Liu Yuan - The Echoes of Hakka's Earth Buildings (2007)

×

Liu Yuan - The Echoes of Hakka's Earth Buildings (2007)

Close

Centuries ago, Hakka people left their original settlement in central China to escape warfare. They suffered misery and hardship to finally arrive on the southeast coast of China. They rebuilt their houses there and have been living and working in peace and contentment in the area ever since. Zheng's father, son of a Hakka family in Longyan, left his hometown to study abroad among the first group of students given scholarships by the Chinese Government in 1916. In February 2000, Zheng visited her father's birth place for the first time and was immediately impressed by the culture, the history and the traditional earth buildings, called tulou in Chinese. "Why not interpret all these in a symphony? The idea flashed across my mind at once," Zheng said. "How great it would be if the Hakka people heard music specially composed for them at the World Hakka People's Meeting." Zheng soon turned to Liu Yuan with the Central Conservatory of Music for help. Though not a Hakka, the 41-year-old composer lived in the Hakka region for a long time in his boyhood. Liu went to Yongding County in Longyan to refresh his memory and feelings about the Hakka people, collecting folk music and witnessing the region's development. Liu finished the score three months later. "I closed myself up in a small room, cut off the telephone, refused to see anybody and took instant noodle as meals," Liu said. "The music welled up like a fountain and I could not stop even one minute. I could not help but pour my heart and blood into the score," he said.

Consisting of five movements, the score has two major themes: a workers' chant and a popular folk song, which are both derived from local folk songs. Trombones play the work chant to start the first movement. The brass winds and drums produce powerful sounds to symbolize Hakka people's strength, courage and unity. The second movement features an original folk song sung by 76-year-old Li Tiansheng, hailed as "king of the folk song" by the local people. Li also plays a traditional Hakka bamboo instrument. Then two flutes play an emotional nocturne to symbolize a Hakka mother's cradlesong in the quiet of night. The harp and percussion produce clear, pleasant notes like children counting stars. At the end of this movement a young Hakka girl blows through a leaf, creating a beautiful melody. The music then speeds up and turns more energetic. Liu blends the traditional music used for the local dragon and lion dances into this part to show the Hakka people's hard work and their celebration for the harvest. Then the music turns slow and emotional again to express the Hakka people's delicate inner feelings and respect for their ancestors.