TAICHUNG, Taiwan—“The coordination between traditional Chinese musical instruments and Western ones is so nice that the timbre of Shen Yun’s music is very unique. It sounds like divine music,” said Ms. Hsiou Yee-chin about the Shen Yun New York Company Orchestra’s musical creation. Ms. Hsiou is a senior staff member and former clarinetist of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She made the statement after she watched the Shen Yun performance on the evening of April 17.
To Ms. Hsiou, the most unique part of the Shen Yun orchestras is the combined utilization of Chinese and Western musical instruments to play Chinese music. “The way they collocate musical instruments is quite amazing. For example, clarinet is played with suona. The musical collocation gives a very unique sound effect like divine music.”
Ms. Hsiou, who specializes in playing the clarinet, said amusedly: “I paid close attention to the clarinet during the show. The sound has been excellent.” She added that she was surprised by the elegant solo collocated with clarinet and oboe. She explained: “Their music has been delicately composed. This is the factor that makes Shen Yun music so prominent. ... Shen Yun integrates [Western and Chinese instruments], leading to a unique timbre in its music.”
The classical Chinese dances presented by Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company also won Ms. Hsiou’s praise. She said, “The dances are so unique and exquisite. The quality of their dances indicates their robust professional training.”
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