A Resonant Ode (Chinese Orchestra Concert)

The China National Traditional Orchestra (CNTO) will hold the grand musical performance of A Resonant Ode at the Concert Hall of The Hong Kong Cultural Centre on December 25 and 26. Admirers of Chinese traditional music must not miss this performance!

The China National Traditional Orchestra is known for its worldwide presence which spanned the five continents with its footprints reaching as far as Russia the United States the United Kingdom France Germany etc. as it has performed in more than thirty countries and regions. In 1998 the China National Traditional Orchestra has debuted at the Goldener Saal of Vienna in Austria the first national orchestra to have done so. With an audience of one billion people this appearance ushered in the beginning of a glorious chapter for Chinese national music. 

In recent years the China National Traditional Orchestra has performed an impressive number of outstanding scores. A Resonant Ode which is the programme to be performed in Hong Kong this time premiered in the National Centre for the Performing Arts in China in 2023. It has since toured in the Shanghai Concert Hall the Shenzhen Poly Theater and others offering the local audience numerous beloved shows.

The China National Traditional Orchestra proudly presents A Resonant Ode as part of a series of national musical performance intended to carry on the celebrated musicology of the Chinese civilisation and to promote traditional culture. Huáng Zhōng and Dà Lǚ are part of the Shí'èr Lǜ the ‘Twelve Pitches’ in Chinese music. Known to be the very first quantified and written record of musical pitches the Shí'èr Lǜ recorded a medium of human emotions that disappeared at the very moment of expression. As such the Shí'èr Lǜ is of pioneering significance in the development of world civilisation. Benamed A Resonant Ode this musical performance brings to the fore the widely perceived notion that Huáng Zhōng and Dà Lǚ are representative of Chinese national music as a system of musical notes that readily resonate with the philosophical foundations upon which they rest. As it was marvelled by the renowned 20th century musicologist Wang Guangqi ‘I shall ascend to the very summit of the Kunlun Mountains where I blow in the Huáng Zhōng pitch by which I rouse the passion for music that had always been in the spiritual composition of the Chinese people. It is in my dreams that a “youthful China” shall stand rejuvenated before the world.’

The performance troupe consists principally of the orchestra of the China National Traditional Orchestra Lirenxing and Qingshandu Chamber Music Groups. Together they engage in a wide variety of formats such as solo ensemble duet concerto and vocals etc. The performance proceeds in the order of the Shí'èr Lǜ in twelve pieces a procession that is successive to a celebrated heritage and at once imaginative in transcending its boundaries.

The concert will begin with the traditional Bā Yīn referring to the eight categories of musical instruments in Chinese music. The instruments are played with the Shí'èr Lǜ as its motif upon which one appreciates the coherence of China’s thousand-year musical heritage. By fusing contemporary understanding in musicology these performances unpack and reinterpret the classics of Chinese national music. The latest stage aesthetics is engaged to create a space to appreciate oriental music whereby the creative works interpret the openness inclusiveness and collectiveness of China’s civilisation. The harmonies in Huáng Zhōng and Dà Lǚ ring in the dawn of a new age as a beacon of hope for the common destiny of humankind. It can be said that the China National Traditional Orchestra has through its creative interpretation fully exhibited the continuity inclusiveness and innovativeness of Chinese culture.

Tickets for A Resonant Ode are on sale. Ticket prices range from HK$180 to $680. For immediate purchase: 3166 1288 / www.urbtix.hk/event-detail/12444/

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