to excerpt from Little ToysLITTLE TOYS -小玩意
Silent film scored with specially commissioned ‘live’ music
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l i c k t o l i s t e n
to excerpt from Little Toys
Straits Times Life Review & Audience Response
from the 2007 Shanghai Arts Festival performance
Mark Chan and Musicians
Shanghai Arts Festival 2007 (Singapore Season in China 2007)
2 November 2007; Shanghai Concert Hall, Shanghai 7:30pm
Singapore’s multi-talented composer and musician Mark Chan breathes new life into the Chinese classic silent film Little Toys, starring 1930s screen goddess Ruan Lingyu. Directed by the renowned Sun Yu, the film portrays the enigmatic Shanghai-born Ruan as a vividly courageous yet soft-hearted toy maker during a tumultuous period of war in China.
Little Toys represents the golden era of Shanghai film-making in the 30’s and with this home-coming screening of the film with ‘live’ music, we are offered a rare glimpse into the exotic past through the window of Mark’s memorably moving modern music.
Come enjoy the magnificent "live" scoring of the film by a select ensemble of musicians from Singapore and China: Wong On-yuen (principal Erhu – Concert Master of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, HKCO), Guo Ya-zhi (principal Guan, HKCO), Wong Sun-tat (assistant principal Gaohu, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, SCO), Yu Jia (Principal Pipa, SCO), Belinda Foo (Piano) and Margie Tong (Percussion). Xu Jia Jia (Cello - Shanghai Symphony Orchestra)
The unabashedly emotional soundscape with Eastern and Western influences explores, redefines and reveals the complexities of being Chinese then and now.
Chan’s 21-year career as a musician has seen him negotiate and challenge the boundaries of East-West, traditional-modern and classical-pop. Trained in both Western and Chinese music (he is a classical counter-tenor and plays the dizi and xiao), the Singaporean boasts an extensive body of work. He has produced seven solo albums, written and produced for Asia’s pop luminaries such as Andy Lau and Tracy Huang, and scored more than 36 theatre and Arts Festival productions in Singapore and the regon.
This production of Little Toys won standing ovations when it was staged in the 2003 Singapore Arts Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Copenhagen Images of Asia Festival. Now to be aptly staged in the nostalgic Shanghai Concert Hall (itself a former cinema), Little Toys is set to win the hearts of film and music aficionados alike.
Let the silent movie be heard. Once again.
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to excerpt from Little Toys
"Singaporean composer Mark Chan brought a deeper nuance to his work - breathing life into the silent Chinese film classic Little Toys" - Clarissa Oon, Straits Times June 25 2003
"Chan's score gave the movie's cliches and histrionics a gratifying, emotional depth" - Tan Shzr Ee, Straits Times, 16 June 2003
"Treat this as a total sight and sound experience.." Russell Heng, Backstage at the Singapore Arts Festival 2003
“.. I have attended many Arts Festival performances – Cesaria Evora, the French National Orchestra, the Hagen Quartet, Yundi Li – and as much as we thought we would LIKE Little Toys, we did not expect it to so thoroughly trounce, in our opinion, all of the other performances we had attended. The film itself was a revelation, and your music was sublime. “ Jacqueline Deley
“Mark’s music fuses a variety of influences into one brilliant and expressive voice, rich with lyrical beauty. The score he wrote for my plays displays a mastery of theatrical technique, and also stands as engaging listening all on its own. Mr Chan is undoubtedly one of the emerging talents on the world music scene. “ David Hwang, playwright of M Butterfly
小玩意
陈国华与七人音乐组合
上海 2007年11月02日 上海音乐厅
新加坡音乐人陈国华为中国经典默剧《小玩意》创造声响世界。
«小玩意»代表上海三十年代电影制作业的黄金时代。这部默剧拍摄于1933年，是中国导演孙瑜的代表作，由著名银幕女星阮玲玉饰演乡村妇女叶大嫂。长达100分钟的电影，情节及情感跨度很大，让陈国华创作了10个不同旋律主题，在不同段落穿插使用。阮玲玉饰演的角色，让陈国华找到了许多灵感，也奠定了他配乐的音调。创作中采用简单而富有浪漫色彩的音乐来陪衬电影的喜怒哀乐。把«小玩意»带回上海演出，让人们从陈国华感人的现代流行音乐中，一窥昔日的浪漫风情。
参与演出的乐师包括来自香港中乐团的黄安源（二胡）、郭雅志（吹管乐）；新加坡华乐团的黄晨达（二胡）及俞嘉（琵琶）；新加坡的符慧琼（钢琴）唐舜菁（打击乐）和来自上海的客卿大提琴演奏家。相信众乐师的真情演奏，也让这类新兴音乐充满了感性，拥有凝重的历史色彩，而且又非常的现代。
陈国华的音乐生涯见证着他如何沟通并挑战东方与西方、传统与现代、古典与流行的界限。精通西乐和民乐的他，曾为多个新加坡及亚洲艺团撰写了三十多出戏剧的配乐，亦为日本国际交流基金会制作的《李尔》担任音乐总监及创作部分音乐。
《小玩意》中那真诚的、活跃的、舒畅的、悲戚的配乐，谱出了富有自身的生命力，能够带动电影的情节与情感。它在新加坡、香港和哥本哈根公演时深获好评。把《小玩意》带到前身亦是电影院的上海音乐厅演出，相信会让观众有更特别的体会。
让无声的电影，随着音乐的呼唤，再一次上演吧！
Online Booking:
English: http://www.culture.sh.cn/English/product.asp?id=4151
Chinese: http://www.ticket2010.com/program/programview1.asp?program_id=355