Heavenly Harmonies – Taoist Ritual Music in Macao, exhibition organized by Macao Museum under the Cultural Affairs Bureau, raised its curtain at Macao Museum yesterday (December 16th) at 6 pm, completing the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Zhang Xiaoguang, Deputy Director-General of Department of Culture and Education of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao Special Administrative Region, Jin Qian, Director-General of Department of General Affairs of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region, Ng Peng Chi, President of the Macao Taoist Association, Ung Vai Meng, President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau and Chan Ieng Hin, Director of the Macao Museum. During the ceremony, Macao Taoist Orchestra Association has especially presented a live demonstration performance on the Taoist ritual music, in order to provide a better understanding for the guests and the public on the music. The music played at the rites, namely “Taoist Fasts and Offerings Music” or “Taoist Ritual Music”, is part of the Taoist ceremony and a major component of the Chinese traditional music as well, featuring its strong local colour. The Macao Taoist Ritual Music is an integration of the music from the Zhengyi and Quanzhen School; meanwhile, Macao is the one which preserves the most Taoist songs compared to other Taoist temples in the region, amounting to 500. Therefore, the Taoist Ritual Music has become an element of Macao’s local intangible cultural heritage. In 2009, the Museum has already initiated the nomination of three items, namely the “Macao Taoist Ritual Music” (in the category of Traditional Music), the “Cantonese Naamyam (Singing and Narrative Songs)” (in the category of Quyi), and the “Festival of the Drunken Dragon” (in the category of Folk Customs) as the third batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, which has been approved by the vetting committee of experts, has passed the public comment period and is now waiting for the official declaration of the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China. During the exhibition, exhibits related to Taoism are showcased, including music scores, books and journals in the field of Taoist ritual music study, instruments and classic books, which enables visitors to understand more of Taoism and its very way of expressing religion and promoting principles and doctrines. This exhibition aims at showing to the public the representative achievement of Macao’s local traditional music, spreading the message of the protection of the local intangible cultural heritage and making people realize the significance of the protection. The current outstanding achievements on salvaging, conserving, systemizing and studying this endangered traditional music are also displayed. Exhibits are mainly provided by Macao Taoist Association. The exhibition is held from December 17th, 2010 to March 20th, 2011. To tie in with the exhibition, the organizer has especially scheduled a themed seminar entitled The Value of Taoist Ritual Music to be held in the Macao Museum Auditorium on Saturday (December 18th) from 3 pm to 5 pm. Wang Zhongren, a former associate professor of Wuhan Conservatory of Music, has been invited to speak at the seminar. Interested parties may call 8394 1204 for reservation. In addition, the organizer has particularly arranged a concert performed by Macao Taoist Orchestra Association at the Main Hall of Macao Museum, on January 2nd, 2011, at 3:30 pm. Admission will be free for all visitors. For further information, please refer to Macao Museum’s website www.macaumuseum.gov.mo.
