Shijing Performed 詩經雅樂 Small Elegant Airs 小雅: Huang-Huang Zhe Hua 皇皇者華

The Shijing Yuepu Restoration Project by Toronto Guqin Society started in 2007, in preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony. The first three pieces in the Little Elegant Airs (Xiaoya 小雅) in the Book of Songs are traditionally played during the "Three additions", or the changing of clothes symbolizing the coming to adulthood.

Huang-Huang Zhe Hua is the last of this musical triptych.

Dizi 笛 (Substituting Xiao and Chi 代簫﹑箎)﹕Frederick Yiu 姚木興 (TCO 多倫多中樂團 團長)
Sheng 笙﹕Gongyu Xu 徐貢玉 (TCO 多倫多中樂團)

Zheng 箏 (Substituting Se 代瑟)﹕Helen Wu (TCO 多倫多中樂團)
Qin 琴﹕Esther Zhang (TQS 多倫多古琴社)

Drums, Qing, Conductor 鼓﹑罄 (指揮)﹕Juni L. Yeung 楊雪亭 (TQS 多倫多古琴社 社長)
Clappers, Zhu, Yu 拍板﹑柷﹑敔 ﹕Jason Ye (TQS 多倫多古琴社)

Male Vocal 男聲﹕ Thomas Yun 雲啟檀 (TQS 多倫多古琴社)
Female Vocal 女聲﹕ Rainbow Xu 徐晨

Logistics 後勤﹕Yanyan Zhu 朱彥晏 (TQS 多倫多古琴社 副社長)
Venue/Painting 場地提供/國畫﹕William Ho 何靖恆 (壹藝軒 The ONE Gallery 主人﹑聯合國和平大使)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Huaxia
• Elegance
• Court music
• yayue
• 雅樂
• 詩經
• shijing
• guqin
• 古琴
• book of poems
• book of odes
• Performance

[CharlieHuang]

What does your 柷 and 敔 look like?

[jts1702a]

@CharlieHuang The Zhu looks exactly like a Zhu should be -- a square wooden mortar with a large wooden pestle, and a sound hole on one side. We didn't bother painting it red, however. The "pestle" part was makeshift from a rainmaker stick borrowed from Thomas Yun.

The Yu, however, we didn't _actually_ have. Even without the tiger part, we didn't ACTUALLY have a 19-tooth serrated back which we swept with a broom. We made do with the Zhu instead, which sounds 90% like a real Yu.

[CharlieHuang]

@jts1702a I was wondering as the Zhu and 'Yu' didn't sound like the ones used by the Koreans in their court music (which were imported from China).

I thought the zhu should be sounded at the beginning, then the yu is used right at the end.

[jts1702a]

@CharlieHuang 'zhu should be sounded at the beginning, then the yu is used right at the end'

It is.

Each place's instruments soud a little different, and of course the recording device, and player's control all affect its sound. And then there's your impression...

If we had more money, we'd actually MAKE a better version of these things...

[illustriouschin]

Holy shit, this is awesome.

[jts1702a]

@illustriouschin Now 2.0x more awesome, with annotations.

[illustriouschin]

@jts1702a Thank you.

[chosanyeung]

The English annotations are very helpful.....