Chinese opera: Moonlight Over the Spring River to show at PNCA

Chinese Opera, Dance-Drama Theatre artists will present Chinese classical music

ISLAMABAD: A concert of Chinese classical musical opera, "Moonlight Over the Spring River" will be held in Islamabad at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) on May 11. The event will be organised by the Chinese Embassy, China Cultural Centre (CCC) and NICE, a network of international culture entities.

The Chinese Opera and Dance-Drama Theatre artists will present classical music of China in concert. "Spring Moonlight on the Flowers by the River" is one of the most famous Chinese traditional music works. It had been popular among the Chinese public even prior to the year 1875 and has become one of the masterpieces in the treasury of Chinese classical music.

The concert was originally titled Pipa Tune Flutes and Drums at Dusk, and was adapted by Liu Yaozhang, a member of Shanghai's Datong Music Conservatory. In the year 1930 it was renamed Spring Moonlight on the Flowers by the River by Zheng Jinwen.

Since 1949, it has undergone many revisions; however it is still thought of as a highly polished piece. The intro has a background of musical harmony, and then a pipa is plunked faster and faster, giving out drumbeat-like notes. A simultaneous playing of the bamboo flute produces the melody.

The whole work is divided into ten sections, each having a different title.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2018.