For over a thousand years, people have used music to talk about the heaven, the earth, and the emotions of humanity.

Murals and cultural relics tell the stories of a thousand years of destiny.

Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble is inspired by Dunhuang, and connects different time and space with musical notes.

Sound of heaven, sound of earth, sound of human, nature’s concerto.

Let's listen to the symphony that transcends time and space together with them, emerging and resonating together.

【Performance Information】

Theme

Nature’s Concerto: “Music from Heaven, Earth & Man”

Time

20:00-21:00, November 4th, 2023 (Saturday)

Venue

Reminder:

1. Seat selection is based on region only during registration. Actual seating arrangements for each region will be assigned on the day of the performance, according to the order of arrival.

2. Ticket Collection: Students present the "Registration Successful" email along with ID cards to sign in and collect the tickets at the reception of the respective colleges. Each person is entitled to one ticket. Teachers present the "Registration Successful" email along with staff cards to sign in and collect the tickets at the UAC office (Room 718, 7/F, Admin Building West Wing) . Please ensure timely ticket collection for admission to the event.

【About the Performance】

Nature’s Concerto: “Music from Heaven, Earth & Man”

“Yearning, reverence, and praise from sound; resonating from sound, resonating with the heart.”

“Heaven, Earth, and Man” comes from Zhuangzi's The Adjustment of Controversies. “Lai” refers to sounds made through apertures: “Ren Lai” is the sound played by people (or literally means the Sound of Human); “Di Lai” is the sound of wind blowing through holes (or literally means the Sound of Nature); and “Tian Lai”, (literally means the Sound of Heaven) Zhuangzi said, is not clear yet. This “unclear” has become our ensemble’s lifelong pursuit: to capture the sound from the heaven. Thus, “The Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble” presents the heavenly realm in Dunhuang murals through music. Dunhuang is more than just “Tian Lai”, while the Forbidden City represents “Di Lai”. Human activities, changes of the times, and transformations of nature have been shaping this symphony transcending time and space, echoing to this day.

Therefore, today, The Hong Kong Gaudeamus Dunhuang Ensemble, under the theme of “Tian Lai, Di Lai, Ren Lai”, discusses heaven, tells of the earth, and praises the emotions through music, leading the audience to travel through murals, experience nature, and listen to the thousand-year-old karma: resonating from sound, resonating with the heart.

The theme of the concert "Nature’s Concerto: 'Music from Heaven, Earth & Man’” revolves around Chinese culture, spanning two thousand years of Chinese history through sixteen hundred years of Dunhuang and six hundred years of the Forbidden City, telling the relationship between heaven, earth, and human over the millennium through music and cultural artifacts. All the music in the concert was originally composed by the two resident composers of the ensemble. The creative inspiration comes from the transformation diagrams and Buddha statues in the Dunhuang caves, as well as the cultural artifacts, architecture, and their stories of the Forbidden City. At the same time, some of the music content is derived from the ancient Pipa scores of the Tang Dynasty and is performed with several antique instruments, which is “old music passed on anew, ancient scores into sound.” It is hoped to link and resonate different times and spaces with musical notes.

【Programme】

The Sound of Heaven

Offering

Rhapsody of Tang Dynasty

The Sound of Earth