PALACE OF HARMONY

An old door creaking open, raindrops splashing down, cats meowing and birds chirping — those different kinds of sounds make the Palace Museum in Beijing, also known as the Forbidden City, euphonious.

Those sounds will be captured, recorded and presented to the audience via a new music project, The Sounds of the Palace Museum, which was launched on Feb 24 in Beijing.

Co-organized by the Palace Museum, the China National Traditional Orchestra and the China division of Universal Music Group, the project will include an album, a concert and a global tour.

The Forbidden City was China's royal palace from 1420 to 1911 during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Thanks to its rich history and abundant royal legacies, over 1.86 million cultural relics are now housed in the museum, attracting tourists from around the world.

"The Palace Museum is not silent. We will work with musicians of the China National Traditional Orchestra to make the sounds of the Palace Museum alive with new original music pieces, which will involve the concepts of the four seasons and the 24 solar terms," says Du Haijiang, deputy director of the museum.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Ancient Chinese people created these solar terms and used them to guide agricultural activities and daily life. In 2016, the 24 solar terms were included in UNESCO's representative list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Grammy-winning music producer Christopher Alder will be the producer of the album. He has produced numerous orchestral and opera recordings with international musicians, including conductor Seiji Ozawa, violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and tenor Jose Carreras.

"I am very much looking forward to doing recordings with the China National Traditional Orchestra and I am sure it will be an unforgettable experience. I hope that I can find some magic sounds for the 24 solar terms and the four seasons," Alder says in a video played during the music project's launching event on Feb 24.

According to Zhao Cong, head of the orchestra and also a veteran pipa (Chinese lute) player, the music project started more than three years ago after the Palace Museum and the orchestra signed a partnership agreement.

In 2020, the Palace Museum celebrated its 600th anniversary. The same year, the China National Traditional Orchestra celebrated its 60th birthday.

On Nov 14 and 15 that year, the orchestra staged two concerts with the Palace Museum, featuring music pieces highlighting traditional holidays, such as Spring Festival, Lantern Festival and Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day.

Besides music works, they also brought a series of videos featuring pieces played by musicians of the orchestra against the backdrop of the museum.

The China National Traditional Orchestra is known for its instruments and reviving them with contemporary works, says Zhao.

"We had lots of discussions about the music project, The Sounds of the Palace Museum. We are very excited about interpreting the sounds of the Palace Museum with our ancient musical instruments."

The participation of the China division of Universal Music Group started with Zhao. Her album, Sound of China — Dance in the Moon, which was released by Universal Music Group's China division in 2008, was a breakthrough for Zhao.

It was the record company's first album — and so far the only one — dedicated to traditional Chinese music, featuring producer-songwriter Ma Jiuyue and Danish sound engineer Hans Nielsen.

Zhao performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, presenting music pieces, such as Moonlight on Spring River and Ambush on All Sides.

Zhao says the album still sells worldwide and she feels proud about it because it showcases the versatility of pipa to those who may not know about the musical instrument.

"Advanced sound recording technology will be used in this music project," says Aaron Wang, chief financial officer and head of brand partnerships for the Universal Music Group's China division.

"It will be a dialogue between the East and the West since we will have many top musicians involved. It will also be a communication between the past and the present, and sounds from the past and the present."