Taiwan is known around the world for its vibrant democracy. The island nation is also famous for being the birthplace filmmaker Ang Lee, actor Jay Chou, and NVIDIA co-founder, president and CEO Jensen Huang. But Taiwan’s musical lineage is less well-known. It’s hard to define what constitutes Taiwanese music because it encompasses such a broad range of sounds.
Moreover, Taiwan is a cultural hub in East Asia. As a result, it emerged decades ago as a centre for everything from Mandopop to indie rock to folk to jazz to Indigenous to classical Chinese.
Recently, the TaiwanPlus program Resound broadcast a program capturing the diversity of music in Taiwan. In the video below, you will hear a traditional ballad of the Indigenous Bunun people, performed by the all-Indigenous children’s choir Vox Nativa Taiwan. This choir has released three albums, including the Golden Melody Award–winning Sing It! 唱歌吧！
On the same program, Resound featured “Argonaise from Carmen Suite” by the Taiwan Top Contrabasses Ensemble. In addition, 3PeopleMusic performed the folk melody “Cloudy Day” with traditional musical instruments. Later in the video, the Glory of Organ and Brass Ensemble demonstrate their prowess with medieval instruments.
The host of Resound is Morris Chen, a Taipei-based actor, playwright, and TV show producer.
Watch the most recent episode of Resound on TaiwanPlus.
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