Title: Wild dance of the golden snake : Fan wang gong

Arranger:Tong Leung-tak

Year: March 6, 1979

Genre:

• Large ensemble
• Arrangement
• Chinese orchestral music

Call No.: SC834

Description: In 1934, Nie Er adapted the traditional instrumental piece Dao baban ("inverted eight clappers") for Jinshe kuangwu, a Chinese ensemble piece that depicts the festive dragon dance scene. Dao baban is itself a variation of another traditional instrumental piece Lao liuban ("old six clappers"). The opening phrase of Dao baban comes from the ending phrase of Lao liuban. Since the note gong (mi) in Dao baban is replaced by the note fan (fa) in Dance of the Golden Snake, Nie's adaptation is also known as Fan wang gong ("with fa and without mi"). Tong Leung-tak's version (i.e., "Wild Dance of the Golden Snake") was arranged in 1979. It showcases a heterophonic texture reminiscent of Jiangnan "silk and bamboo" music. Call-and-response between different instruments is also prominent in the arrangement.

Note:

• Also known as "Wild dance of the golden snake"

Instrumentation: qu di (1), sheng (1), haidi (1), yangqin (1), liuqin (1), pipa (1), zhong ruan (1), da ruan (1), sanxian (1), da gu (1), xiao gu/small cymbals (1), jing luo/large cymbals (1), erhu (1), zhonghu (1), cello (1), double bass (1)