Everlasting Cantonese Music (English version)：Episode 5 “Memories of Willow Embankment” “A Leaf out

In this episode, we will appreciate 3 pieces of Cantonese music with our audience: “Memories of Willow Embankment”, “A Leaf out of Autumn” and “New Rendition of Early Cantonese Music”.
“Memories of Willow Embankment” created by KO Yun-hung is originated from a love story from “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”. Two “yifan” modes, namely “fanxian” and “hechexian” are adopted in the piece to express the poignant sentiments in the story.
Composer Clarence MAK creates “A Leaf out of Autumn” with modern techniques. It sounds like traditional Cantonese music in the first place, but listeners will find it is different from the traditional music when they listen carefully. This piece is the fruit of the composer’s exploration of combining new and old music.
Alfred WONG arranges “A Riveting Tune” created by YU Qiwei in the 1990’s and performs it with “‘hard bow’ five-piece combo and ensemble”. The Chinese name of this piece combines the original title and the name of the first Cantonese music monograph “The Essential Book of Strings and Songs”, as WONG hopes that listeners can enjoy the charm of early Cantonese music through this piece.

Host: KWOK Ka-ying
Programme:
KO Yun-hung “Memories of Willow Embankment” (2020) [“Soft Bow” Five-Piece Combo] (Commissioned Work)
Clarence MAK “A Leaf out of Autumn” (2006) [“Soft Bow” Five-Piece Combo]
YU Qiwei (Arranged by Alfred WONG) “New Rendition of Early Cantonese Music” (2021) [“Hard Bow” Five-Piece Combo and Ensemble] (Commissioned Work)

KO Yun-hung was born into a family of Cantonese opera with three generations of famous Cantonese musicians. He is a versatile musician in the Cantonese opera world, who acquires a masterful command across instrumental categories including percussion, wind, string, plucked-string, as well as music theory.
Clarence MAK is Head of Composition and Electronic Music of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Professor YU Qiwei is a gaohu virtuoso with National Class One Musician accreditation. He is now Head of Chinese Music of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Composer Alfred WONG received awards such as Best Serious Composition Award in CASH Golden Sail Music Awards and Bronze award in China’s “Xinyi Cup” for original work for Chinese orchestra by young composers.
Kwok Ka-ying is a young Hong Kong yangqin player. She is the first postgraduate to be awarded a master’s degree in yangqin from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and also a resident musician of the Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble.