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Music locally produced in Hong Kong

include many types of music.

Cantopop music have made up a large part of local productions. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta regularly perform western classical music in the territory. There is also a long tradition of Cantonese opera in Hong Kong.

History

In Colonial Hong Kong pipa was one of the instrument played by the Chinese. Music was mainly used for ceremonial purposes. For the British, their music was mostly western classical. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra did exist at the time, though the organization is very much a different entity after 1947, and bear no resemblance to the pre-World War II society[1]. Western pop music would then become popular. Mandarin popular songs in the 1920s were called Si Doi Kuk (時代曲). They are considered the prototype of any Chinese pop songs.

In 1949 the People"s Republic of China was established by the communist party. One of the first actions taken by the government was to denounce popular music as pornography. Beginning in the 1950s massive waves of immigrants fled from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Along with it was the Baak Doi record company, which ended up becoming the first popular record company in Hong Kong.

In the 1960s, locally produced pop songs were still considered low-quality products for entertaining the masses. Some of the more successful bands to have come from the era include the Lotus and Roman and the Four Steps. By the 1970s, cantopop songs became popular due to respected forms of entertainment such as television. Cantopop would then become mainstream.

Market

As an "open economy", music from other parts of the world can be found in Hong Kong. Well before the arrival of online music store and the digital audio mp3 era, music from countries such as the UK, Japan, China, Taiwan and US have been available in local stores. Though cantopop is the only genre to offer the largest choice of music in the primary language, Cantonese.

Music


Janice, part of the newer generation

Prior to the development of popular music in the 1960s, Hong Kong"s musical output was dominated by Cantonese opera and English pop. Other prominent singers included Tang Kee-chan (鄧寄塵), Cheng Kuan-min (鄭君綿). The godfather of Cantopop Roman Tam (羅文) made significant strides in the industry. The youth began to gravitate towards Cantonese pop in the 70s.

Around 1971, Sandra Lang (仙度拉) was invited to sing the first Cantonese TV theme song, "The Yuanfen of a Wedding that Cries and Laughs" (啼笑姻緣). This song was the creation of the legendary songwriter Joseph Koo (顧嘉輝) and the songwriter Yip Siu-dak (葉紹德). The genre was launched to unprecedented levels with virtually every TV drama using localized cantopop songs.

While TV theme songs are still important part of Hong Kong music, the arrival of the Four Heavenly Kings took cantopop another stage higher. Today cantopop is the dominant form of music with strong association to pop culture with some levels of decline. Record companies have had a majority stake in the segment, and Hong Kong is considered the central hub of cantopop in the world.

Mandarin pop

Mandarin on the other hand dominated the language of film until the emerging Cantonese counterparts in mid-1970. Many singers from Taiwan came to Hong Kong creating a spectrum of Mandarin pop. The period ended in its height with Teresa Teng. Her songs were so popular even in the highly-censored communist China. Mandarin pop will likely continue to gain in popularity, specifically after the 1997 handover, which made Mandarin one of the standard languages under Basic Law.

English pop

The term English pop in Hong Kong does not mean pop music from England, but western style pop songs sung in English. The term (英文歌) is loosely associated with non-Asian songs of western origin in general. In the Post-World War II era, popular music of Hong Kong was largely dominated by pop songs in the English language until the Cantopop emergence in the mid-1970s. Many well-known Cantopop singers of today, like Sam Hui and Alan Tam, began their early careers singing in English. Specifically, western culture at the time was a mark of education and sophistication[6]. Elvis, Johnny Mathis, Beatles were some of the main attraction. The Chinese name of the Beatles was a clever pinyin translation to (披頭四) meaning of "Mop-top four" to describe the four members and hairstyle. In the golden period, namely the 50s, English songs were broadcasted on radio stations all the time. While many current US and UK music are available in Hong Kong record stores today, it is considered a small segment of the market.

Cantonese opera

The art form is one of the first organized form of entertainment in Hong Kong. The artform still exists today in its traditional format despite all the changes in trends in the other industries. There is a debate about the origins of Cantonese opera, but it is universally accepted that predecessors of Cantonese opera originated from the northern part of China and slowly migrated to the southern province of Guangdong in late 13th century, during the late Southern Song Dynasty. Beginning in the 1950s massive waves of immigrants fled Shanghai to destinations like North Point, boosting its fanbase.

Instrumental

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra are some of the groups to perform in Hong Kong. Their production adds dynamics to the music culture. Many students take music lessons as part of their education. From an educational and cultural standpoint, it is important to have symphonic infrastructure in the territory.