To embody the national spirit of protection of intangible cultural heritage and outstanding folk arts, and to fulfil the obligations of Macao in joining UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and co-ordinate with the declaration works of Taoist Ritual Music in Macao as a national intangible cultural heritage, the Macao Museum under the Cultural Affairs Bureau will organize a themed exhibition entitled Heavenly Harmonies – Taoist Ritual Music in Macao in December this year. To complement the exhibition, it will host two seminars in the Macao Museum Auditorium prior to and during the exhibition. The first session will be held on Saturday 27th November. Interested parties and residents are welcome to enrol for the seminar. Following the successful inscription of ‘Macao Religious Figure Carving’ on the list of the second batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage on 14th June 2008, the Macao Museum under the Cultural Affairs Bureau once again initiated the declaration for three items, namely “Taoist Ritual Music in Macao”, “Cantonese Naamyam (Narrative Songs)”, and “Feast of the Drunken Dragon”. The relevant documents were submitted to the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China in September 2009. The results will be announced by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China by the end of this year. Taoism is a religion native to China. Taoist Ritual Music, which is commonly used in Taoist ceremonies, remains an integral part of traditional Chinese folk music. As at the present, Macao has preserved nearly 500 items of Taoist Ritual Music from the Lingnan Zhengyi and Quanzhen schools. Such a large number of repertoires is unrivalled by any other Taoist ritual music genre in the world. The two seminars - known as ‘The Influence of Taoist Ritual Music in Macao’ and ‘The Value of Taoist Ritual Music’ - will be held on Saturday 27th November from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and on Saturday 18th December from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, respectively. The Macao Museum has specially invited Wang Zhongren, a former associate professor of Wuhan Conservatory of Music, to speak at the seminars, which are conducted in Mandarin. Through the seminars, the organizer seeks to enable audiences to recognise the historical context and characteristics of the traditional folk music of Taoist Ritual Music in Macao. Interested parties may call 83941204 for enrolment during opening hours of the Macao Museum (10:00am-6:00pm, closed on Mondays). Seats are limited and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. For relevant details, please visit the Macao Museum website (www.macaumuseum.gov.mo).
