By Vanessa Chan
Close your eyes and enjoy the music.
The Melbourne University Chinese Music Group (CMG) made a powerful comeback with a demonstration showcasing the inheritance and creativity of tradition after years of online performances and activities. Conducting the clash of history and modernity, they fused traditional Chinese music with rock, classical with contemporary, and well-known movie soundtracks with renowned Disney musical hits.
Before the show, the announcers said that the first two programmes, ‘Fearless’ and ‘Pop Remix’, had been cancelled, which was a shame because they would have been a terrific start to this collision of Chinese and Western music. One thing they did not offer, however, was an Acknowledgment of Country, which is important to show respect and acknowledge the traditional owners of the land.
Usually, it is not permitted to record or use a smartphone in the theatre. CMG, on the other hand, relaxed these restrictions and did not prevent filming during the show. I believe that they wished the audience to retain the fantastic memories and experience with them long after the concert, however this goal would be better served if the house management had requested that no flashlights be used while filming or taking pictures. It was disruptive, not just to the other audience members, but also to the musicians.
CMG presented the audience with a plethora of traditional Chinese instruments and revealed each of their magnificent features with famous songs and great musicians. The concert started with a guzheng solo performance ‘The Sun is Shining over the Jing Gang Mountain’ performed by Norry and ‘Chrysanthemum Terrance’ performed by Nina Yeung, which set off the nostalgic Chinese ambiance. The guzheng is an ancient Chinese plucked-string instrument that has a very significant place in both classical and contemporary Chinese history, so it was well represented the Chinese ancient genre. While the former song was upbeat and full of Jiangxi folk music style, ‘Chrysanthemum Terrance’ was poignant and sad. CMG’s inclusion of Zaihan Bao’s erhu solo performance, ‘Towards a Brighter Future’, between the two guzheng pieces served as a much needed mood transition. This erhu solo interestingly adopted the fingering and bowing of a violinist, vividly expressing the clash of Chinese and Western music.
‘Don’t Fuck with Teenagers’ and ‘Western Capital Goose’ were the final two tracks in the first segment, with vocalists Judy and Tony, guitarist Tommy, bassist Tony, drummer Milo, keyboardist Chelsea and suonaist Anna. ‘Don’t Fuck with Teenagers’ was sung in Hakka—a native language of East and Southeast Asia—but performed with western band music. It would have been great if subtitles had been provided for non-native speakers so that audiences might better understand the meaning and feelings. I enjoyed the intensity represented by the vocals of young people’s desperate emotion, which gave me shivers. ‘Western Capital Goose’, on the other hand, stunned me with its clash of suona and electronics, bringing a new level of musical feast. The suona is a traditional Chinese oboe woodwind instrument, and it had a significant impact even when played with loud and powerful band music.
Even more collisions stormed into the second half by combining performances of well-known movie soundtracks with legendary Disney musical numbers. It began with an intriguing piano solo performance, but since there were some mistakes in the programme listings, I am unable to give the pianist credit. Following this was the legendary ‘Castle in the Sky’, with Anna and Eason on the clarinet and Jessica on the saxophone. It made for pleasant listening, but it would have been better if the clarinets had harmonised with each other better—though I’m not sure if that is due to the instruments themselves or the arrangement of the piece. ‘Part of Your World’ from The Little Mermaid was an adorably simple and timeless orchestral rendition, with vocals by Carol, violin by Mary and Monica, clarinet by Anna and Eason, saxophone by Jessica, french horn by Victor and the bass by Xiaoyu.
Throughout the second section, where a lot of instruments had to be replaced for each group performance, the setting crews struggled to move heavy instruments across the stage. It seemed to an untrained eye as if the stage was disorganised and had excess equipment. It would not only be perilous for artists and set crews to walk on stage while the lights were dim, but it would also cause disruption to the stage area and appearance. Perhaps it would have been useful to set up the instruments behind the masking curtain while the other acts were performing on stage.
Between songs and sections, the stage was still illuminated with a soft navy-blue wash. It gave the impression of a late-night music event, and I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere it evoked. That said, there were a couple of lighting issues. For example, the hosts started their speech standing under a dark void while there was a spotlight on the other side of stage. I had a particular gripe with this as a lighting designer.
‘Purple Passion, The Crying Machine’ was performed after ‘Part of Your World’. I was impressed by the live tuning, in which the guitarists played the five-string bass using only four strings. There were a few technical difficulties during the night, leading to some awkward silences and musicians signalling for help. Since it was a one-night-only event, they only had the one go, so it was a shame that the drums completely drowned out the dead keyboard. The flashing lighting worked beautifully with the rock music.
‘Musica Probita’, ‘Haydn Sonata’ and ‘Carmen Fantasy’—CMG’s final section of predominately western instrumental music—brought a more gentle conclusion to the concert.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed how the varied Chinese and Western instruments worked together. It was a veritable musical feast brought to new heights with its cross-cultural collision of musics.
The Dialog was unable to locate some names of performers. If you would like to be credited, please contact us via email.
The Chinese Music Group’s performance Against the Current ran September 30th at the Union Theatre.
Vanessa Chan (she/her) is a Graphic Design student and lighting and set designer living in Naarm/Melbourne. Her recent theatrical work has been featured in The Hostage (MUCTG), Under the Influence (Four Letter Word Theatre) and Kill Mobile (MUCTG).
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