Upbeat and Happy Music: Rain Pattering on the Plantain Leaves | Chinese Music | Musical Moments

Title: Rain Pattering on the Plantain Leaves Dulcimer performance: Xiao Xiannian Mixing: Joseph Ma "Rain Pattering on the Plantain Leaves" is one of the outstanding pieces of Cantonese music in the early stage. The score was first seen in "Music Reading of String Songs" compiled by Qiu Hechu around 1917, and later edited by Pan Yongzhang. It was mainly spread in the river delta area. It is not only widely circulated in the country, but also has had great influence on the world. Especially in its use of musical instruments, the piece highlights the characteristics of Cantonese music, which is mainly smooth, natural, and lively. In March 1987, in the First Guangdong Music Performance Competition held in Guangzhou, this piece was the only required piece. The melody of this piece is closely connected, beautiful, and lyrical. It is smooth and lively, expressing people's joy, and also showing the poetic and picturesque Lingnan scenery. Coupled with a series of split short sentences, the staccato rhythm of the sound is like the raindrops beating on the plantains, which reminds people of how plantains seem to dance and the joy of people after the plantains harvest. Therefore, the artistic conception expressed by the music has a strong Lingnan flavor. This piece is performed by Xiannian Xiao, a dulcimer soloist and member of the China National Orchestra Society. Through the late 1980s and 90s, Xiao performed extensively in Hong Kong, Japan, and Russia and received numerous awards. Xiao has performed in 36 cities and towns in 18 states around the United States, including Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University, Boston Conservatory, Temple University, and numerous music festivals of various ethnicities. In 2002, Xiao received the Silver Cup at the Walnut Valley Festival of Arts Annual Dulcimer Competition; in 2003 and 2005, he was invited twice to serve on the Judges’ Panel for the Acoustic Music Festival in Bennington, Oklahoma. Upbeat and Happy Music: Rain Pattering on the Plantain Leaves | Chinese Music | Musical Moments © 2022 Atlantic Studios Inc. All rights reserved. #Dulcimer #ChineseMusic #MusicalMoments