Concert review: Fun exploration of percussion and qin in two different shows

The Temple Of Resonance

Uni Percussion (Taiwan)
Esplanade Annexe Studio
Feb 8, 5pm

What Is Qin

Zi De Guqin Studio (China)
Singtel Waterfront Theatre
Feb 8, 8pm

Esplanade’s annual Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts takes place near Chinese New Year, showcasing a wide range of artistic events with artists and groups from China and East Asia.

Two contrasting ticketed musical events captivated audiences on a busy Saturday evening that also saw the Chingay Parade taking place.

If one wandered into the black box venue which hosted The Temple Of Resonance, and gazed at the hundreds of instruments and bric-a-brac involved, one could be forgiven for imagining Uni Percussion of Taiwan to be a large group of percussionists ready to make a big noise.

However, Uni was Hsueh Yung-Chih, a veritable one-woman band.

A loud clangour announced her entry through a sliding door, and she proceeded to work on a bass drum and gong, separately and together, then systematically moving to the xylophone where many mallets did their job. There was a method to this, which paralleled a worshipper’s rituals when visiting a temple.

Why do they do it, what and how were some of the ideas explored here.

This also included the playing of mechanical plastic toys – the noisier, the better – a large drum set and eventually tossing jam-jar covers into a heap. The seemingly mundane sounds, magnified by overdubbing, were eclectic and exhaustive, making viewers aware that all actions have motives and nuances.

The final bit of dissecting Taiwan’s temple culture was interactive, involving the audience making wishes for the new year by the drawing of fortune sticks (in this case, drumsticks).

The usual platitudes of “world peace”, “good health” and “success in exams” came out on top. This zippy yet thought-provoking 55-minute show had no time for dull moments.

Completely different was the formal concert by Shanghai-based Zi De Guqin Studio, which posed the question: What is Qin?

Qin is a generic Chinese word for an instrument, whether bowed, plucked or struck. On this evening, the ensemble – attired in traditional period costumes and led by percussionist Chen Xi – focused on music performed on the guqin, guzheng, zhongruan and pipa, with support from bamboo flutes and percussion.

There were atmospheric solos, such as Flowing Water for guqin, with its deep sonorous twang, Lin Jiliang’s Touring Mount Tai (zhongruan) and Liu Tianhua’s Ethereal Sounds (pipa), showcasing splendid instrumental technique.

Duos like The Quiet Orchid (guqin and dagu) and Wei Jun’s The Traveller (guzheng and Middle Eastern drums) were remarkable for their vivid accompaniment.

The famous guqin classic, Parting At Yangguan (Yangguan Sandie), as scored for an ensemble of four, seemed par for the course until it took on a modern percussive beat. That surprise showed the group to be more versatile than initially expected, with Drunken Fishermen Singing In The Sunset being another “crossover” item with the slow waltz rhythm of Erik Satie’s Gymnopedies accompanying the popular fisherman’s song.

The full ensemble – Bai Wuxia and Ye Lijia (guqin), Yu Chenyao (guzheng), Huang Jieying (zhongruan), Wang Muyu (pipa) and Lin Zeqin (flutes) – performed artistic director Tang Bin’s The Desolate Frontier, The Grape Fairy and Shattering The Siege. These louder and flashier showpieces had pre-recorded orchestral and electronic sounds in the mix.

Further letting down their hair, their 100-minute concert concluded by tickling the full-house audience with a medley of familiar local songs – including Singapura and Dick Lee’s Home – and the celebratory Hua Hao Yue Yuan (Blooming Flowers Full Moon) as popular encores.