For violin and erhu
為小提琴和二胡而作

10 min.

Instrumentation: violin, erhu

World premiere: Pekka Kuusisto, violin; Mak Ka-yin, erhu, 24 November 2016, Nan Lian Garden, HK
世界首演: 古西薛托, 小提琴; 麥嘉然, 二胡; 2016年11月24日, 南蓮園池香海軒, 香港

Performance: Pekka Kuusisto, violin; Mak Ka-yin, erhu, 25 November 2016, HK City Hall Theatre, HK
演出: 古西薛托, 小提琴; 麥嘉然, 二胡; 2016年11月25日, 香港大會堂劇院, 香港

Programme note

Tranquility and Purification was inspired by the contrast of the ancient architectural garden of Nan Lian and the surrounding modern cityscape.

There is a story behind the piece. A traveller (violin), coming from a metropolis, kept traveling in order to search for ‘real’ spiritual and mental peace and hoped to resolve his inner instability and conflicts. He travelled to many places but still could not find his ideal place. One day, he came to the ancient architectural garden of Nan Lian and found it very special. He felt the calmness and peace of the garden.

Then, he met a monk (erhu) inside the garden. The traveller kept asking the monk how to achieve inner peace. The monk did not answer the traveller directly. Instead, the monk talked about his own story and values, like a monologue. During their ‘conversation’, the traveller was inspired by the monk and seemed to find his way to his future. On the other hand, the monk was also inspired by the traveller’s situation and developed his own new aspect of life and living.

The two strong characters are represented by the violin (modern) and erhu (old) and juxtaposed throughout the piece.

樂曲介紹

《靜・淨》是以現代城市和被城市包圍的南蓮園池兩者古今建築和風格的對比作為靈感，寫成的一首小提琴加二胡二重奏。

這是作品背後的故事：有一個來自大都會的旅行者 (小提琴)，希望透過去不同的地方，尋找他心中真正的平靜，淨化心中的煩躁和矛盾。有一天，他無意中經過一個在城市中的園池，被那裡靜中帶動的氣氛深深吸引著。

這時，他在園池見到一位僧侶 (二胡)。他不斷追問僧侶怎樣才能令心中平靜和解決他的心結。僧侶沒有直接回答他，反而不斷自言自語，訴說自己的故事。經過一輪的「交談」，旅行者被僧侶的說話啟發，找到自己的方向，不再疑惑。另一方面，僧侶亦受到旅行者的啟發，悟出一些新的人生道理。

這首作品利用小提琴和二胡各自的特色去幾以上的意境刻劃和呈現。