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A New Music of the Orient:
-Ancient China with a Touch of the West and a Dash of the Divine.
By: Benjamin Youngquest
A new musical fusion has arisen in New York and it's not the kind you can catch for ten dollars at a club in the West Village. For the many thousands of Chinese immigrants trying to stay afloat in a new world and for those westerners who have always wanted to understand the Chinese but have shied away for lack of a way in--for anyone who has wondered where the two civilizations connect, the answer may lay not in words, but in music.
Lisa Li is a master of the pipa (Chinese lute) and a graduate of the Chinese Conservatory of China. She has composed and performed across Europe, Asia and the United States, and her playing was featured in the Academy Award-winning movie The Last Emperor. Now, as one of the lead composers for New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese New Year Spectacular, a grand scale performance of traditional Chinese dance and song, Lisa has created what she believes to be a new kind of sound--based on ancient Chinese folk and religious music, but going beyond either of them.
In composing original scores for the large dance numbers showcased in Spectacular, Lisa weaves the power of Chinese melody—which is intricate and sprawling-- with the classical western forte of vertical harmony. And she starts from the basic belief that music is alive.
“Music is alive, because in the view of the Chinese ancients, every single object in the world has life. In fact, in Chinese, when we refer to a musical note we call it a ‘live note,’” she explains. But according to Lisa, it must be composed and played from the heart—sometimes in ways that sound foreign to the western ear. She contrasts the harmonic structures of western classical composition—which she envisions as well-ordered, but somewhat limiting, vertical towers—with the free form melody driven music of her own culture.
She says, “Melody is so important in Chinese music. It always needs to have a very clear melody. It isn’t always functional. It moves all around and sometimes seems to break the harmonic rules of western music theory.”
But the melodies are far from random. Lisa’s music, like all traditionally composed Chinese music, is based on a series of pentatonic (5-note) scales. This system has its roots in Taoism, which teaches that all matter is formed from the five basic elements of metal, earth, wood, fire, and water. It teaches that in order for a being to be healthy, it must have all of these elements in balance. So, from the Chinese perspective, a song or piece of music must also contain a uniquely crafted balance of these elements. There are also eight note scales that relate to the Taoist symbol called the bagua, which is most commonly known in the West as part of the practice of fengshui, or geomancy.
Lisa uses these traditional scales and modes, but puts her own twist on them. “I use different types of ya yue, which are very ancient 7-note scales. I use these as a base and then add modern elements to suit the piece and bring out something new.”
An example of this is the piece she wrote for the dance “A Dunhuang Dream.” The dance is set against a backdrop of thousands of caves carved into the sides of cliffs as they are in the Moago Grottoes in the Dunhuang region of China. Seated at the mouth of each cave is a Buddhist or Taoist deity. As the dancers emerge, one can hear from the orchestra pit the voices of the erhu (Chinese violin) and guzhen (zither), but these are soon joined by the more recognizable resonance of cello, bass, oboe, and brass. The result strikes the ear as achingly otherworldly and yet also solidly familiar.
In fact, the specific ya yue used in the score is the same as that found in the ancient pipa music written on scrolls that were discovered by archeologists in the actual Dunhuang caves years ago.
In her own words, Lisa’s music is, “taking the most primeval, most aboriginal Chinese ideas and composing them on a grand scale for today’s modern audiences.”
Lisa has composed for the Spectacular for four years now, and every year those in the audience are universally touched, no matter what their ethnic background or social class. When asked why she thinks her music speaks to such a broad range of listeners, she says she feels she is merely a conduit for a heavenly music for which she is unable to take complete responsibility, and whose power she cannot entirely explain.
“I feel very deeply that music is a heavenly language, a divine language,” she says. “It is able to uplift people’s hearts and minds. It is good for the soul.”
And how.
=================
NTDTV Holiday Wonders
Venue: Beacon Theater
2124 Broadway (between W. 74th and 75th streets), NYC
Date: Dec 18 - Dec 26, 2007 (10 shows)
Website : www.holidaywonders.net
www.ticketmaster.com/artist/1165330
NTDTV Hotline: 212-695-SHOW (212-695-7469)
Ticketmaster Hotline: 212-307-4111
Ticket price: $48, $68, $98, $128
=================
Chinese New Year Spectacular / Splendor
Venue: Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Ave, New York, NY10020
Box Office: 6th Ave at 50th St., NYC
Date: Jan 30 - Feb 09, 2008
Website : www.BestChineseShow.com
NTDTV Hotline: 212-695-SHOW (212-695-7469)
Ticketmaster Hotline: 212-307-4111
Ticket Prices: $58, $88, $110, $150, $250
-Ancient China with a Touch of the West and a Dash of the Divine.
By: Benjamin Youngquest
A new musical fusion has arisen in New York and it's not the kind you can catch for ten dollars at a club in the West Village. For the many thousands of Chinese immigrants trying to stay afloat in a new world and for those westerners who have always wanted to understand the Chinese but have shied away for lack of a way in--for anyone who has wondered where the two civilizations connect, the answer may lay not in words, but in music.
Lisa Li is a master of the pipa (Chinese lute) and a graduate of the Chinese Conservatory of China. She has composed and performed across Europe, Asia and the United States, and her playing was featured in the Academy Award-winning movie The Last Emperor. Now, as one of the lead composers for New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese New Year Spectacular, a grand scale performance of traditional Chinese dance and song, Lisa has created what she believes to be a new kind of sound--based on ancient Chinese folk and religious music, but going beyond either of them.
In composing original scores for the large dance numbers showcased in Spectacular, Lisa weaves the power of Chinese melody—which is intricate and sprawling-- with the classical western forte of vertical harmony. And she starts from the basic belief that music is alive.
“Music is alive, because in the view of the Chinese ancients, every single object in the world has life. In fact, in Chinese, when we refer to a musical note we call it a ‘live note,’” she explains. But according to Lisa, it must be composed and played from the heart—sometimes in ways that sound foreign to the western ear. She contrasts the harmonic structures of western classical composition—which she envisions as well-ordered, but somewhat limiting, vertical towers—with the free form melody driven music of her own culture.
She says, “Melody is so important in Chinese music. It always needs to have a very clear melody. It isn’t always functional. It moves all around and sometimes seems to break the harmonic rules of western music theory.”
But the melodies are far from random. Lisa’s music, like all traditionally composed Chinese music, is based on a series of pentatonic (5-note) scales. This system has its roots in Taoism, which teaches that all matter is formed from the five basic elements of metal, earth, wood, fire, and water. It teaches that in order for a being to be healthy, it must have all of these elements in balance. So, from the Chinese perspective, a song or piece of music must also contain a uniquely crafted balance of these elements. There are also eight note scales that relate to the Taoist symbol called the bagua, which is most commonly known in the West as part of the practice of fengshui, or geomancy.
Lisa uses these traditional scales and modes, but puts her own twist on them. “I use different types of ya yue, which are very ancient 7-note scales. I use these as a base and then add modern elements to suit the piece and bring out something new.”
An example of this is the piece she wrote for the dance “A Dunhuang Dream.” The dance is set against a backdrop of thousands of caves carved into the sides of cliffs as they are in the Moago Grottoes in the Dunhuang region of China. Seated at the mouth of each cave is a Buddhist or Taoist deity. As the dancers emerge, one can hear from the orchestra pit the voices of the erhu (Chinese violin) and guzhen (zither), but these are soon joined by the more recognizable resonance of cello, bass, oboe, and brass. The result strikes the ear as achingly otherworldly and yet also solidly familiar.
In fact, the specific ya yue used in the score is the same as that found in the ancient pipa music written on scrolls that were discovered by archeologists in the actual Dunhuang caves years ago.
In her own words, Lisa’s music is, “taking the most primeval, most aboriginal Chinese ideas and composing them on a grand scale for today’s modern audiences.”
Lisa has composed for the Spectacular for four years now, and every year those in the audience are universally touched, no matter what their ethnic background or social class. When asked why she thinks her music speaks to such a broad range of listeners, she says she feels she is merely a conduit for a heavenly music for which she is unable to take complete responsibility, and whose power she cannot entirely explain.
“I feel very deeply that music is a heavenly language, a divine language,” she says. “It is able to uplift people’s hearts and minds. It is good for the soul.”
And how.
=================
NTDTV Holiday Wonders
Venue: Beacon Theater
2124 Broadway (between W. 74th and 75th streets), NYC
Date: Dec 18 - Dec 26, 2007 (10 shows)
Website : www.holidaywonders.net
www.ticketmaster.com/artist/1165330
NTDTV Hotline: 212-695-SHOW (212-695-7469)
Ticketmaster Hotline: 212-307-4111
Ticket price: $48, $68, $98, $128
=================
Chinese New Year Spectacular / Splendor
Venue: Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Ave, New York, NY10020
Box Office: 6th Ave at 50th St., NYC
Date: Jan 30 - Feb 09, 2008
Website : www.BestChineseShow.com
NTDTV Hotline: 212-695-SHOW (212-695-7469)
Ticketmaster Hotline: 212-307-4111
Ticket Prices: $58, $88, $110, $150, $250
Guide created: 12/06/07 (updated 12/06/07)
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