Melodies from the Temple Courtyard

The concert by the Nanyin Ensemble of Stone City from Fujian Province, China took place on 29 Apr 2012 at the Esplanade Music Studio.  It was part of the Tapestry of Sacred Music Festival.  To most unfamiliar with Nanyin,  this concert was a good introduciton to the ancient music dated back to the Han Dynasty.  While it had its origin from court music, it later emerged from the Fujian province as a more "community" music.

The concert started with the enactment of the "Commenoration of Lang Jun", who was considered the founding patriah of nanyin music. The concert also featured religious themed pieces and nanyin classics.  The Ensemble held the audience's attention with their fine playing and singing.  The Siong Leng Musical Association also provided good backup to the performance.  It was a pity that the house programme did not provide a write-up on the Singapore group.

It was a good concert and the length of the performance is just right.  The challenge of this art form is to engage with the younger generation, where most could not speak the language now in Singapore.