Long Lost Pal
Hubby splurged on a brand new CD today. His choice was delightful - he had picked up The Butterfly Lovers and The Yellow River Concertos - two of my absolute favourite works of all time.Am particularly fond of the delicate melodious theme in the former with a romantic story to boot and the rising patriotic emotions the tinkle of ivory keys stir in the latter. The distinct Chinese themes and orchestration suits the traditional er-hu and di-zi to the T and yet, does not seem out of place when performed by their Western equivalents - truly a classic case where East meets West
Was completely astonished though when hubby confided that he had not heard these 2 works before! What?? Such a confession from a seasoned musician who'd travelled the world a couple of times with AYO was a shocker indeed. Pure blatant ignorance - poor dear, you have no idea what you're missing out on!
Immersed in the rich strains of music played by the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, I closed my eyes as the violin's lyrical solo spliced the air. Waves of nostalgia gently rocked me back to when I was a 12 year-old girl who put her first radio to good use by putting a cassette on every night when she climbed into bed. Amongst my favourites then were a trio of tapes of (then) current Chinese pop songs (whereabouts currently unknown), which were not only creatively arranged for the orchestra but were also beautifully interpreted by a Japanese violinist.
Hmmmm...come to think of it, the musical style of the violin soloist struck a familar chord. Could it be? Was it she? Casually flipping through the booklet in the CD casing, the reunion with my long lost pal was confirmed.
My mission this weekend will be to hunt down the CD-versions of the following:
- Three Wishes of the Rose - Everlasting Chinese Love Songs
- Chinese Popular Hits for Violin and Orchestra - Love is like a Mysterious Dream
- Chinese Popular Hits for Violin and Orchestra - Love for a Man Who Never Comes Home
munsta ramblings @ 12:50 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home