Dialogue Among Civilizations Continues

The Unifying Language of Music

The China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra – Guest of Geneva International

Evelina Rioukhina, UNECE

The United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations is over. Dialogue among civilizations, dialogue among cultures continues, with a common language for all civilizations, all cultures, all nations. The supreme language is Art.

The beginning of the year was marked by a bright event – the visit of the China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra to Geneva. Two concerts were given – one in the Palais des Nations, the other in the Victoria Hall in Geneva.

The China Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra (CBCO) is one of the most successful and influential orchestras in China. It was founded in 1953.Zhang Dasen is the current director and Pank Kapang the present principal conductor.

Pang Kapang was born in 1965 in Anhui Province, East China. He was admitted to the Department of Composition and Conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and later shifted to the same department at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In 1996 he studied at “The 35th International Kirill Kondrashin Conductors’ Master Class” in Holland and obtained the Kirill Kondrashin prize. In 1997, he ranked first among the students at “The International Master Class for Conductors” held in Kiev, Ukraine. He became chief conductor of the CBCO in 1998 and has since endeavoured to advocate and practise the orchestra’s symphonization. He has led the CBCO in visits to Thailand, Ger- many, Hong Kong and other countries. Pang Kapang conducted the orchestra in two concerts in the Golden Hall in Vienna, Austria, in 2000 and 2001.

CBCO has gathered many excellent artists. In perfecting the formation of a contemporary as well as traditional Chinese instrumental orchestra, the CBCO has gained ample experience. It completed a basic set of different Chinese musical instruments in an orchestra and nowadays is recognised as one of the leading in orchestrating, conducting and performing traditional Chinese music.

Chinese music
The history of music in China and of Chinese musical instruments possibly dates back as much as 4,000 years. Chinese music is basically pentatonic-diatonic, meaning that the basic pentatonic scale can be modulated within a diatonic con- text. The theory talks of 12-notes to an octave, but most of the compositions are overwhelmingly pentatonic with diatonic/chromatic passing tones. The time element in music can be described using three concepts: tempo, or the number of beats per minute; metre, the underlying regular division of the beats into strong and weak; and rhythm, which is where strong and weak beats, as played, are placed in relation to the pulse set up by the metre. The last two do not necessarily coincide: syncopation relies for its effect on putting strong beats in places where metre suggests weak ones, for example on the second beat of three or on a half beat. Traditional theory recognises all three concepts: tempo, metre and rhythm.

Solo instrumental performance is the most serious musical genre. The best performances should bring out harmony with one’s surroundings, although at times a more aggressive tone is used. The intonation is very subtle, and generally similar to poetic recitation. The music itself is clearly designed to be an abstract complement to the highly-developed poetic genres, and bears similar titles. The prominence of poetry and the aphorism might help explain the restricted impact of vocal art music.

Chinese musical instruments
A Chinese instrument is used as a solo instrument or with other Chinese instruments to form a Chinese ensemble or orchestra. A Chinese orchestra is an amalgam of many cultural traditions. A full Chinese orchestra is made up of four sections: bowed-strings, plucked-strings, woodwind, percussion.

Musical performances.
The Qin: The seven-(historically five- or ten-)string zither, qin, is considered to be the supreme instrument of the scholar. The compositions make use of a wide range of timbral effects. Playable instruments survive from as early as the T’ang Dynasty. The instrument speaks particularly strongly. The guqin presents an exceptional richness of timbre and subtlety of articulation, along with a repertory refined over centuries. The music is quite sophisticated and dense in ideas, and presents a real opportunity for “interpretation” by a range of fine musicians.

The Zheng is a movable-bridge zither, and the most dynamic solo instrument in China. Its repertory ranges widely, from ancient pieces in a style similar to those for qin, to various regional styles related to folk songs and operas. The technique can be quite complex, especially in the newer music. 

The Pipa is a fairly large lute-like instrument with large frets and a broad finger-board. It was introduced into China from Central Asia prior to the T’ang Dynasty and has both a “literary” and a “martial” repertory. It has a sophisticated playing technique and rich expressive power of music.

The Xiao: Although it has a very long history going back to Han times and beyond, the xiao has been slow to develop a solo repertory. It is a vertically-held bamboo flute, and the only instrument appropriate for accompanying the qin, as it is suited to music of similar depth and restraint. 

The Erhu is a two-stringed fiddle which has a long history in Chinese music. Although it has historically been associated with the lower classes, and so does not have the same sort of abstract repertory as the instruments above, it has attained a more universal status in the twentieth century.

The instrument has a melodious tone
The Suona – it is an ancient woodwind instrument with a history of 1,700 years. The instrument if often played at festivals, gatherings and wed- ding ceremonies in the countryside for it has a bright and sonorous tone.

The Jinghu – it is the major instrument for accompanying Peking Opera singing. It has a bright and high-pitched tone, and has a typical character of its own.

Concerts in Geneva
As guests of the United Nations Office in Geneva and of the Victoria Hall the China Broadcast Chinese Orchestra inaugurated the Geneva musical year in 2002.

The welcoming speeches are over. The lights dim … the performance starts…The conductor goes to the podium. He raises his wand and the magic begins. The hall fills with sounds of nature, running water, singing birds, smells of spring, perfumes of flowers, twinkles of stars, sparkles of sun. These are the sounds of Chinese music, strange to European ears or an international public. These are the sounds of Chinese musical instruments, a complete novelty to spectators and amateurs of symphonic orchestral concerts.

The programme is rich in variety: from patriotic and moving tunes – Celebration Ouverture, where the music portrays the dauntless spirit of the Chinese people building their homeland, or The Moon Mirrored in the Pool, where a charming and poetic melody shows the love of life and the longing for a bright future, to the music of ethnic groups in China – the folk music of the Yao people, or of the Loess plateau, or the poetic beauty of the folk music of nationalities that live in southwest China (Dabo River Capriccio).There is also the famous Spring on the Moonlit River by the celebrated com- poser Peng Xiuwen who arranged the melody from a classical piece that first appeared in the Quing Dynasty about 120 years ago, presenting the harmonious relationship between man and nature. And, of course, not to forget the music based on the Peking Opera performances, such as Deep Night (The Jinghu and Orchestra), which creates the image of a beautiful and charming woman in ancient China.Solo celebrities add to the richness of the programme with their talent: Zhang Fangming (Erhu), Zhou Dongchao (Suona), Chen Yin (Pipa), Jiang Kemei – Hujin (Huqin).(All these are members of the Association of Chinese Musicians and members (Jiang Kemei -council member) of the Chinese Traditional Orchestral Music Society).

The final cords of the “3rd Movement Symphony No. 1 – Jun Ling”, the first sym- phonic composition for traditional Chinese instruments, written by Peng Xiuwen.

There is applause…roaring applause from the public. One more typical Chinese piece, based on the music of a minority nationality group in China. The final sounds of exotic oriental instruments… more applause…the Victoria Hall stands up…

And suddenly the conductor turns to the public. He raises his wand. Silence… Everyone holds the breath in expectation of a miracle. And here the unbelievable happens: the orchestra breaks into …a waltz and the conductor begins to conduct the public with the tempos and rhythms for the applause, his magic wand creates harmony between the sounds of musical instruments of his orchestra and the rhythms of the sounds of the applause of the public, thus turning the huge audience and the stage into the unified giant orchestra. This unified giant orchestra plays Strauss…the Radetzki March…the Blue Danube …The old Chinese instruments are perfectly atuned to European classical pieces. With or without musical instrument in their hands, everyone is a part of the performance, is a part of this orchestra. Everyone participates in the dialogue, everybody speaks by sounds, and music is the common language.