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Music Amuses Did you know that the ERHU, the Chinese violin, has only two strings? The erhu is a Chinese bowed instrument dating from the middle of the eighth century (Tang Dynasty) which is thought to have originated from northeast China. It has a small body and a long neck with two steel strings. The strings run from the top of the neck to the end of the instrument which consists of a small hexagonal-shaped drum made of ebony or sandalwood and covered in snake skin (usually that of a python). The function of the drum, the back of which is left open, is to amplify the vibrations of the strings. The two strings are of different diameters and most commonly tuned a fifth apart to D and A. Unlike the violin, there is no fingerboard. Moreover, the erhu rests on the musician's left upper thigh and is played vertically like a cello. The bow is arched and made of horse hair and runs between the two strings. The player creates different pitches by touching the strings at various positions along the neck of the instrument and plays the instrument by moving the bow horizontally through the two vertical strings. The player's right hand pushes the bow inward to sound the lower string or outward to sound the higher - the two are not normally sounded together. Today the erhu is one of the most popular instruments in China. It has a sweet and expressive tone and is also technically demanding to play. It has become a leading orchestral and solo instrument and is increasingly used to great effect in modern film scores and crossover/fusion music. In fact the erhu was the original instrument composer Tan Dun had in mind when writing the music for Ang Lee's Academy Award-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But the sound he imagined did not make it to the screen because the solo part was transposed for cello so that Yo-yo Ma could play it. On 30 November, at the Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium, Hong Kong's renowned erhu player Hsin Hsiao-hung will perform Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger concerto and in a double concerto for western violin and erhu by Shanghainese composer Gang Situ. Don't miss the CCOHK's Hong Kong premiere of these works at its upcoming Spirit of Two Strings concert!
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