Filed under: cantonese opera | Tags: 78 rpm, 78rpm, Amoy Opera, beijing opera, cantonese opera, chinese opera, erhu, gramophone, Peking Opera, teochew
Here’s a beautiful Cantonese recording. I love this old style which is sparse but with a great rhythmic groove. Many people think of Chinese Opera as being very arrhythmic, and it certainly can be, but this record and many others are played in the same way fiddle music is played all over the world, with a steady pulse.
According to the label, this is a Hua Dan role performed by Xiao Hong Xin. Dan is the name for female roles in China, Hua Dan being one of half a dozen common female roles. Hua Dan is a younger, coquettish female who usually accompanies a Gui Men Dan, a virtuous older Lady, exemplified by the superstar Mei Lan Fang. Often these roles were performed by men, but I believe that Xiao Hong Xin is a woman. (Thanks to David Du for translations).
Thanks to the erudite JW over at Excavated Shellac the mystery is cleared up…the label is actually called “Hindenburg” with a picture of General Paul von Hindenburg, President of Germany (1925-1934) as the trademark. My apologies to the General for mistaking him for Kaiser Wilhelm! Hindenburg, Pagoda and Polyphon were under the umbrella of Deutsche-Grammophon.
“Mech. Copt. 1927” is stamped in the shellac.
Info from Tan Sooi Beng’s article “The 78 RPM Record Industry in Malaya Prior to World War II” (Asian Music 28/1 (1996)).
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HAJI MAJI 
This is a really interesting and unique blog. I can’t exactly say I’m a fan of Chinese opera, but it’s been very enlightening to ehar these recordings. Thank you.
Joe
Comment by JMT November 6, 2007 @ 4:48 pmGive it time to sink in, this is the kind of music that requires an adjustment period for your ears!
Comment by hajimaji November 6, 2007 @ 4:56 pmThat is GOOD!
Comment by JW November 6, 2007 @ 9:32 pm[…] THE MYSTERIOUS HANOVERÂ LABEL (Dr Iwan have this hidenberg label china traditional music […]
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