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"Treasures of Music - An Exhibition of Hong Kong Music Documents Collected" will open to the public tomorrow (September 4) at the Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL).
The exhibition features more than 200 valuable music items, including manuscripts by various composers, old photos of musicians, Cantonese opera stars and music activities and gramophone records of the 60 to 70s, to highlight the development of music in Hong Kong.
Officiating guests at the opening ceremony tonight (September 3) were Deputy Director of the Leisure and Cultural Services (LCSD) Miss Choi Suk-kuen; Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) Dr Darwin Chen; Chairman of the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Limited (CASH) Professor Chan Wing-wah; and Chief Librarian (HKCL and Hong Kong Island) Miss Alima Tuet.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Miss Choi said that the Hong Kong Music Collection Campaign was first launched in 2001 with the aim of preserving Hong Kong's music treasures and encouraging research into the Hong Kong music scene.
She acknowledged the generous support from the musicians and the community, who have contributed more than 20,000 valuable music items, and she hoped that with the exhibition and a series of activities, there would be more donations to build a diverse and comprehensive local music collection for public research and reference.
The exhibition, which opens daily from 10am to 8pm, will feature four themes: "Dancing Notes-The Music Scores", "Photographs and Memories", "Caught in the Act - Cantonese Music and Opera" and "Oldies in the Records -- Hong Kong Popular Music Culture".
"The Dancing Notes - The Music Scores" features various types of music scores including the Gongche Notation, which first appeared in the Tang Dynasty and was one of the most popular methods of notating Cantonese opera and Cantonese music in the last century. Guqin Tablatures, which recorded the finger positions, the Cipher Notation (simplified notation), the stave and the non-mensural notation are commonly used by composers today.
Photographs of Sino-British Club Music Group, the Choral Group, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Allegro Singers, Biyuntian Troupe, Chufengming Troupe, famous singers like Fong Yim Fun, Hong Xian Nu, Winnie Wei and others will take music lovers down memory lane.
For fans of Cantonese opera, "Caught in the Act - Cantonese Music and Opera" will feature valuable scripts, story outlines, posters and photos related to Cantonese Opera. Not to be missed is the Cantonese opera printing scripts "Clay-printed Scripts", which are simple but time-consuming to process and no longer in use.
Other highlights are gramophone records and manuscripts ranging from the works of "Golden Voice" Chow Hsuan; lyricist Chan Di-yee; composers Joseph Koo and Yao Ming; singer Tsin Ting, the best-selling "Huang Mei Dao" soundtracks, Taiwanese Mandarin pop to the songs of Sam Hui, Jenny Tsang and Anthony Lun.
A series of seminars will run in conjunction with the exhibition. "Legends of Dr Wong Ching-kuen" (September 5 from 5.30pm-7.30pm), "Vocal Music Development in Hong Kong" (September 10, 6pm-8pm), "Loo Kah-chi and the Lung Cheung Opera Troupe" (September 15, 6pm-8pm), will be held in Activity Room 1 of the HKCL.
A seminar with demonstration, "Chinese Music in the Good Old Days" will also be held at the Lecture Theatre of the HKCL from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday, September 19.
Enquiries about the Hong Kong Music Collection Campaign or the exhibition, can be made on 2921 0259.
Ends/Friday, September 3, 2004
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