Jiangnan Sizhu: Classy Chinese Chamber Music

《Jiangnan Sizhu: Classy Chinese Chamber Music》 is an ensemble of traditional stringed and woodwind instruments performed by the Taoyuan Chinese Orchestra, where the unprecedented elegant charm and delicate tones of Chinese music are manifested.
QU Chun-quan, music director of the album, believes that being developed from “traditional stringed and woodwind instruments” to medium-sized orchestras, then was further progressed to large scale Chinese orchestras, Chinese music has accumulated nearly a hundred years of time only since its birth, and the various types of “instruments” that were involved have underwent profound transformation from their initial line-ups as the era evolves, where the remaining instruments have eventually become the “structure” of standardized Chinese orchestras. The phrase “Survival of the Fittest” can also be applied on instruments, where some instruments possess too much distinctiveness, which makes it challenging for them to integrate their roles, though this distinctiveness is regarded as a trenchant edge from the perspective of Western music, hence allowing it to have the opportunity to become the protagonist. 《Joyful Jiangnan》 created in 1960 uses “gaohu” as its primary melody performance as soon as the track begins, and 《Roaming in Huchao Township》 created in 1983 uses “alto suona” as its primary melody, which indicated how the distinctiveness of an instrument has shaped its leading role. This type of creations inherited the past and initiated the future during that era, where they set an example in writing and composing for medium-sized orchestras; the use of “Western music texture” on “Chinese music” was flawlessly manifested in 《Beautiful Formosa》 created in 1980, where the track also infused the Broadway music style that was once popular during the 30s, which was never seen before.

This album contains “classical, folk, and local music”
“Classical”tracks of《The Song of Rainbow Raiment》 in 1977, 《Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace》 in 1993, “Folk” tracks of 《Turtledove Tone》 in 1986, 《Intertwined Illumination》in 1994, as well as “Local Music” tracks of《Happy Huaibei》 in 1982, and 《New Dabu Tone》 in 2003 are all categorized as this genre.

Composers should depart from the hearing perspective of the “audiences”, and demonstrate the “aesthetics” of lines, instead of advancing forward in a singular motion through the perspective of the composer or performer, during the process of creation. This album contains tracks from traditional household ancient songs, Jiangnan stringed and woodwind tracks, to the rearranged Jiangnan stringed and woodwind tracks, and the basic structure of medium-sized orchestras, which manifest delicate and meticulous music aesthetics, rather than the pursuit of the surging and roaring experience of tones, where audiences are able to bilaterally exchange with composers and performers with the vivid and profound music depiction.

Jiangnan Sizhu: Classy Chinese Chamber Music

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