Saturday 19 June 2010

Chopsticks at Dawn (June 2010, BBC Radio4)

A BBC Radio4 (UK) programme exploring the background and history of oriental musical cliches in the West:

"The Chinese decorative arts are revered in the West but composers and musicians from Debussy and Ravel to George Formby and David Bowie have constantly parodied Chinese music. Now on Radio 4 the comedian Anna Chen sets out to investigate the musical cliches that which have blighted her life in Chopsticks at Dawn."


From BBC web page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sm4tg

Chopsticks at Dawn
Broadcast on Tuesday, 13:30 on BBC Radio 4, and
Sat 12 Jun 2010, 15:30 on BBC Radio 4


Synopsis

Chinese decorative arts are revered in the West. From Willow pattern dinner plates to the Brighton Pavilion, their designs are regarded as beautiful and sophisticated. But for the past two centuries European composers and musicians have had no qualms about mercilessly parodying what they thought of as 'Chinese tunes'.

As a girl growing up in Hackney, the opening orientalised-flute strains of the 1970s pop record Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas were enough to send future comedian Anna Chen running for cover.

The same cliches haunt Turning Japanese by The Vapours, Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie And The Banshees and David Bowie's China Girl. They have all followed a pattern set by Claude Debussy, Malcolm Arnold, Albert Ketelbey and Lancashire Linnet George Formby, who were equally guilty of taking Chinese musical motifs and mangling them - or simply making them up!

How did this mocking abuse of a handful of venerable Far Eastern notes begin?

Musicologist Dr Jonathan Walker accompanies Anna on a historical mission, picking out examples on the piano and explaining why and how our western ears hear certain note configurations as "oriental" - from Chopsticks to Chopin.

They explore the pentatonic scale that chartacterises so much Chinese music, delve into the story of the Opium Wars which triggered a deep British disrespect of Chinese musical culture and unveil the earliest dubious examples of Chinoiserie in Western Music.

And we hear from a new generation of British born Chinese musicians who are putting right the discordant wrongs of the past 200 years.

Producer: Chris Eldon Lee
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


Broadcasts:

1.Tue 8 Jun 2010, 13:30, BBC Radio 4
2.Sat 12 Jun 2010, 15:30, BBC Radio 4





Download link: http://sharebee.com/39f5a2e4
Filename: Chopsticks at Dawn (2010-06-12,BBC Radio4,Freeview).mp3
Size: 24.91 MB
Running time: approx 29 min


Some further reading:

"Orientalism and Musical Style" by Derek B. Scott, who is featured in the programme:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/Info/CMJ/Articles/1997/02/01.html

http://www.dimsum.co.uk/viewpoints/the-oriental-theme.html

http://madammiaow.blogspot.com/2010/06/chopsticks-at-dawn-bbc-r4-tomorrow-1330.html

http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/feature.php/28494/radio-light-programme

Friday 18 June 2010

Jiangnan Sizhu - The Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace (1988 cass)

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Jiangnan silk and bamboo music performed by the Shanghai old Chenghuang temple lake pavilion ensemble.

Artist/Performers: "Traditional Ensemble of the Lake Pavilion of the Shanghai Old Emperor Temple"
shànghǎi lǎo chénghuángmiào húxīntíng yuèduì 上海老城隍庙湖心亭乐队
lit. Shanghai old chénghuáng (city god) temple pavilion in the middle of the lake ensemble

Album: The Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace,
Traditional Chinese String-Wind Music of the Southern Yangzi River (Jiangnan Sizhu)
hàn gōng qiū yuè, jiāngnán sīzhú 汉宫秋月, 江南丝竹

Year: 1988

Company: Pop Art Productions Co Ltd, bóyì zhìzuò yǒuxiàngōngsī 博艺制作有限公司, PA-881



Cassette tape track list:
A1. hàn gōng qiū yuè 汉宫秋月 The Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace
A2. xúnyáng yè yuè 浔阳夜月 Moonlit Night of Xunyang
B1. ní cháng qǔ 霓裳曲 Little Gauze Coat (aka rainbow skirts)
B2. dǎo bā bān 倒八扳 (fán wàng gōng 凡忘工) Dao Ba Ban (Fan Wang Gong)
B3. qīnglián yuèfǔ 青莲乐府 Qinglian Music School


Recorded by the Arts Development Section of Shanghai Conservatory
Jointly produced by Yunnan Audio and Video Co, and Pop Art Productions Co Ltd
博艺制作有限公司


Transferred from cassette tape:
Tape (Nakamichi CR-1) > wav (Edirol R09) > FLAC > LAME mp3.


Photobucket

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Download link: http://sharebee.com/c0961b94
Filename: Jiangnan Sizhu - Hangong Qiuyue (1988 cass, mp3).zip
Size: 49.76 MB
Includes cover and notes in English and Chinese.