#SCOSoundbites 

#SCOSoundbites - Thaipusam
Concert: Darrell Ang and SCO
Date: 28 April 2023
Composed by Wang Chenwei
Thaipusam is a festival celebrated by Tamils to offer gratitude and seek blessings from Lord Murugan, the Hindu god of war. The composer was fascinated by Thaipusam celebrations in Singapore, where Hindu devotees participate in a four-kilometre procession, carrying a milk pot or a kāvadi, a burden often pierced into the body.
This piece portrays the grand procession and its boisterous atmosphere without emulating the music traditionally played at Thaipusam. As the piece opens with a drone note on G, a solo Erhu plays a slow introduction in a Dorian-sounding scale (G A B♭ C D E F) with glides hinting at the Indian violin tradition. The rest of the piece follows a Mixolydian-sounding pentatonic scale (G B C D F). Neither scale is meant to represent any traditional rāga, which would require specialised training to perform authentically.
“Thaipusam” mainly draws inspiration from Carnatic rhythmic structures. Every minim corresponds to one beat of the eight-beat ādi tāla cycle, maintained by the triangle. While Western music usually subdivides each bar and beat regularly, Carnatic music can involve any kind of irregular subdivision, such as groups of three or five semiquavers. As it would be difficult for the orchestra to play such rhythmic divisions to a conductor beating minims, the bars were redrawn with time signatures of 7/8, 15/16 etc. in this orchestral version.
Two unique rhythmic structures are featured. In the kuraippu, each pair of call and response contracts in duration until the two converge in unison. The kōrvai involves sets of contracting rhythmic values with the shortest set played thrice, e.g., 5 dotted crotchets, then 5 crotchets, and finally 3 sets of 5 quavers.
The irregular rhythmic divisions cause some phrases to start on-beat (relative to the ādi tāla) and some off-beat, resulting in syncopation that heightens the tension. In contrast, sections with regular rhythmic divisions have lower tension due to their predictability. The footsteps of the procession are evoked through the recurring main theme in a regular rhythm. This is juxtaposed against non-thematic sections with irregular rhythms, which may conjure imaginations of Murugan’s dramatic battles.
“Thaipusam” was originally commissioned by the National Piano and Violin Competition 2019 as the solo set piece for the Violin Senior Category. The symphony orchestra version was commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for the National Day Concert 2022 and this Chinese orchestra version was commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in 2023.
View the house programme of “Darrell Ang and SCO” here: bitly.ws/Yxrs
#SCO音乐摘录 -《大宝森节》
音乐会：《洪毅全与新加坡华乐团》
日期： 2023年 4月 28日
王辰威作曲
大宝森节是淡米尔人祈福与感恩的节日，供奉战神 Murugan。新加坡的年度游行，兴都教徒们执壶牛奶或肩负 kāvadi 钢木枷锁徐徐徒步四公里。人山人海、鼓乐喧天的场面激发了作曲者的创作灵感。
本曲展现了大宝森游行的缤纷壮观场面，旋律均原创，不效仿大宝森节中演奏的传统音乐。乐曲以持续低音 G 掀开序幕，二胡独奏呈现缓慢的引子，音阶为 G A B♭ C D E F，引用了一些模仿南印度小提琴的滑音。乐曲随后转为快板，采用五声音阶 G B C D F。由于体现印度拉格（rāga）的韵味需要长期的特别训练，因此本曲没有采用传统的拉格。
《大宝森节》主要受启发于南印度音乐的节奏形式，每个二分音符对应八拍循环 ādi tāla 的一拍（由三角铁维持）。西方音乐一般会将每个小节和每拍平均划分，南印度音乐则可做出任何不平均的划分，如 3 个或 5 个十六分音符一组。由于乐队很难跟随打二分音符的指挥演奏这样的节奏组合，因此乐队版的节拍重新划分为 7/8、15/16 等等。
乐曲运用了南印度音乐中两种特殊的节奏形式。Kuraippu 的两声部呼应对答越来越紧凑，最后合并为齐奏。Kōrvai 包含几套越来越短的音符时值，最短的一套奏三次，如：5 个附点四分音符，5 个四分音符，最后 3 次 5 个八分音符。
非平均的节奏划分使得某些乐句在正拍开始（相对于 ādi tāla），某些在非正拍开始，所形成的切分节奏为乐曲增添张力。乐曲的主题采用平均节奏划分，如同游行队伍的步伐，与非主题性又非平均节奏划分的片段形成对比。后者可想象为战神斩妖除魔的精彩场面。
《大宝森节》最初是为 2019 年全国钢琴与小提琴比赛所创作的小提琴高级组独奏曲。2022年新加坡交响乐团委约王辰威为同年国庆音乐会改编成交响乐合奏，2023 年新加坡华乐团委约改编为华乐合奏版。
点击链接参阅《洪毅全与新加坡华乐团》节目册: bitly.ws/Yxrs