SAN FRANCISCO—“I like the overtone, the message, the spiritual message. I found that one of the more attractive parts of the show,” said Mr. Michaud, a musician/composer from Alameda. He was among the audience who loved the Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese New Year Spectacular at San Francisco’s Opera House on Saturday Jan. 10.
“Certainly throughout there was a spiritual theme and there is an uplifting message to the story that comes through in the words and the images.”
Mr. Michaud did not know about the persecution of Falun Gong in China—he said he was quite upset that people were being persecuted for their spiritual beliefs and wanted to learn more about it. “That one [Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution] got my interest. It was a little upsetting and it made me curious too, I’m wondering why, I don’t know anything about that, I’m wondering when that happens and why that happens. I find that disturbing.”
“I also feel sad to understand that people are being persecuted for their spiritual practices.”
Being a musician and a composer Mr. Michaud particularly appreciated the finer details of the music played by the orchestra, he explained, “I thought, visually it’s very beautiful. I like the music, I paid a lot of attention to the few exotic Chinese instruments that were in the orchestra, I would like to know their names.”
The instrument that stood out for Mr. Michaud, he said, was a “stringed instrument that’s played like this with a tremberlo—le le le le le le le le. I would like to use that in my compositions. I like it. A blend of east and west, classic oriental.”
The instrument that intrigued Mr. Michaud is the pipa—often referred to as the Chinese lute, and may remind people a little bit of a Western guitar. It’s name is said to be a description of the playing technique: “pi” means plucking with the finger in a forward motion, “pa” means plucking backward.
The history of the pipa reaches back over 2,000 years, gaining great popularity in the Tang dynasty (618–907). As an instrument for fairies and gentle women, the pipa appears on paintings of that time period, and poets praised the delicate and refined sound of the instrument.
Mr. Michaud attended the Divine Performing Arts show after seeing it advertised on billboards throughout town—and he was asked if the show met his expectations: “Yes, I think what is really attractive about the show on the billboards is the colorful costumes. And I was curious about Chinese culture. It was very nice.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Divine Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
