The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will present the Baroque Music Lecture Series “Bach & Beyond” from August to October to be hosted by local music critic William Ting, offering audiences an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with Johann Sebastian Bach, dubbed “the father of classical music”, from multiple perspectives.

 

     Comprising eight interesting and educational lectures, the series will introduce Bach’s music style and characteristics to the audiences, and explore the correlation between Bach’s music and different art works from or beyond the Baroque era.

 

     Details of each lecture are as follows:

 

Topic: “Polyphony: Bach’s Music and Baroque Architecture”

Date: August 13 (Saturday)

Content: To explore the main characters of Bach’s compositions as well as the correlation between music and Baroque architecture.

 

Topic: “Code: Behind Notes”

Date: August 20 (Saturday)

Content: To understand the psyche of Bach by deciphering the secret codes and hidden messages behind his music.

 

Topic: “Fugue: Music and Painting”

Date: August 27 (Saturday)

Content: An introduction to fugue, and how painters present a fugue in various visual techniques as Bach has done in music.

 

Topic: “Canon: When Art Meets Science”

Date: September 3 (Saturday)

Content: To find common elements in music, visual arts and mathematical logic by going through a book entitled “Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid”.

 

Topic: “Equal temperament: Tune the Tone”

Date: September 7 (Wednesday)

Content: To offer a brief history of music tuning, including interesting stories about equal temperament.

Guest speaker: Piano technologist and teaching staff of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Cheng Kwok-kuen

 

Topic: “1685: Bach, Handel and Scarlatti”

Date: September 21 (Wednesday)

Content: To understand the variety of Baroque music by introducing three influential composers of the same age but had very different musical characters.

 

Topic: “Counterpoint: Music, Literature and Movies”

Date: October 5 (Wednesday)

Content: To explore how Bach’s music and compositional techniques are applied to Hollywood movies and classic modern novels.

 

Topic: “Style: Interpretations of ‘Goldberg Variations'”

Date: October 19 (Wednesday)

Content: Taking the “Goldberg Variations” as an example to discuss how to appreciate and judge musical interpretations.

Guest speaker: Pianist Chung Chi-woo

 

     Having graduated from the Hong Kong Baptist University, William Ting received his Master Degree in Historical Musicology from the Royal Holloway, University of London, and is now a life member of the International Association of Theatre Critics (Hong Kong). Being a local music critic, Ting’s writings are widely published in art magazines, newspapers and on the Internet. As a musicologist, Ting has conducted public lectures and participated in music conferences both in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

 

     All the lectures will be conducted in Cantonese. The first four lectures will take place at 3pm at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, while others will take place at 7.30pm at the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum. Tickets priced at $60 (for each lecture, with free seating) are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1333.html.

 

     In order to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, members of the public are required to scan the “LeaveHomeSafe” venue QR code with their mobile phones/other mobile devices before being allowed to enter the performing arts venues managed by the LCSD for necessary contact tracing if a confirmed case is found. In accordance with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599L) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, all persons entering indoor venues under the management of the LCSD must comply with the requirement of the Vaccine Pass.