REVIEW / CONCERT
A KISS FROM MUM
Singapore Chinese Orchestra
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Last Saturday
Mother's Day is a fixture that probably benefits florists, gift shops and restaurants most, more than the people the day is meant to celebrate.
However cynical one might be, few would argue that the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) has honed its annual Mother's Day Concert programme to a fine art.
Tickets to all three of its Mother's Day Concerts, held at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre's new auditorium, had long been sold out.
SCO resident conductor Quek Ling Kiong was in his element as maestro and cheerleader-in-chief in the matinee, attended mostly by senior citizens.
The first half was wholly instrumental, opening with Gu Guan Ren's The Lovable Rose.
This and Phang Kok Jun's A Kiss From Mum were based on pre-existing melodies and both opened with fine dizi and gaohu solos from Yin Zhi Yang and concertmaster Li Bao Shun respectively.
There were two concertante works featuring SCO rank-and-file musicians as soloists. Shen Qin's erhu starred in Chen Yao Xing's A Song Dedicated To Mother, which began heartfelt and melancholic, but took on lively strides by its conclusion.
Xu Hui on guzheng was more of an obbligato presence in Wang Jue's San Zi Jing (Three Characters), which had orchestra members chanting its familiar words, which also exhorted a mother's role in moulding her children's moral compass.
While Confucian in intention, the work took on a martial stance with movie-like music as it progressed.
The concert's second half was more contemporary and popular in appeal. Wang Jue's Medley Of Sichuan Folksongs was performed by the 13-member SCO Pop Music Ensemble, which includes the drum set, bongos and electric bass guitar alongside traditional instruments.
One has not lived until one has heard Kangding Love Song in the rhythm of Dave Brubeck's Take Five.
The concert's highlight had to be the appearances of pop singers Lee Peifen and Hao Hao in the segment titled I Really Love You - Songs Dedicated To Mothers. They enlivened the proceedings with youthful spunk and dialect-speaking, quickfire repartee with conductor Quek. The audience lapped it all up with keen relish.
Both had two solo songs each, in Mandarin and Hokkien.
The locally-based Lee, dressed in gaudy flower-themed gowns, was a livewire throughout. Her contrasting emotions in Mum In The Dream and Ka Ao (Wife) were immediately engaging.
The Taiwanese Hao, sporting navy blue hair, was at home in Ah Ma Ei Wei (Grandmother's Words) and Han Jiang Xue (Frosty River Snow).
For Han Jiang Xue, he sang falsetto, did a spot of female impersonation and had the audience in stitches.
Together, the dynamic duo performed three songs including I Really Love You (mixing Cantonese and Mandarin) and finished off with Liang Wern Fook's xinyao classic Old Clothes Are Better Than New Ones.
