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The concert, "Han Music of the Hakka Lineage", presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and performed by the Cantonese Han Music Research Society of Dapu County, will be staged in early March. This is one of many attractions of the Music of the Guangdong Music Series.
The concert will include wind and percussion, si xian ensemble, suona and ensemble, military music, zheng solo, Hakka folk songs and arias from Han opera.
Cantonese Han music is an important component of the vernacular music of Guangdong. It is also an integral part of the Hakka culture in the area. A thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Hakkas, who were indigenous inhabitants of the Central Plains of China, moved south and settled in other regions. They brought with them the ancient music of the Central Plains. A hybrid type of music that incorporates some of the elements of the indigenous Chiuchow music evolved, and after centuries of development, it has become Cantonese Han music as we know it today.
It is popularly found in many places with Hakka settlements, from Meizhou, Shantou (Swatow), Shaoguan, Huiyang, Longyan of Fujian, Gongnan of Jiangxi, Taiwan to Hakka communities in other parts of the world. Among them, the Dapu County of Meizhou is considered the home of this musical genre.
The Cantonese Han music was named "national intangible cultural heritage" in 2006. The musical genre will be preserved by statutes of the State. The Cantonese Han Music Research Society of Dapu County will play an active role in promoting the genre.
Also present at the performance will be Rao Ningxin (zheng), Chen Xionghua (erhu), Rao Shuxing (zheng), Yang Xiuwei (vocal) and Huang Hongying (vocal).
The concert will be staged at 8pm, March 11 (Sunday) at the Cultural Activities Hall, Tuen Mun Town Hall. Tickets priced at $130 are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions will be granted to senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. (Limited tickets for students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis.)
A special discount is available for the Music of the Guangdong Region Series. Please check programme leaflets for details.
For programme enquiries, call 2268 7321; for ticketing enquiries and reservations, call 2734 9009. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999. Visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp for more information on the programme.
Ends/Thursday, January 25, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:25
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