A captivating musical fusion is emerging in New York, transcending typical West Village club acts. It offers a bridge for Chinese immigrants navigating a new world and Westerners seeking a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. This connection isn’t forged through words, but through a unique and uplifting musical experience.
Lisa Li, a virtuoso of the pipa (Chinese lute) and esteemed graduate of the Chinese Conservatory, stands at the forefront of this movement. Her compositions and performances have graced stages across Europe, Asia, and the United States, including a feature in the Academy Award-winning film, *The Last Emperor*. As a principal composer for New Tang Dynasty Television’s Chinese New Year Spectacular, a grand showcase of traditional Chinese dance and song, Lisa pioneers a novel sound rooted in ancient Chinese folk and religious music, yet extending beyond their traditional boundaries.
“Music is alive,” she explains, echoing the ancient Chinese belief that every object possesses life. “In fact, in Chinese, we call a musical note a ‘live note’.” However, Lisa emphasizes that true music must originate from the heart, even if it incorporates elements unfamiliar to the Western ear.
These melodies are far from arbitrary. Lisa’s compositions, faithful to traditional Chinese music principles, are based on pentatonic (5-note) scales. This system draws inspiration from Taoism, which posits that all matter comprises five fundamental elements: metal, earth, wood, fire, and water. Achieving balance among these elements is crucial for well-being. Similarly, a Chinese musical piece must embody a meticulously crafted equilibrium of these elements. Furthermore, eight-note scales correlate with the Taoist bagua symbol, widely recognized in the West through fengshui.
Consider her composition for the dance “A Dunhuang Dream.” Set against the backdrop of the Moago Grottoes in Dunhuang, China, where thousands of caves are carved into cliffs, each housing a Buddhist or Taoist deity, the dance unfolds with the enchanting sounds of the erhu (Chinese violin) and guzheng (zither), soon interwoven with the familiar tones of cello, bass, oboe, and brass. The resulting soundscape is both ethereally otherworldly and comfortingly familiar.
Notably, the specific *ya yue* used in the score mirrors ancient pipa music discovered on scrolls by archaeologists within the Dunhuang caves themselves.
“I deeply believe that music is a heavenly, divine language,” Lisa affirms. “It has the power to uplift hearts and minds and nurture the soul.”