According to the WordPress Blog statistics, the most common search term that brings people to this blog is “Teochew Opera”. So here’s another one for the Teochew fans out there.
A common complaint is that all Teochew Opera sounds the same (which has some truth to it) but this record certainly stands out …I’m not sure what to say except that this is a very unusual sounding record!
The title is Tio Mou Seng Tong Sok (Man Trapped in Snow).
UPDATE: Reader Javier Li Yong-En (and his Mom!) informs us that the trumpet sound here is a Har To (or Hao Tou) which is commonly used to accompany onstage action in military or court scenes. He adds that this is a recording by a defunct opera troupe from Singapore called Lao Gek Chuong Hiang. He also sends a photo he took of the Har To. He disagrees that this is an uncommon sounding recording, but I have at least 50 Teochew 78’s but not a single one sounds like this. Thanks Javier!
