Performance: The Huqin Quartet

Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall

Review: Gilbert Wong


This is a string quartet, but unlike any this city has witnessed. Four musicians from the Singapore Chinese Orchestra - Chiang Kum Mum, Ling Hock Siang, Cheng Chung Hsien and Poh Yee Luh came together in June 1998 to meld ancient Chinese string instruments with the Western string quartet tradition.

Huqin means stringed and each instrument corresponds to a string quartet counterpart. Chiang's gaohu becomes the first violin; Ling's erhu the second violin; Cheng's zhongu the viola and Poh's gehu the cello.

These instruments are literally a hemisphere and a tradition away from their western models, have different scales, fewer strings. But any doubts were put aside on the night as the Huqin Quartet transcended the potential tag of novelty to produce hauntingly beautiful music.

The first part of their programme offered a gentle introduction to their capability. Their second piece Moonlight Shadows, by Dr Ho Chee Kong, displayed an almost hypnotic series of repetitive themes that at points resembled the work of Philip Glass. Most enjoyable was the concluding Three Movement on Cantonese Tunes, by Phoon Yew Tien, that let the musicians show their stuff: energetic pizzicato effects, rhythmic tapping on the sound boxes and spirited playing.

For the second part of the programme, the quartet exchanged their severe black mandarin collar suits for brightly coloured silk shirts. Their intent was to let their hair down and this they proceeded to do. The range these instruments can reach was ably demonstrated by the final piece Suite and Light by Tony Osborne, arranged for the quartet by Poh Yee Luh. Osborne took his cue from jazz and pop music and there were moments when we seemed to be listening to a particularly catchy theme tune to some sassy Shanghai version of Ally McBeal, as weird as that sounds.

Fresh, invigorating and accomplished, the Huqin Quartet will be welcome back any time.