Instruments the Chinese Orchestra

Resources | Chinese Orchestra

Instruments

Welcome to the Instruments the Chinese Orchestra homepage. The Chinese Orchestra is a unique ensemble that combines traditional Chinese instruments with Western orchestrational principles. This site aims to provide visitors with a comprehensive resource to learn about the various instruments used in the Chinese Orchestra and their roles within the ensemble.

The pages are divided into three main categories:

  1. Bowed Strings: This section covers instruments such as the erhu, gaohu, and zhonghu, offering information about their construction, playing techniques, and contributions to the orchestra's sound.

  2. Plucked Strings: Here, you'll find information about instruments like the pipa, guzheng, and ruan, including their history, playing styles, and the ways in which they add texture and contrast to the ensemble.

  3. Wind Instruments: This category features instruments such as the dizi, sheng, and suona, explaining their unique characteristics and roles within the Chinese Orchestra.

Each page provides detailed information about the instruments, along with examples of their use in traditional and contemporary compositions. By exploring these pages, you'll gain a better understanding of the Chinese Orchestra and the instruments that make it unique.

The Chinese orchestra is an ensemble that represents the fusion of traditional Chinese music with Western orchestrational principles, and it continues to evolve through the works of both classical and contemporary composers.

Writings

This section is dedicated to Writings on the TOR related to Instruments of the Chinese Orchestra. It features articles and essays that delve deeper into various aspects of the ensemble and explores compositional techniques and listening practices as well. Our aim is to provide a platform for scholars, musicians, and enthusiasts to share their knowledge and insights, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation for the Instruments of the Chinese Orchestra.

Featured
The Alchemical Wedding — Liza Lim
Linglan Zhu
The Alchemical Wedding — Liza Lim
Linglan Zhu

In The Alchemical Wedding (1996), for large ensemble, Australian composer Liza Lim seeks contact points between “seemingly disparate musical entities” (1996)—a pursuit reflected in the work’s title. This virtual contact is evidenced by the work’s peculiar instrumentation, where the Chinese Er-hu and Indonesian Angklung are pitted against a large Western ensemble. Reflecting the cultural fusion of composer’s upbringing between Australia and various Asian countries, The Alchemical Wedding represents a marriage of musical possibilities through the collision of Asian and Western instruments and aesthetics.

Linglan Zhu
The many facets of musical listening: Auditory perception mechanisms and learned experiences
Lena Heng & Mengqi Wang
The many facets of musical listening: Auditory perception mechanisms and learned experiences
Lena Heng & Mengqi Wang

Composers make use of their knowledge of different orchestration techniques in creating certain effects and sonic outcomes. These effects may be comprehended by listeners to a greater or lesser extent depending on the amount of shared understanding with the musical tradition, style of music, and other factors. In this project, we look at how the success of these effects depends on both prior knowledge and experience, and how they are perceivable by listeners. Successful orchestration is built upon the fact that regardless of the instruments used or the musical or cultural connotations of the music, they adhere to universal mechanisms of auditory perception and cognition.

Lena Heng & Mengqi Wang