra will be staged in March as one of the attractions of the Guangdong Music Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

The concert will present a series of memorable works of Guangdong music in various formats, from instrumental solo to ensemble and vocal performance of Cantonese tunes. A ground-breaking format will see the use of leiqin solo to imitate the vocal styles of Cantonese opera legend Hung Sin Nui.

The concert will feature renowned Guangdong musicians including Zeng Qiujian (gaohu, yehu and leiqin), Nam Hung (vocal), Lei Yeying (gaohu), Kwok Ka-ying (yangqin), Wong Ling-yan (pipa) and Chan Chi-chun (dizi).

The programme will include “Butterflies Flying in Pairs”, “Autumn Moon over a Placid Lake”, “The Flowing Water and the Drifting Clouds”, “Lovers’ Sorrow”, “United We Go”, “Thunder in a Drought”, “Orioles Singing among the Billowing Willows”, “The Wandering Dragon Toys with the Phoenix”, “Birds Returning to the Woods”, “Dao-Chui-Lian”, “Butterflies among the Flowers”, “Beautiful Water Lily on a Silver Lake”, “Praise of Lychee” and “The Peacock in Its Full Glory”.

This Guangdong music concert will feature the violin as the lead instrument, performed by three fine musicians in the genre: Buk Chan-wing, a National Class One Musician and a highly acclaimed figure in Cantonese operatic music; Luo Qinger, son of Luo Zhen, master of violin in Cantonese opera, famous ensemble leader, leader of the Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Troupe and score-writer; and Tsoi Wing-hong, renowned Guangdong music performer and instructor of Guangdong song art in Hong Kong. They will be strongly supported by the Hong Kong Yue Yue Tuan in an exemplary showcase of ensemble sounds of early Guangdong music.

The Guangdong Music Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will feature the concert “Nanyin in Guangdong Music – The Legacy of Dr Ng Wing-mui” in February.

Dr Ng Wing-mui passed away in 2014. To pay tribute to her contributions to the Guangdong music tradition of South China, especially in regard to nanyin narrative singing, the concert will feature the famous star of Cantonese opera and nanyin artist, Yuen Siu-fai, and his two bravura pieces, “Burning Funerary Goods for His Love” and “King Chu Bidding Farewell to His Concubine”. Leung Hoi-lee, an up-and-coming artist in the art of nanyin singing, will perform “The Lone Wild Goose” and “The Third Watch from Nocturnal Lament” in tribute to the late mentor, mother-figure and esteemed veteran artist.

The programme will also include the Guangdong music ensemble pieces “On Phoenix Terrace”, “The Peacock in Its Full Glory”, “The Flowing Water and the Drifting Clouds” and “Yang Cuixi”.

Additional Performance on 25.4.2015 (Sat) 3:30pm

“Echoes of Home – Music of Greater Guangdong” by the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble, one of the programmes of the Guangdong Music Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will be staged in mid-April. The concerts will feature the vernacular charm of Guangdong music, a recognised part of China’s cultural heritage.

Under the baton of Artistic Adviser Ho Man-chuen, the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble will give a concert featuring Dr Tong Kin-woon, a renowned narrative-singing artist in nanyin, and the premiere of a new arrangement of “A Wanderer’s Autumn Grief”. Rising suona performer Ma Wai-him will perform the famous duet from the Cantonese opera “Romance of the Phoenix Chamber” with suona and kaqiang (playing the suona while resonating a special reed placed inside the mouth through throat whistling) to imitate the singing style of Cantonese opera. Other performances in the repertoire are Lam Lan-chee’s new wind and percussion ensemble work “Fire – Dragon Dance” capturing the boisterous celebration in Tai Hang on Hong Kong Island during festivals, as well as the houguan solo piece “Lively Chatter in the Spring Breeze” and the world premiere of Chen Ning-chi’s composition for five-piece combo and orchestra, “Those Gilded Days of Yore”.

“South China Tunes” by brothers Ko Yun-kuen and Ko Yun-hung, the most sought-after percussion and ensemble leaders in Cantonese opera, will be staged in March. This is one of the programmes of the Guangdong Music Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Wind and percussion tunes commonly heard in Cantonese operas and tunes from the now almost extinct “ba yin” (eight sound) troupes are age-old forms of South China music. For this concert, the Ko brothers will step out of the orchestra pit and appear on stage to demonstrate the musical expertise they have learned from their father, Master Ko Kun, a seasoned percussion leader, and from Master Liu Sum, a famous xiao artist, in Cantonese opera. The concert is expected to give patrons a taste of Cantonese music from a bygone era.

The programme will includes percussion marking the beginning of the performance in “The Heralding Drums”; a medley of tunes for wind and percussion in “The Birthday Greeting from Heaven”, “Prime Minister of Six States” and “The Jade Emperor Holds Court”; a medley of nine short tunes including “Yingtai Pays Her Respects at the Grave” and “Su Xiaomei Laments by Herself”; a medley of long tunes in “Thinking of the Sages”; music from a notation of the live singing work “The Little Red Peach”; the “ba yin” ensemble piece “King Chu Bidding Farewell to His Concubine”; and more.

Two “Spirit Music Concerts” will be staged in February to share with music lovers the charm of Guangdong music infused with jazz elements – a form of music that became popular in the 1940s. The concerts are part of the Guangdong Music Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

“Spirit music” is a unique genre of Guangdong music. In the 1940s, Cantonese musicians introduced various Western instruments like the violin, the xylophone, the saxophone and the guitar into their performances. This Westernised music, with an infusion of jazz elements, excited people with its powerful and lively form. The type of music was hence called “spirit music” and became popular in teahouses, dance halls and nightclubs at the time. Performers included the so-called “Four Kings of Spirit Music”, namely Wan Chi-chung (violin), Lui Man-shing (yuehu), Ho Tai-so (electric guitar) and Ching Ngok-wai (jazz drums).

The enriching programme will include the ensemble pieces “The Evening Primrose”, “Penang Beauties”, “The Little Red Peach”, “The Beauty Yonder” and more, as well as the vocal works “Pacing Horses”, “Beautiful Water Lily on a Silver Lake”, “Love’s Yearning” and “Song of the Red Bean”.

The performers at the concerts will be Tse Tsz-ming (violin), Szeto Siu (xylophone), To Wing (violin), Wong Kam-sing (jazz drums), Yu Mau (xiao and houguan), Chow Chung-nga (percussion and vocals), Ho Kang-ming (pipa), Kan Sui-ling (saxophone), Wan Kai-ho (guitar), Hon Hung (banjo), Kwok Ka-ying (yangqin) and Chiu Hing-wan (electric guitar).