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Singapore Guqin Association

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The Singapore Guqin Association is affiliated to the Singapore Chinese Music Association. It is a non-profit academic organization, self-funded, independently accounted, and subject to supervision and management by the Singapore government. Since 2017, the Guqin Association has hosted the Singapore Guqin Art Festival many times, inviting Chinese guqin players such as Zhao Jiazhen, Dai Xiaolian, Yang Qing, Zeng Chengwei, Li Fengyun, Ma Jie, Wang Peng, Huang Mei, Wu Ye, Zhao Xiaoxia, etc.; international guqin players such as Qiao Shan, Li Pengpeng, Yang Lining, Wu Jing Yusheng, Chen Wen, Huang Dexin, as well as "Kunqu Prince" Zhang Jun and Pingtan master Gao Bowen to hold concerts and lectures.

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Keat Hong Chinese Orchestra

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Keat Hong Chinese Orchestra (KHCO) was formed in 1974 and it is a cultural group under the administration of Singapore's Chua Chu Kang Community Club. With over 80 members, KHCO is a well-known amateur orchestra in Singapore. The orchestra has been actively developing young talents and contributing to the promotion of Chinese music in Singapore. 

 

KHCO has been awarded various honours. These include the Singapore National Youth Service Award (1993), first prize winner and Best Performance Award consecutively in the National Music Competition (1987-1993). In 1996, KHCO was awarded the National Youth Letter of Commendation. 

 

KHCO has been holding regular concerts every year and has also worked with many renowned musicians like Zhou Cheng Long, Song Guang Hai, Wai Sing Fat, Chew Hee Chiat and Zhang Nian Bing. In recent years, KHCO has also invited overseas orchestras to hold joint concerts in Singapore, including Hong Kong Music Lover Chinese Orchestra, China Chengdu National Orchestra, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Professional Cultural Center Orchestra, Australia Melbourne Chao Feng Chinese Orchestra and Taiwan Tao Yuan Yueh You Chamber Orchestra. In recent years, KHCO has been invited to perform at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay for its Beautiful Sunday Concert. 

In 1992, KHCO was invited to represent Singapore to perform in the Cultural Festival in honour of Her Majesty, the Queen of Thailand, in Bangkok. KHCO has also been frequently invited to perform overseas, including Hong Kong (1988, 1994, 1999 & 2004), China Chengdu (1995), Changsha (2003), Australia Melbourne (1998 & 2002) and Malaysia Kuching (1993, 1995 & 2006). In 2009, KHCO also performed at Hong Kong Music Lover 30th anniversary concert and Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Professional Cultural Center Orchestra's 20th anniversary <Twenty Years Initiator> international concert. 

 

In 2013, KHCO was invited by Kagoshima Prefecture Government to perform in the Cultural Music Festival event. KHCO was invited to perform for Hong Kong Youth Chinese Music Festival in 2018. In 2019, KHCO participated in two concerts in Canada, “The 3rd Edmonton Chinese Music Festival - Bonne Musique III Concert” in Edmonton and “Spring Festival Chinese Music Concert” in Vancouver.

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Guan Nai-chung, conductor

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Kuan Nai-chung was born in Beijing in 1939. He began his formal and stringent training in music under his father, the famous violinist Guan Zixiang, and the German pianist, Professor Kubelik. He entered the China Conservatory to study Composition at the age of seventeen, graduating in 1961.

 

Kuan was the Conductor and Resident Composer of the Dongfang Song and Dance Troupe of China, Resident Composer of the China Arts Troupe and conductor of the Beijing Arts Troupe and the China National Song and Dance Ensemble before he resettled in Hong Kong in 1979. He was the Music Director of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra between 1986 and 1990. He resettled in Taiwan in 1990 and was the Conductor of the Kaohsiung City Chinese Orchestra. Apart from these, he has also conducted many major orchestras in concert performances as well as in studio recordings. They include the China National Symphony Orchestra, China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the National Ballet of China, the Symphony Orchestra of the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, China National Traditional Orchestra, China Broadcasts National Music Orchestra, China Broadcasts Chorus, Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Joint Experimental Philharmonic Orchestra of Taiwan and its later form, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, National Art Academy Experimental Chinese Orchestra (now the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan), Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Macao Chinese Orchestra etc. In recent years, Kuan has twice led the Huaxia Traditional Music Orchestra of the China Conservatory and the Chinese Orchestra of the Tianjin Song and Dance Theatre to give Chinese New Year Concerts at the Goldener Saal in Vienna. He has also given Chinese music concerts in famous venues all over the world, covering cities like Hanover, Hamburg, Milan, Rome, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Tokyo, Sendai, Singapore, New York, Dallas, Lucerne, Nuremburg, Luxembourg, Cairo, Alexandria, London and Edinburgh.

 

A prolific composer, Kuan has written 4 symphonies, 24 works for full-size orchestra, 2 dance dramas, 3 symphonic choral works, many pieces for ensembles of various sizes, and numerous arrangements of Chinese classical and folk music, dance music, as well as over a hundred movie soundtracks and songs. His discography includes more than 40 record releases in which he conducts, composes and arranges. Among them, three won the China Golden Disc Award, the Horizon Award presented by the International Association of Recording Engineers, “Top 10 Hi-Fi Compilation Albums of the Year” in Asia, etc.

 

Kuan resettled in Canada in 1994 and continued composing music. He was often in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Macao etc. to conduct and cut records. More recent compositions of note include the violin concerto Sentiments of the North, Symphony No. 3, Symphony No. 4, Cello Concertino, the symphonic poem The Peacock, Piano Concerto No. 5, the concerto for double percussion The Age of the Dragon, the concerto for guanzi Carefree Excursions, the symphonic poem for guqin, vocal and orchestra Poetic Chants of the Guqin, the Erhu Concerto No. 2 Memories of the Capital, music for the ballet drama Legend of the Archer and the pipa concerto Apsaras.  His symphonic suite, Journey to Lhasa, won the CASH Golden Sail Most Performed Works Awards – Local Serious Work category three times. His other works such as Festive Lanterns, Bumper Harvest and Hilly Country Image have won the same award. His symphonic poem The Peacock was rated a “20th Century Chinese Music Classic”.

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Qiao Shan, guqin

 

Qiao Shan is a guqin musician and performer of the “qin song” genre. She is the Vice Chairman of the International Chinese Musicians Coalition, President of the International Guqin Society, and President of the Chinese Guqin Culture Research Association.

 

Qiao graduated in 1985 from the China Conservatory of Music with a major in guqin performance. She was under the tutelage of Wang Di, a direct disciple of renown master Guan Pinghu. Possessing a profound understanding of the Guan school of guqin, Qiao’s playing is powerful and elegant, artfully blending boldness with subtle expressiveness. Her representative works include the guqin classics Li Sao, Flowing Water, and Guangling San, qin songs such as Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute, The Phoenix Hairpin, as well as the symphonic poem Poetic Chants of the Guqin.

 

An active advocate of guqin art both in China and abroad, Qiao has collaborated with numerous orchestras, including the China National Traditional Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Kaohsiung Chinese Orchestra, Macao Chinese Orchestra, and Tianjin Chinese Orchestra. Having held numerous guqin recitals and concerts in over twenty countries, Qiao has also performed the symphonic poem Poetic Chants of the Guqin at the Goldener Saal in Vienna, Austria.

 

In 2008, Qiao founded the Qiao Shan Guqin Arts Center as part of her efforts to continue the legacy of the Guan school. Having spearheaded multiple international exchanges, she initiated and hosted the first “Pinghu Cup” International Guqin Invitational Competition in Shanghai, attracting over a hundred guqin musicians globally to widespread acclaim.

 

In addition, her 2003 album “The Legend of Guqin” won the American Horizon Award. Her 2016 album was also nominated for the 6th China Outstanding Publications Award.

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Wu Xiaodan, guqin

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Wu Xiaodan is a part-time guqin lecturer in the Chinese Music Department of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Singapore, and serves as the Vice President of the Singapore Guqin Association.

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Wu graduated from the Theatre Department of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, and holds a Master's degree in Guqin Performance from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she studied under Professor Dai Xiaolian. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Chinese Traditional Music Theory at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, supervised by Professor Liu Hong.

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Wu has previously worked as an external guqin instructor at the Affiliated High School of Shanghai International Studies University and as a guqin teacher for the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s Summer Chinese Music Program. She has been recognized as an Outstanding Instructor at the "Singapore Nanyang International Music Competition" and the "Guoyun Cup" National Instrumental Music Art Exhibition.

 

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Encountering Sorrow | From "Shenqi Mipu", scored by Guan Pinghu, notated by Wang Di, arranged by Qiao Shan

 

Composed during the late Tang Dynasty by Chen Kangshi, based on Qu Yuan's epic poem of the same name. The version of "Li Sao" fixed in rhythm, tempo, and performed by Guan Pinghu embodies a style that is ancient, vigorous, profound, and restrained. The melody emerging in the low register in the second section is desolate and oppressive; it alternates with the indignant melodies of the third section, while continuously incorporating new melodic ideas. This creates a sense of profound sorrow layered with complexity. The seventh section abruptly dispels the somber atmosphere, expressing a bold, unrestrained spirit and a defiance of worldly burdens. The "Qin Xue Chu Jin" (First Steps in Qin Study), in its postscript to "Li Sao," accurately summarizes the piece's sentiment and character with the comment: "Initially restrained, later liberated."

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Dragon Soaring in the Sky | From "Jiao'an Qinpu", scored by Zhang Ziqian

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A classic piece of the Guangling Guqin Sect, originates from the “Jiao'an Qinpu”, compiled by late Qing Dynasty Guangling Sect Guqin master - Qin Weihan. The representative Guangling Sect master Zhang Ziqian mastered the essence of this composition so profoundly that he earned the reputation of "Zhang Long Xiang" in Guqin circles. His performance, through nuanced tonal inflections of yin (vibrato) and nao (wavering notes) that balance the tangible and the ethereal, elevates the Taoist aesthetic ideal of "the greatest music has the faintest notes" to its pinnacle.

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Regarding the piece's underlying meaning, scholarly interpretations vary: some derive from its poetic title, depicting the imagery of a divine dragon soaring through the clouds; others explore its philosophical depth, interpreting it as an expression of Zhuangzi's concept of "transformation of things." Zhang Ziqian summarized it with eight characters: "solemn yet free, neither self nor not-self," which not only resonates with the Yue Ji (Book of Music) aesthetic principle that "music arises from within, hence it is tranquil" but also traces back to Zhuangzi's philosophical notion of "losing the self."

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Through its asymmetrical rhythmic patterns and fluid glissando notes, the piece exemplifies the Guqin's sonic-painting aesthetic of "shifting scenery with each step," while also embodying the transcendent realm of traditional literati—"communing alone with the spirit of heaven and earth."

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Symphonic Poem: Poetic Chants of the Guqin | Composed by Kuan Nai-chung

Lyrics by Liu Bang, Cao Cao, Lu You, Mao Zedong (Hong Kong Premiere)

 

I.Song of the Great Wind

2. Staccato Ballad

3.Ode to The Plum Blossoms

4.Snow

 

The proper name for guqin should be qin, and the descriptor gu, which means 'ancient' in Chinese, was probably added because of the instrument's ancient history. In China,the guqin is not just an ancient instrument, but also a cultural element. Many stories have been associated with it, whether in music, folklore, or history. To understand the Chinese cultural traditions better, learning the guqin and appreciating its music might be a good way.

 

In the art of guqin, music and songs for vocal performance are equally important. It is conjectured that at the very beginning, the qin was accompanied by recitation of poetry and singing. In China's long history and culture, there are representative qin pieces in every dynastic period, including the latest, Qing. But in the last few decades, we seldom see any new works in qin music. One reason may be that the gu ('ancient') prefix in its name has scared many composers and listeners away. The cultural traditions attached to the instrument might have become a weight on our shoulders,or a psychological block to overcome. But I believe every era should have a qin piece - the present era being not exception.

 

I wrote a symphonic poem, Li Sao, for guqin and orchestra in the 1980's. Later, I also arranged other qin works such as Chant of the Convent, FlowingWater and Thinking of an Old Friend. But I began to think, since both qin music and qin songs for singingare integral parts of the art form,I should write something that can be interpreted by the instrument, voice and orchestra. I picked the poems by Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of the Wei Dynasty, Lu You, a patriotic poet of the Song Dynasty, and Mao Zedong, political leader of more recent times, as my point of departure for writing my new work.The poems are political commentaries in one way or another.I am a music practitioner only, and know nothing about politics. I would not even deem myself in a position to comment on what they did or how much they hadachieved in relation to history. But as Chinese, we must celebrate the fact that among our emperors and kings, or ministers and generals, many demonstrated literary excellence,  unlike their counterparts in the West. Their merits or demerits as politicians aside, they have left us with magnificent and touching poetry that is filled with a deep attachment to our country and our land.

 

Liu Bang (256 BCE - 195 BCE) was the first emperor of Han. He was a petty officer in a small town when he rose to power in revolting against the regime of the First Emperor of Qin. He contended with Xiang Yu, King of Chu,for the control of the state,and when he won,he founded his capital in Chang'an (Xi'an today). It was recorded in the Annals of History that after he had become emperor, he once returned to his native town to visit. He brought with him a lot of wine and invited old friends, elders and their families to the palace to have a drinking revelry. He also recruited one hundred and twenty children to teach them singing. Invigorated by wine, he would sing and accompany himself on a clapper while asking the children to join in and learn the song. He would even dance to their tune in elevated flights of emotion and become very emotional.The song that Liu sang was Song of the Wind, the first of the four vocal sections in our guqin piece.

 

The second poem picked for the music is A Short Lyrical Piece by Cao Cao (155-220). He was originally the last chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but later through his political and military acumen laid the foundation for the Wei Dynasty, for which he was posthumously given the title as Emperor Wu of Wei. It was said that on a winter day in the year 209, he was holding camp on the north shore of the Yangtze River, opposite the enemy camp of the Wu on the south. It was a very clear day, and the water was calm. When night fell, the moon rose from the mountains in the east, and the disc was so bright that the river was like a white ribbon of silk. Cao Cao ordered to have wine laid out on a barge,and musicians to be there to play for him. As he watched the beautiful landscape of Mount Nanping, he was so inspired that he wielded his club in a dance and sang.The lyrics of his song begin with a rhetoric about life, "With wine laid out, one should sing, for who knows how long one can live?"

 

Lu You (1125-1210) was a famous patriotic poet in the Southern Song period.He was born at a time when the Northern Song regime was waning and had to move to the south. He joined the army in his middle age,and spent nine years in the Sichuan area. His adamant stance to fight the enemy made himself very unpopular among those who favoured surrender. So he left his office and went home where he led the life of a recluse. But his patriotic heart was still very much in earnest. The poem quoted in this work,Ode to the Plum Blossoms, was written when his proposal to fight the enemies in the north was vetoed,and his aspirations were nipped in the bud.

 

When Mao Zedong (1893-1976) read Lu You's poem, Ode to the Plum Blossoms, in a letter from a friend, he also wrote a poem using the same metric pattern in response to Lu. But at the beginning of his verses, he wrote that he had written a poem after Lu You 'but having the theme reversed'. Both may well be described as wonderful poetry worthy of their places in history. That is why I have included both in the Third Movement, to give a juxtaposition of the two that are similar in pattern but so different in thoughts and mood, as a bridge that crosses the chasm of time.

 

In early 1936, Mao Zedong already led his army to reach the northern part of Shaanxi and began the eight years of battle against the encroaching Japanese.One day in February, after a very heavy snow, he wrote On Snow-to the tune of Qin Yuan Chun, a ci poem that expressed his ambition as well as his passionate love for his motherland.

 

In writing this piece, Poetic Chants of the Guqin, I have not only set the five poems I mentioned above to music, but also incorporated some of the phrases, melodies and short passages from the traditional guqin repertoire, Guang-Ling-San, Flowing Water, Liquor mania and Three Variations on the Plum Blossom. To have the music of the qin incorporated with singing is a cultural tradition related to the guqin, as exemplified by Song of the Wind, the first of the five poems I chose for the music. It is a great pity that the tablatures are no longer extant.We will never know how their original music sounded like. But then, perhaps we do not need to know. As a composer and not a pedagogue, I only need to write music for the guqin as I think would represent our world and times today, and do not need to trace the qin music of bygone days. As Mao Zedong said in his lyric,"All those are in the past. For the great and mighty, look among us to this day!" If music practitioners have no such amplitude of heart and mind, shouldn't we feel unworthy of our great forebears?

 

-Kuan Nai-chung

 

 

Song of The Great Wind Liu Bang

Clouds disperse, ah, when the great wind blows.

From sea to sea my reign, ah, homeward I go.

To guard this land, ah, I need warriors bold.

 

 

Staccato Ballad Cao Cao

 

Sing when you have wine.How long is one's life?

Like the morning dew, Gone is much of it.

 

Great is your yearning; Deep is your regret.

How to ease the pain? Ah, the amber liquid.

 

Green your scholar' gown; Longing is my heart.

For you, ah, for you. I have sighed ached.

 

Whinnying go the deer. Feeding on the grass.

Let the music play. To welcome my guests.

 

Silvery is the moon. When can I hold it?

On and on this sorrow. Gnawing at my breast.

 

Remember the good times - How we got to meet.

All I've gone through for you - Have they been wasted?

 

The moon shines, stars hide, Southward the birds fly.

Round and round the tree - Where to end the flight?

 

Earth piles on the mount; Water flow to sea.

To the master come, All the brave and bright.

 

Ode to the Plum Blossoms, The plateau: charging wax elephants

to the tune of Fortune Teller

Lu You

 

By the Cleft Bridge beyond the post house.

Unattended, unclaimed, they bloor,

Lonesome in the nightfall,

Mid the wind and roin.

 

They don't care for thebustle of spring-

Let the others fight.

By then, they'd have fallen, turned to dust,

And only their fragrance will remain.

 

Ode to the Plum Blossoms,

to the tune of Fortune Teller

Mao Zedong

 

Reod Lu You's Ode to the Plum Blossoms and wrote this from the opposite point of view.

 

The blowing rain sends spring away;

The flying snow welcomes it

The cliff, a thousand feet of ice,

Surprises with branches of charming blossoms.

 

Charming yet not competing in spring's pageantry,

Only heralding it

And when the mountain flowers are all aglow,

In the crowd she smiles.

Snow

to the tune of Spring in the Soothing Garden

Mao Zedong

 

The North:

A thousand miles ice-locked;

Ten thousand miles of snow flurries.

On both sides of the Great Wall

an immense void;

a deep hush.

The mountains:dancing silver snakes

 

Measuring themselves against the sky.

On a bright day

Dressed in red and white-

So electrifying

 

Ah, what a beautiful land-

Before thee many a mighty one have bent.

Pity,the warrior kings of Qin and Han

had no literary flair;

The empire builders of Tang and Song

were somewhat lacklustre;

And Genghis Khan, matchless in his era,

was no more than a great hunter.

Gone are they.

Men who truly move the world

Can only be found today.

 

（The second and third movements of this performance）