Chime Bells Music and Dance

Introduction

Premiered in 1983 by the Hubei Opera and Dance Theatre, played on replicas of the Marquis Yi of Zeng bells

Chime Bells Music and Dance is a large work of music and dance created from historical records by artists of the Hubei Opera and Dance Theatre, and since its successful premiere in 1983 it has stayed in the repertoire. It was inspired by the musical relics found in 1978 in the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng at Suixian in Hubei, instruments more than two thousand four hundred years old. On stage, replicas of the Marquis Yi bells, chime stones, a mounted drum and dozens of other ancient instruments play together, and song, music and dance combine to show the arts and customs of the ancient state of Chu. The work is in four sections: Echoes Across the Ages, Music and Dance on the Field Paths, The Eight Sounds in Concert, and The Chu Sound Through the Ages. A replica of the Marquis Yi bell set passed its inspection in Wuhan on 9 January 1983. On 20 May 2025 the work was given at the Mogador Theatre in Paris before more than fifteen hundred Chinese and French spectators.

A work in copyright: facts only.

Parts

1. Echoes Across the AgesThe first of the four sections of Chime Bells Music and Dance
2. Music and Dance on the Field PathsThe second of the four sections of Chime Bells Music and Dance
3. The Eight Sounds in ConcertThe third of the four sections of Chime Bells Music and Dance
4. The Chu Sound Through the AgesThe fourth of the four sections of Chime Bells Music and Dance