Monday 8 May 2017

Mellifluous Monday! (4)

Hi everyone! Am so sorry for not posing in like what 2 months?! Super busy with school works and performances. Now that i have a little free time, I am going to post new pieces for everyone to enjoy.

Today's piece: 油纸伞下的回忆 (Memories Under the Paper Umbrella)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD-Tbz-Xg-E

"Memories Under the Paper Umbrella" is an Erhu concerto written in 2006 by 朱云嵩. Drawing from the music of Taiwan's Hakka culture, this work is an imagination of the history of the Hakka people, depicting scene after scene of how they left their homes and crossed the seas of Taiwan. A couple hand in hand as they looks towards the future with hope; crossing the treacherous Taiwan Strait; ethnic conflicts breaking up families; not fearing hardship and living with optimism for the future... it is almost like flipping through an old photo album. But the scenes themselves are not as important as the state of mind that each scene evokes- remembering the joys ans sorrows of their history, fully accepting the past and bravely welcoming the future.

One the score, the composer deliberately avoids naming the different sections. Instead, he gives generic descriptions, such as "prelude", "affectionately", "treacherous", etc. The intention is to encourage the performers not to let their performance be constrained by names. Instead, it is hoped that both the performers and audience can approach and respond to the music with an open mind and let their inner music emotions take flight.

I totally love this piece. I remembered when i first heard this piece, I teared as I could imagine the scenes that was written. Not much complex notes or chords yet it is able  to portray the ups and downs of the Hakka couple. Lastly to end of today's post, I give you a poem that fully depicts this piece:
Is the work an epic? A touching romantic entanglement? Or is it simply an unrestrained collage? Perhaps the work is all of the above at once... or not. Because what it is, exists only in your heart.

Overall rating: 9/10
Difficulty: 7/9


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