鄺展維《安魂曲》

一場生與死的對話、一套為生者與往生者而寫的虛構祭禮，鄺展維的《安魂曲》由作家及故事人阮志雄創作文本、本地音樂家演奏。此作將大館轉化成跨越生前死後的場所，尋索在面對死亡之時，人藉殯葬儀式所呈現的內在世界。

《安魂曲》由大館當代美術館委約創作、廿一檔製作。作品包括錄像及演出。

Charles Kwong: Requiem

A dialogue between life and death, Charles Kwong’s Requiem is a fictional rite of passage for the dead and the living, with text by writer and storyteller Yuen Che Hung and performances featuring local musicians. Transforming Tai Kwun into a transitional place between the existence and the transcendence, the work ventures into our inner worlds manifested through funeral ceremonies as we face mortality.

Requiem is commissioned by Tai Kwun Contemporary and produced by PROJECT21st. The work consists of videos and live performances.  

安魂曲文本

REQUIEM Full Text

#1 關於安魂

「安魂曲」 (Requiem) 是天主教彌撒曲的一種，「requiem」在拉丁文是「安息」的意思，這個字來自安魂彌撒第一部份《進堂詠》的首句：「Requiem aeternam dona eis, domine……」（主啊！求祢賜予他永遠的安息）。

雖然安魂彌撒是為悼念亡者而設，從「Requiem」的字源來說，安魂曲的演唱對象非為亡者，而是超然存在的上帝。不同文化的殯葬儀式都有類似的祭文，為亡者向神靈祈求，期望亡者得到安息，或順利到達另一個世界。不論是哪個宗教、文化，這種在世者為往生者向超然存在的對象作呼求的儀式，除了表達對逝者的尊重和關懷，也揭示了在世者對死亡的恐懼。死亡的未知讓我們心生恐懼，透過殯葬儀式，在世者想像、指望或相信人死後的景況，禱告、誦唸、奏樂等細節也成為了在世者面對死亡時的某種寄託。因此，安魂儀式不僅是為亡者靈魂而作的呼求，也是在世者獲得靈魂依靠的途徑，讓在世者對自身死亡有所指望。安魂，既是告別、祈求，也是人對自身存在的反思；如何安魂，不關乎安撫情緒，關乎於人如何寫自己生與死的故事，並從中找尋他人與自身的救贖。

- 鄺展維

#1 About Requiem

Requiems are a type of music in the Masses of the Catholic Church. The word means “rest” in Latin and was drawn from the beginning of the introit of the Requiem Mass, “Requiem aeternam dona eis, domine…” (Grant them eternal rest, O Lord…)

Although the Requiem Mass are meant as a lament for the deceased, requiems, etymologically, are sung for the transcendent God instead of the dead. Similar speeches or prayers that pray to deities for the repose of the dead or the safe arrival of the dead at another world are common in funeral rites of different cultures. Regardless of religious and cultural differences, such rituals of the living pleading with transcendent deities for the dead are an expression of not only respect and care for the deceased, but also the living’s fear of death. As the uncertainty of death instils fear in us, funeral rites enable the living to imagine, anticipate or believe in the afterlife; meanwhile, acts such as praying, chanting and playing music provide the living with sustenance in the face of death. As such, requiem rites are not only prayers for the souls, but also a way for the living to find spiritual support and hopes for their deaths; they are a reflection on one’s existence as well as bidding farewell and praying. The form of requiem is not about consolation but how human beings compose stories of their own lives and deaths and seek redemption for themselves and the others.

- Charles Kwong

#2 街童驚落街

死亡是一件頗為張揚的事，在我還是孩子的時候。

它在一片嗩吶狂喧中穿過街頭，伴隨著的是一隊銀樂隊，然後才是那棺材車，及一眾喪家。那時是50年代尾、60年代初。長大後我一直不喜歡嗩吶這樂器，應該跟這有關。

另一種張揚也甚有戲劇性。在出殯前兩天，喪家會在窗外用竹搭一個平台，再建一條緩緩向下的斜梯，直到地面。出殯當天，師父把棺木抬出平台，舉行告別式，完成後，仵工就在嗩吶聲中抬著棺木落到地下，上棺材車，然後就是規模不一的出喪行列。

可以想像街坊鄰里的窺望和說話，街童則奔走相告，真的當一場戲那樣看，除了像我一般的膽小的街童。我真的驚，好一段日子都不敢走近那些「事發現場」。

還有一種驚嚇是很靜的。就是喪家門前、梯口掛起的藍燈籠。其實是白色的，只是上面的字是藍色，乜府治喪，幾十有幾，我不知從那裏學來，叫那做「死人藍」。雖然它沒有嗩吶催魂般的追嚇，但那「提醒」，此處有死人，尤其晚上靜下來的時份，也是把本來通街走的我留在家中的原因。

- 雄仔叔叔

#2 When streetwise kids would rather stay home

Death was a rather loud matter when I was a child.

In a tumult of suona horns followed by a band of brass instruments, a hearse and the family of the deceased at the end of the procession would move through the street. Although that happened far back in the 1950s and 60s, I figure my continuous dislike for it originated from that period. There was another aspect about funerals that was dramatic as well as loud. A bereaved family would build with bamboo a platform outside their windows and a gently-sloping stairway connected to it two days before the funeral.

On the funeral day, a funeral master would move the coffin onto the platform for a farewell ritual before undertakers carried the coffin down the bamboo staircase to the street, accompanied by suona music, and up the wagon for the extraordinarily large funeral procession.

One can imagine people in the neighborhood peeking and gossiping and streetwise kids running around telling each other the news as if they were watching a film. Timid kids like me wouldn’t do that though. I was too scared to even go near “the scenes”.

There was also a quiet kind of hideous custom. The bereaved would hang blue lanterns in front of their doors and at the stair landing near their flat. In fact, the lanterns were white in color with words written in black to show that someone in the family had just passed and the age of the deceased. I do not remember where I heard the term, but I called it “blue of the dead” too. Although the lanterns were less intense and creepy than the sound of suona, they reminded us someone was dead there and children like me who liked to wander on the street would rather stay home in the quiet evening.

- Uncle Hung