From Constraint to Creativity: a Cantonese Choral Showcase
Date: 29/04/2023
“From Constraints to Creativity: A Conference on Cantonese Contemporary Music” was held by the Department of Music of The Chinese University of Hong Kong from 28 to 30 April. The Hong Kong Children’s Choir (HKCC) was invited to perform in the all-Cantonese choral concert held at Chung Chi College Chapel on 29 April.
Concert Choir from HKCC, together with Hong Kong Youth Choir and Die Konzertisten, presented works by eminent local composers as well as music selected from the international call-for-scores in the concert. In addition to performing five songs, including Dim Sum Song by HKCC’s composer-in-residence Dr Steve Ho and Some Kind of Love by HKCC’s Senior Course Tutor Alex Tam, HKCC members also gave a world premiere performance of two other songs, Mei Lai Building and Butterflies in Love with Flowers.
Drawing its texts from ancient and contemporary poems as well as original lyrics, the works demonstrated how text-setting constraints in Cantonese can be transformed into an inspiration, illustrating how composers can work with linguistic constraints to create Cantonese choral music that encompasses a wide array of styles.
