Eastern Legends
An Intercultural Music Act by Chai Found Music Workshop
INTRODUCTION
After the highly acclaimed Instrumental Musical “Ambush!” of 2006, Eastern Legends is Chai Found Music Workshop’s latest choreographed music performance on a large scale. It fuses traditional Chinese music and instruments with popular music of today. As an intercultural music act, it attempts to reach broad and diversified audiences.
THE PRODUCTION
Eastern Legends is a world-music stage production packaged in modern, popular sound and visuals. It fuses traditional Taiwanese and Chinese Music with Western pop, rock, house and techno styles. Seventeen skilled young Chinese instrumentalists are backed by a rock band and electronic dance music tracks. The repertoire consists of arrangements of folk songs from Taiwan and China, virtuoso instrumental classics of Chinese Music, and original compositions by Chen-Ming Huang, the artistic director of the production and leader of Chai Found Music Workshop. The musicians’ movements are minutely designed. Drama elements and splendid lighting support the choreographed stage action.
Eastern Legends can serve as an introduction to Chinese Music for audiences in the Western World. It gives a compact overview of different musical styles, showcases superb musical talent, and is widely accessible by way of a sound that is understood world-wide. It is a successful integration of pop culture and tradition, judging from the wave of positive feedbacks and the record sales so far.
In Taiwan, as in most parts of the world, young people follow the culture of globalization rather than their own cultural traditions. The idea behind Eastern Legends was to make Chinese Music more accessible, re-popularize it, particularly for young Taiwanese audiences. Young musicians were consequently used as performers. Although only in their twenties, these emerging talents easily master even the most difficult arrangements at neck-breaking speed.
Apart from their reputation for being one of the best “Sizhu” music ensembles of our time, Chai Found Music Workshop also acts as a training institute for young players, who were given the chance to perform here. However, compared to the “12 Girls Band” from China, a similar musical phenomenon, Eastern Legends draws from more sophisticated sources in the vast repertoire of Chinese Music. Moreover, this production clearly shows that not only girls, but also young men are perfectly capable of playing Chinese instruments at a high artistic level.
FACTS
- Eastern Legends premiered in an outdoor concert on April 28, 2007 on the Freedom Plaza of the Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center in Taiwan in front of about 10.000 people.
- Eastern Legends received enthusiastic reaction from the press and the media.
- For the opening of the show, Chai Found Music Workshop challenged a world record and assembled 1100 erhu players from Taiwan and Asia to join in on 2 pieces. The youngest musician was 7, the oldest 91 years old.
- A double audio CD is available for sale and distribution.THE MUSIC
The pieces are classics of Chinese Music arranged by well-known Taiwanese pop music producers, most notably Hsun-Wei Chan and Wei-Hsiung Dai. The musical influences range from Rock and Grunge to different styles of electronic dance music such as house and techno. The melodies are distributed among the Chinese Instruments such as Suona, Erhu, Pipa, Ruan, Guzheng, and Yangqin, thus revealing the rich timbres of Chinese Music. The backings emphasize rhythm and oftentimes electric guitars are used to deliver the harmonic structure of the pieces.
SONG TITLES
Horse Race Erhu Classic
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
Pleasant Night Erhu Classic
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
Forsaken City Yangqin Classic
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Sad Song of a Bird Taiwan Folk Song
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Impulsive! By Chen-Ming Huang
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
High Mountains, Flowing Waters Guzheng Classic
Arr. by Hong-Hsun Tsai
Youth Dance Xin Jiang Folk Song
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
Counting Toads Children’s Rhyme
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Love Song from Kang Ding Tibetan Folk Song
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Winter Rain Zhong Ruan Classic
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Spring Awakening By Chen-Ming Huang
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Dance of the Yi Tribe Pipa Classic
Arr. by Weixiong Dai
Days of Heavy Rain Hakka Folk Song
Arr. by Xunwei Zhan
Strategic Thoughts By Chen-Ming Huang
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
Sad Farewell By Chen-Ming Huang
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
Pugua Tune Taiwan Folk Song
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
Chase By Hsun-Wei Chan
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Sa Ka Ma Lu Aboriginal Folk Song
Arr. by Hsun-Wei Chan
Wind By Chen-Ming Huang
Arr. by Wei-Hsiung Dai
PERSONNEL
The touring ensemble includes a full line-up of Chinese Instruments (13 musicians), plus the artistic director、president, vice president, administration director, lighting & stage designer, and sound engineer :
1 Suona [Chinese Reed Instrument]
2 Pipa [Chinese Lute]
2 Erhu [Chinese Fiddle]
2 Ruan [Chinese Banjo/Guitar]
2 Di [Chinese Bamboo Flute]
2 Guzheng [Chinese Zither]
2 Yangqin [Chinese Dulcimer]
1 Artistic Director、President
+ 1 Vice President, 1 Administration Director, 1 Lighting& Stage Designer, 1 Sound EngineerCONTACT INFORMATION
Chai Found Music Workshop
2 F, No.13, Lane 295, Lung Jiang Rd., Taipei, Taiwan
fel +886-2-25024960
fax +886-2-25158553
e-mail cfmw@cfmw.com.tw
www.cfmw.com.tw
