Traditional Chinese music resonates at NCPA

The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing was filled with the soft sounds of bamboo flutes and the elegant resonance of traditional Chinese instruments on Jan 18, as the "Poetic Homeland — Greater Bay Area Chinese Traditional Music Concert" by Yeung Wai-kit and Sha Jingshan unfolded.

The concert centered around Yeung's composition Poetic Homeland for bamboo flute and piano.

Yeung, a professor at South China Normal University's School of Music, curated a diverse program. The concert journeyed through a mix of classical pieces and original compositions, featuring traditional instruments such as the bamboo flute, xiao (vertical bamboo flute), and pipa (Chinese lute).

The concert began with Tears for Flowers, a composition blending the deep sounds of the bamboo flute with the pipa. This piece, composed by Yeung's mentor Zhang Weiliang in 1991, draws inspiration from Suzhou's pingtan (a style of Chinese narrative ballad), depicting the sorrowful emotions in the story of "Daiyu's Burial of Flowers" from the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. The music's melancholic tones painted a poignant picture of loss, weaving sorrow with beauty.

Several original compositions made their Beijing debut during the concert. Notably, Autumn Shadow under Sunset Glow, a pipa solo composed by Sha, a renowned pipa player, evoked images of serene autumn waters and a sunset-lit sky. The work's calm, clear melody brought the quiet beauty of nature into musical form.

The concert also saw the Beijing premiere of the full pipa suite The Three Kingdoms, another work by Sha. The suite, inspired by the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, uses the pipa's versatility to evoke both the heroic grandeur of ancient battles and the emotional turmoil of personal struggles.

In addition to the grand historical themes, the concert also included more delicate, elegant works. Free and Unfettered Style for xiao and pipa showcased a gentle exchange between the two instruments. The work, written by Malaysian composer and conductor Jiang Ciliang, expressed the harmonious beauty of simplicity, reflecting their mutual understanding and enjoyment of music.

The night also featured Cantonese Bamboo, a composition by Yeung. Drawing inspiration from Guangdong's traditional music, the piece subtly blended elements of Cantonese melodies with Yeung's personal musical language, creating a unique representation of the Guangdong soundscape.

At the heart of the concert was Poetic Homeland, a work deeply connected to the composer's heritage. Yeung infused the piece with a personal longing for his homeland to evoke feelings of homesickness.