For string orchestra 為弦樂團而作

Commissioned by Hong Kong Chordophonia 香港弦人

10 min.

Instrumentation: strings-optional overtone singer

World premiere: Hong Kong Chordophonia; Johnson Leung, conductor, 4 August 2017, Tsuen Wan Town Hall Auditorium, HK
世界首演: 香港弦人; 梁學翹, 指揮, 2017年8月4日, 荃灣大會堂演奏廳, 香港

Programme note

Temple Street, located in Yau Ma Tei,  is a street which is known for its night market. There are more than a hundred stalls in the market which mainly sell low-priced merchandise. It sells various products such as cheap electronic devices, antique handicrafts, tea sets and so on. 

Outside the temple, there are numerous fortune-teller stalls .There are often traditional Chinese Opera performances on the street. On the other hand, there are stalls serving food prepared in styles unique to the rest of the world, seafood, clay-pot food are among the well-known.

I was impressed by the experience in my first time being to Temple Street . The view and sound fascinated me a lot. This time I try to use a string orchestra as a medium to depict my Temple Street’s experience. The piece incorporates different musical styles and elements, in parallel with the multicultural Temple Street. 

There are also some interesting music effects such as using the bow and wood to play different natural harmonics and singing overtones with the string sound in order to create a new soundscape for the whole piece.

樂曲介紹

「廟顯中華傳統文化；街現香港創新精神。」這就是位於廟街的牌樓對聯。

廟街位於油麻地，以售賣平價貨的夜市而聞名，是香港人的「平民夜總會」。每天從傍晚時分開始，廟街路邊的攤檔便陸續開始營業。攤檔售賣的物品非常多元化，包括手工藝品、玉器、茶具、古董、廉價電子產品等等。

天后廟外亦有不少看相算命的攤檔，附近還會有傳統粵劇表演。早年更有一些武師在此表演賣藝及賣藥。另外，廟街內也有不少富有香港本土特色小食的攤檔，包括煲仔飯、海鮮及各類麵食等等。

還記得第一次去廟街的經歷令我很深刻，那裡的景象和聲音非常吸引我。這次我融合了不同的音樂風格和元素，以弦樂團的編制去描述我那次的經歷。作品當中更加了一些新穎的聲效去為整曲增添玩味，例如使弓木和弓毛同時拉奏自然泛音，更以呼麥加弦樂產生出新的聲音世界。