The evening
after my adventure at Escape park, I was at the Performing Arts Centre of
Penang (Penang PAC), Stage 1, Straits Quay for a Chinese orchestra concert. Yup,
a Chinese orchestra concert with traditional musical instruments. There were a
few modern instruments, such as the cymbals, the cello and the double bass. The
rest of it were pretty foreign to me, I’ve only seen them in movies.
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| The entrance |
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| A mini cafeteria |
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| A group of Koreans |
It was my
first time stepping into Penang PAC, I’ve heard of the place before but no
opportunity to visit the place. My colleague who plays the Erhu in the
orchestra invited me to watch them perform. I am a big fan of live music but
Chinese orchestra is a new thing for me. 99% of their announcements and
speeches were in Mandarin but I could understand. I am proud to say that I’ve
mastered the basics on Mandarin. Lol.
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| Upstairs |
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| Walking towards the hall |
I will try to
descrie a scene for the pieces that were played that night. Try to imagine it
with me. =) It started with:-
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| In the hall (ps. Taking photos are strictly prohibited) |
Ensemble –
Raving Dance of The Golden Serpent
Opening act of the night, the first 8 bars
gave me chills in my skin. They were good, the sound was perfect, who would
imagine traditional music instruments could be so electrifying. I was smiling
on the way. Imagine, a group of people celebrating some kinda festival in a
busy town, where everyone is smiling away.
Erhu Unision
– Festive Gongs
I always thought Erhu can only be played in
a sad and solemn scene but this piece was quite light and easy. Picture, you
sitting on top of the hill enjoying the sunset and the sea breeze with your dog
beside you and its tongue is out.
Yangqin
Quintet – Tidings of Joy
This instrument is impossible to play! It’s
like playing drums but you have to accurately hit the correct string. And I was
told that there is about 100 over notes in that instrument. This wan le,
imagine horses running and playing around, sipping water from the river with crystal
clear water.
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| Not actual pic of the night, but this one, crazy hardcore to play. |
Zheng Solo –
Spring on Xiang River
Doing anything solo requires a high level of
skills, confidence and talent. This beautiful young lady walked up to her
Zheng, strut a very graceful pose and pluck the strings like a person drawing calligraphy
in ancient times. The sound of that instrument was heavenly; it’s like a
warrior playing with his sword, making his movement smooth yet ready to kill.
Beautifully crafted and played. Love it!
String
Ensemble – A Pleasant Eve
Can’t remember d. ><
Percussion
Ensemble – Gongs and Drums of Celebration
This piece…er…hahaha…one thing came to my
mind when they started playing. Prangin Mall ‘ding ding’ shop where you hit
those drums when the green line reaches the bottom of the screen. It was a bit
dry and empty because there was only one big drum and one mini drum. Can’t feel
the dynamic of the percussions. If they had 20 drums, I would be banging my
head with it.
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| Ding Ding |
Erhu Solo –
Joyful Spring
The conductor, Madam Lim Soon Lay presented
this piece with full of elegance and confidence, you can see it in her
expression. She was enjoying every single note. Imagine a mother doing sewing
in her ‘attap’ house, then her son wakes up and asked his mother to sew him a
toy. A light and happy tune.
Yangqin Solo
– Spring on Qing River
Another solo act, this time but a young
handsome guy. Picture a couple, in the era where the guys have hair as long as
the girls. Both wearing white, hair nicely and neatly tied up, like a bun.
There are chasing and fooling around in a head length barley field. The sun is
about to set, and the field is slowly turning into gold colour. A romantic and
warmth melody.
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| Something like that but without the 3 guys. Imagine a couple flirting with one another =P |
String
Quintet – A Joyful Night
Can’t remember also.
Ensemble –
Chinese New Year pieces
This one power! Got cny mood. The orchestra played
CNY hit songs that we are all familiar with and it was really good. We were also
given a mandarin orange each. Once they finished their last piece, the crowd
chanted, “Encore, encore, encore.” The emcee asked the conductor if they are
willing to play another piece. She frowned and showed a bitter face. She then
took out an angpow and waves it in the air. If there is anyone in the crowd who
is willing to give an angpow, she would continue. 10 Seconds passed, no one, 20
seconds passed, everyone looked at one another. Then a young guy ran down with
a huge ang pow. Probably the size of a Pizza Hut’s menu and pass it to the
conductor. She pulled out a RM100 note and smiled happily. It was all a drama. It
isn’t as traditional as I thought it would be.
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| The Ochestra |
I enjoyed
the concert very much. I notice that most of the musicians head would shake
like those movies where the scholar starts reading poetry. That kinda shake. It
was pretty cute to see, and it almost made me follow them.
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| Photo taken by one of the member. I think his hands must be shaking. Two photos also this blur =/ |
