Some believe that imitating sounds of nature is one of the origins of music. At the beginning, such conveyors of music were limited to the human voice and the sounds heard in nature - wind, thunder, rain and snow, chirping of birds and insects, trees blown by the wind, dogs’ bark, horses’ neigh, and those made when things impact each other… Gradually musical instruments with regulated pitches (scales) were invented, giving rise to the musical phenomenon of instruments imitating sounds of nature. ‘A return to the primal cause’ - this is probably the inference in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s promotional literature.

Yet, music being a form of art still requires that these sounds express certain emotions and contents; otherwise, they would only be sounds and nothing more. The musical imitation of sounds of nature is more often than not imbued with relevant emotions. In Western music history, such instances are innumerable. The theme of “man and nature” featured commonly in the art of philosophers of the Enlightenment. The most well-known are Vivaldi’s violin concerti, The Four Seasons, Haydn’s oratorio The Seasons, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Pastorale. These classics all express a certain emotion. But few of us have asked why composers are partial to sounds of nature in their compositions, and audiences also seem to like this kind of music. Is resonance with nature the only reason?

The five works in this concert are along this conceit although their approaches are different. Xu Jingxin’s Wind sculpts different forms of wind through music, drawing the audience into a constant whirl of changing wind manifestations. Chang Yingzhong’s Apocalypse of the Thunder God tries to seek revelation from the powerful impact of the sound of thunder. Kuan Nai-chung’s Drenching Rain, taken from his suite The Four Seasons of Taiwan, contrasts the menacing rain clouds and the calm before and after a summer storm. Lo Leung-fai’s Winter is an ode to the power and magnificence of falling snow in a cold winter, while hinting at the much-anticipated approach of spring, a season of vitality and rejuvenation. Then, the new composition premiered at this concert, Sounds of Nature by Yii Kah-hoe, consists of seven sections. Apart from the inspirations gathered from the tropical forests of Sarawak, it also features its unique indigenous musical instrument Sapeh / Sampe, which serves to bring the quintessential ambiance of the primitive tropical rainforest into a modern concert Hall.

As all five pieces are clearly titled and set in different approaches to incorporate sounds of nature into the music to create unique musical effects, so it seems the audience would be able to appreciate their content and emotions and resonate with them more directly and without difficulty. Yet, such resonance also involves an inseparable and indescribable relationship between Man and Nature.  The composers use Nature as the subject matter, depict natural phenomena, and imitate its sounds not only to give expression on an emotional level, but also to release the innate and inner noble emotions of Man as one reveres Nature and recognizes the co-existence. This reflects the noble mind and inner world of Man, which lead to spiritual sublimation and gratification. And this, for both composer and audience, is the true essence of resonance with nature through music.