Music of China 2023 Fall Concert

Donor Acknowledgement

This event is made possible by funding from UCLA Student Organizations, Leadership & Engagement (SOLE).

Program Notes

Program

1. Qin unison
a. Phoenix’s Courtship (Feng Qiu Huang) — Manuscript of Zi Yuan Tang (1802)
“Phoenix’s Courtship” is an ancient qin piece. It uses the phoenix as an analogy to depict the young lovers’ extraordinary ideals, noble purport, and sincerity. This music is from the Manuscript of Zi Yuan Tang (1802).

Musicians: Yizhuo Dong, Sonia Li, Muzhi Ma, Jason Rasheed Orr.

b. Dragons Roaring In The Boundless Sea (Cang Hai Long Yin) — Music Manuscript of Qinpu Jiesheng (1820)
Among the various versions available today, the earliest known appearance of this composition can be traced back to “Music Manuscript of Boya Xinfa,” completed prior to 1609 during the late Ming Dynasty. The piece captures the ambiance of a rainy night, portraying a landscape where river waves, water, and sky meld into the same hue, accompanied by misty clouds and turbulent waves.

Musicians: Yinhan Jiang, Mel Liu, Muyuan Qiu, Yiwei Wang, Jiayu Yao.

2. Zheng unison
a. A Thousand Sounds of Buddha (Qian Sheng Fo) — Traditional Zheng Music Chaozhou school, Passed down by Zaiping Liang
“Thousand Sounds of Buddha” is a Buddhist chant. It can be regarded as a continuation of “Five Sessions of Chanting Buddha,” created by Zen Master Fazhao around the 7th century. This Zheng music illustrates the profound ambiance within a temple, where monks engage in the ceaseless and distant recitation of sutras. The slow and subtle vibrato imparts a sense of solemnity to the composition.

Musicians: Rise Barkan, Naomi Hiilani Kobayashi, Barrett Tsuyoshi Koontz, Ian Patrick Mautner, Cory Man-Tik Poon.

b. The Song of Lotus (Lian Hua Zan) — Traditional Zheng Music Chaozhou school, Passed down by Maogen Lin
“The Song of Lotus” is a song chanted in the Buddhist temple. It depicts the character of the lotus, which calmly sits in the middle of the pond. Its beauty is never affected by scorching sun or heavy rain. It is forever calm and graceful.

Musicians: Hazelle Elizabeth Gunawan, Janice Seung Min Nam, Lillyan Pan, Jodie Jaeshin Ryu.

c. Rain Falling on the Banana Leaves at Night (Jiao Chuang Ye Yu) — Traditional Zheng Music Hakka school, Passed down by Jiuxiang Luo
This stands out as a prominent representative piece within the Hakka Zheng art genre in Guangdong province. With the accompaniment of raindrops tapping on banana leaves, one can sense the poignant solitude of homesickness. The enchanting Hakka music style powerfully mirrors the rich cultural essence of the Hakka people.

Musicians: Yizhuo Dong, Miri Liu, Wennan Liu, Natalie Nielsen, Eleanor Mei-Shia Vo, Rita Weng, Yumeng Yang.

3. Kun Opera Aria
Peony Pavilion – Visiting the Garden (Mu Dan Ting – you yuan) — Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) You Yuan (Visiting the Garden)
An aria from the Kun opera Mu Dan Ting (The Peony Pavilion). The play depicts a love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei that overcomes all difficulties. This scene concerns Du Liniang guided by her maid, visits the family garden at the back of the official residence for the very first time and is amazed by the beauty of nature.

Musicians: Milo Dillon, Qianxu Guo, Wenhan Li, Xuanxia Melissa Yan – Dizi.

4. Erhu, Pipa, Cello, and Percussion Quartet
Chinese Fables: First movement – The Fox Profited by the Tiger’s Might — Chen Yi Chen Yi
It’s most inspiring when I learned some of the most popular Chinese fables in my childhood. They are so vivid and humorous, full of imagination, yet so deep and logical in thinking. I used a mixed Chinese and Western instrumental ensemble to express my impression of three stories in my musical language. In the first movement The Fox Profited by the Tiger’s Might, I used the erhu and the pipa to represent the flaunting fox who borrows the tiger’s fierceness by walking in the latter’s company, while the cello and the percussion in low register support the image of the tiger.

Musicians: Zibai Lyu – Erhu; Selina Shitong Li – Pipa; Benji Fleischacker – Cello; Jingran Zhang – percussion.

5. Silk and Bamboo Music
a. Lady Mengjiang (Meng Jiang Nü) — Folk Song
“Lady Mengjiang” is one of the most beloved Chinese traditional folk songs. The melody is characterized by its smooth and soft tones, conveying a profound sentiment with exquisite expression. This song tells the poignant love story of a newlywed couple forced apart when the groom is conscripted to build the Great Wall and lost his life during the Qin Dynasty (475–221 BCE). The music expresses Lady Mengjiang’s grief at losing her husband.

b. Joy of Harvest (Feng Shou Le) — Chi Li
“Joy of Harvest” is a Chinese ensemble piece that portrays the scene of people singing and dancing to celebrate their bountiful harvest.

Musicians: Melody Chien, Ruth Choi, Joy Fang, Janet Gisela Godoy, Siqi Guo, Barrett Tsuyoshi Koontz, Laura Anne Kubiatko, Sonia Li, Wenhan Li, Hongyang Lin, Samuel Shuchang Lu, King Yi Kenny Luk, Yiwen Lyu, Dalton Marcellus Mumphrey, Janice Seung Min Nam, Joan Pak, Yichen Pan, Jessica Phung, Guadalupe Alejandro Perez, Yanaya Mei Silva, Owen Sun, Melanie Chin Chin Tse, Deborah Mika Vukovitz, Jianing Zhang, Jingran Zhang.

c. Three Six ‘San Liu’ — Traditional Silk and Bamboo music
One of the “eight great pieces” of the Jiang nan si zhu (“silk and bamboo from south of the Yangtze”) repertoire, “San Liu” is played daily by instrumental ensembles in the Shanghai region, often in teahouses or private homes.

d. Moonlight over the lotus pond (He Tang Yue Se) — Yu Huakang
Moonlight over the Lotus Pond” is an ensemble piece in the Jiangnan silk and bamboo style that conveys a longing for refined and beautiful experiences. This calming melody vividly paints a scene of moonlight casting its glow over a lotus pond in summer, accompanied by the lyrical tunes of a Jiangnan water town. The composition invites you to experience the coolness and pleasure of the evening breeze around the lotus pond.

Musicians: Juan Manuel Del Real, Benji Fleischacker, Yixiang Gao, Ai De Handwerker, Wanning He, Shitong Li, Weiyi Li, Haojie Liu, Mukun Liu, Yi Liu, Zibai Lyu, Cory Man-Tik Poon, Zhechuan Rao, Madison Starr, Edward Zixiao Tang, Gianna Wong, Ivy Xiao, Xuanxia (Melissa)Yan, Kacey Chang Yang, Jingran Zhang.