Picturesque Music

On Friday night Rika, Hannah and I went to the Hong Kong Cultural center for a combined performance by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Zhejiang Chinese Orchestra.   They performed 'Caprice on Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains' by Lin Yuan and Jiang Ying.  It was a terrific show which used audio-visual to superb effect, and we enjoyed it very much.   

The piece was comprised 5 movements inspired by a famous scroll 'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains' painted by Huang Gongwan (1269-1354).   During the performance images from painting were projected onto large a screen behind the orchestra, creating a wonderful balance between music and images.

Soprano Zheng Peiqin of the Zhejiang Song and Dance Theatre (SCMP)

I found this lovely way to encounter the painting for the first time.  Since the scroll is quite long  (691cm) it can't bee seen all at once and is best appreciated slowly as a series of small images.  So  I liked being lead around the scroll, and in-and-out of details, along with the wonderful music.

The painting really is a masterpiece and at times I found the deftness of the brushwork almost breath-taking.   It reminded me of being amazed by the brushwork in the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga 'frolicking animals' scroll in Kyoto (which was painted a century or so earlier).

We also enjoyed the music a lot.   It was only the second Hannah had been taken to a orchestral concert, and the first time she stayed awake.   So I was worried how she would behave, especially as the concert was broadcast live.  But she was very good and listened attentively, and only began to ask "is it going to end soon" about midway through the last movement.

Since it was a great show, I was very surprised that Hall was only half-full.  Especially as the concert commemorated the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, as well as opening the orchestral season.  

Here is the SCMP review (link) and a some links about the painting from Wikipedia (link) and the  China online museum (link)