The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and the Hong Kong Association of New York co-presented the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra last night at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. The ancient musical instrument Sheng was heard throughout the evening. It finally performed solo on the third piece of the evening: Fire Ritual, a very haunting piece about mourning those who have left us and celebrating those who are with us. It is one thing to hear a Requiem and another to hear something like the Fire Ritual. The Fire Ritual embodies the dichotomy of life and death, tangible and the intangible, hope and hopelessness and more importantly what we can still hold on to versus what is lost forever.
When the music of Sheng took the center stage, it fulfilled its obligation to close the gap between that dichotomy. Sheng is an ancient free reed instrument dated back to around 475 B.C. It started as a pastime of ancient herdsmen and became very popular in Qin Dynasty (255-206 B.C.) Sheng is a commonly used musical instrument for folk songs, particularly along the Silk Road. In ancient China, before maps were drawn, voyagers and herdsmen found their way by following the music coming from the distance village. It was a nostalgic moment to see and hear a Sheng at the same time knowing that most of the audiences had an iPod nano in their pockets. The music that comes from the Sheng carries more than 2,000 years of history of mankind, and the music that comes of an iPod carries the hopes and dreams of our generation.
What will be the heirloom that we can bequeath to our family in the future? A strand of pearl necklace, a grandfather’s clock, a first edition of a book, a peach tree or an iPod Video? What will still be in the family treasure chest centuries from now? Perhaps it will be impossible to find the right type of charger that makes the iPod works again. Innovation should not replace tradition but to cohabit with its older brother.
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