12 Dec (Sat)
“Chamber music-like intimacy”
The Strad
Celebrated cellist Trey Lee and his critically acclaimed ensemble, Musicus Soloists Hong Kong, launch their new Signum Records album at the historic Béthanie. Titled Histoires croisées: France - Hong Kong (French-Hong Kong Interwoven Stories), the album unveils three hidden narratives of how French and local communities shaped one another from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.
This concert pairs local history with musical dialogues between French and Chinese traditions, drawing primarily from Cantonese heritage. The program links a French missionary's discovery of the Bauhinia flower to Bazelaire's arrangement of Couperin; evokes the charitable Sisters of St Paul de Chartres with a new Western-Chinese arrangement of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite; and captures the 1894 plague through Chan Man-tat’s courageous Billowing Waves. It concludes with a vibrant portrait of modern Hong Kong by local composer Alfred Wong.
Musicians from the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and dancers from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts join the ensemble, alongside a special exhibition on the French presence in Hong Kong. Come immerse yourself in these interwoven stories told through music, movement, and narrative.
PROGRAM
Couperin (arr. Paul Bazelaire)
Pièces en concert (arranged for cello and strings)
Cello: Trey Lee
Hua Yanjun (Abing) (arr. Tam Yat-sing)
Erquan Yingyue (The Moon’s Reflection on the Second Spring)
Cello: Trey Lee
Ravel (arr. Alfred Wong)
Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite)
Chan Man-tat (arr. Alfred Wong)
Billowing Waves
Onslow
String Quintet No. 15 in C minor, Op. 38 (excerpts)
Alfred Wong
Tango in Temple Street V
Chan Man-tat (arr. Tam Yat-sing)
Joyous Celebrations
The Program is subject to change.
Duration of the concert is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
Featuring: Musicus Soloists Hong Kong
Artistic Director/Cello: Trey Lee
Guest Co-leader: Kasmir Uusitupa
Guest Cello Leader: Martin Smith
Guest Performers:
Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra Ensemble
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Dancers
Artist: Cecilia Chu Chow-wai
Exhibition Curator: François Drémeaux
Narrative Writer: Erita Chen
Narrator: Franchesca Wong
Major Sponsor: Bank of China (Hong Kong), The Tung Foundation
In collaboration with The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts