Unique festival brings East and West together

The long-awaited “East Meets West” concert will bring a juxtaposition of delicate Chinese instruments alongside a lively Western orchestra in a unique musical experience. 

Together the BC Chinese Music Ensemble of Vancouver (BCCME) and the Concordia Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will perform in the Bamboo and Maple Festival, a festival spanning several days from April 18 to 23. There will be a wide array of seminars, traditional western and eastern music, workshops and concerts hosted by CUE. 

“The Concordia Symphony is committed to expanding horizons and tastes in symphonic repertoire. East Meets West is another reflection of this mission. We don’t shy away from experiencing the new. I am extremely excited about this project and for the opportunity to learn about the rich Chinese culture,” says  Danielle Lisboa, Chair of Fine Arts at CUE.

This week we spoke to composers, CUE student musicians, and professional musicians taking part in this not-to-be missed production. 

Composer Mark Armanini, has been working with Chinese instruments and traditional instruments since 1991. “This festival is an accumulation of many things I’ve done over the years,” says Mark. He is arranging pieces that are already in his repertoire, and adapting them to and for use by the BCCME, which he has led for many years. 

Mark has a huge passion for Chinese traditional instruments and he is developing music with some of the oldest instruments in the world still in use – some dating back 2000 years. One of the pieces, called Yellow River Piano Concerto (Based on the Yellow River Cantata), is a very well known piece from 1960s China. “It’s a song that reflects a fascinating modern history of China from the 1940s to 1970s,” says Mark.

The Yellow River Piano Concerto is one of the last works on the program and brings two groups together, the Chinese ensemble and the Western orchestra – performed by the CSO. “It’s a very integrated piece where we share most of the work,” says Stephanie Kwan, Piano Soloist. 

“There are moments in my part where I’m imitating specific Chinese instruments. In the third movement it starts with a solo kind of improv, a Satori style from the Chinese flute,  a little later on in the movement I’m imitating other Chinese instruments, including the Yueqin. There are lots of folk melodies dispersed throughout all four movements,” Stephanie K. explains.  

“The original work, because it was based on an eight movement cantata and the composer actually studied at a Paris Conservatory, you hear a lot of French influence, pentatonic melodies that you’ll find in Chinese folk music. So it all comes together in one place,” Stephanie K.

CUE student and member of the CSO Stephanie Wong,  is playing four pieces at the Winspear performance including playing alongside the BC Chinese orchestra to play Yellow River. “It’s a really interesting piece that was written during the time of Chairman Mao and describes the labour battles and the arduous journey of crossing the Yellow River. Each section describes a certain event.”

“We’re also playing music composed by [Richard] Wagner, including the intro to one of his operas. It’s a long, expansive piece with different instruments and rhythms. These pieces were chosen by our conductor Danielle [Lisboa],  because they can fill a large room like the Winspear,” she adds.

“A lot of instruments are similar between cultures” said Stephanie W. as she began to list some instruments and their Chinese comparison, such as the dizi, with finger holes called a ‘mo kong’, which is like a flute; and the Erhu, a two string instrument played by a bow, which is like the violin. 

Mark says they have arrangements that include 10 Chinese instruments, playing alongside the orchestra. “It will be a big challenge playing with a Western ensemble that is very powerful – that’s part of the adventure,” Mark explains.

“I treat the instruments as a concerto grosso, where they’re playing as a group and their sound is reinforced. One of the characteristics of Chinese instruments is that they play in unison.” – Mark.

Speaking about the challenges in playing Chinese instruments, Mark says they all have very specific techniques. “You usually have to follow some kind of school depending on where you live in China. Where you’re educated determines which techniques and repertoires are taught.”

The main thing Mark says is to find a good instrument that holds its tune, and then some Western techniques can also help. “Most Chinese instruments are a lot like Baroque instruments, they are not very loud and don’t have a big range, but they have all sorts of techniques. The pipa or example has over 125 different techniques of sound production – so it’s very sophisticated.”

The music to Mark has a visual element to it and he says “The last piece that I’ve arranged is called “Lonely Duck on the Winter Pond. I see this piece as being like one of those old Chinese paintings. You can really see the darkness is sort of reproduced into reality and there’s a certain delicacy and personality to the song.”

The piece is six to seven-hundred-years old, it’s a very traditional piece from South China. “It’s sort of a reconstruction but at the same time trying to retain the flavour of the original piece,” he adds.

In China, a lot of the sounds in music represent the language itself. “Instruments were often used to accompany singers or storytellers. The music would follow the singers in the opera and support their notes. The Sanxian is a three string storytelling instrument where someone would tell a story and play the instrument at the same time.”

Mark describes learning these instruments as a never ending exploration into the history of China, and says this really feeds his interest and passion for the instruments. 

He says that there is still a big interest from young people keeping the traditions alive, “The BC Chinese Music Association has a Youth Orchestra that’s been going for about 20 years. The kids are very much interested in learning about their traditions and it’s wonderful to watch.”

Young and older Chinese Canadians continue to develop their own identity here in Canada, says Mark.

“Gradually a sort of a Chinese Canadian style of music is emerging.” – Mark.

“There are a lot of international students and immigrants from different parts of China here, and they have enlivened the scene here enormously. The BC Chinese Music Association really is a route to establish themselves, and is helping to provide continuity for their culture,” Mark adds.

The events throughout western Canada are well attended, says Mark. “There is a need for social connection amongst their community that’s been going on for many years.”

For Stephanie, whose family is from southern China and Hong Kong, she says this is a great opportunity to showcase our culture. Admittedly, she says China has had a negative presence in the news lately, due to the political tensions between Canada and China, but this concert is about bringing together two countries through music.

Experience all corners of Canada and China in a series of mini concerts

Throughout the week’s festivities is a series of mini concerts featuring Chinese musicians playing unique instruments alongside Indigenous drummers and various other performances representing the West. 

Roger Weir will be playing traditional Canadian folk music at Magrath Campus on Thursday, April 20. He said, “I decided to get a group together to represent Canada – or as much as we could, and we have a range of songs from across Canada, east to west. Favorites like ‘Farewell to Nova Scotia’, ‘The Log Driver’s Walz’ and some mid west songs like ‘Alberta Bound.’ A lot of the songs we are playing go back to the roots of Canadian settlers,” Roger mentions.

This will be the first time Roger plays at CUE’s Macgrath Campus, but he has played with the CSO at the Tegler many times in the past years. “I didn’t have the opportunity to play in an orchestra when I was a student –  that is such a great opportunity for students, “ says Roger. “We could join a concert band, but we never played with adult professional musicians until after I graduated.”

When asking Roger if it’s important for young musicians to be exposed to different cultures, he responded:

“Well, you’re talking to the guy who has played every single percussion instrument on Earth. For example, I’m currently in a group that’s playing traditional Moroccan music and I’m playing the maracas.” – Roger

Roger’s best tip for students trying to play music from a different culture or genre is to “immerse yourself in that music for a while. Basically just listen to that music all day long and you will start getting the nuances of it because every style of music has its own quirks to make it their own.”

It’s like rock and roll vs jazz, says Roger, “Rock has this straightforward backbeat while jazz has this triplet format that can be hard to wrap your head around, unless you listen to it often. The same thing applies to other cultures – it will be hard to play it well unless you immerse yourself in it, so you can express it while you perform, and be convincing.”

For more detailed information on the festival and for ticket links please visit our events page.