Shi Yijie's first partner Chen Sa's new album "Chinese Art Songs" was released worldwide today

For the Chinese tenor Shi Yijie, who is active on the opera stage in the world today, Chinese art songs also have a crucial position.

The album "Chinese Art Songs" co-produced by Shi Yijie and Chen Sa was released worldwide on November 19. The album contains 20 art songs. For Shi Yijie, "Although Western classic opera is my own housekeeping skill, as a professional vocal actor from China, it is my own wish that audiences at home and abroad can listen to excellent Chinese vocal works." ”

In 2020, due to the epidemic, the performance market stagnated, leaving Shi Yijie with a gap in recording. In the three sets of recording repertoire plan, Shi Yijie did not hesitate to choose this set of Chinese art songs, compared to the other two sets of songs, which already have many recorded versions of Western classic arias, and the demand for recording Chinese art songs seems to be more urgent.

From the moment she decided to start the recording program, Shi Yijie began to search for tracks and materials in large quantities. The work of composer Huang Zi immediately came to mind. Shi Yijie, a fellow composer of the last century, was born in Chuansha, Pudong, Shanghai, so there is an indescribable sense of closeness, and Huang Zi's works are also songs that Shi Yijie likes to sing. However, these tracks are not enough to form an album, so Shi Yijie decided to expand the scope of the repertoire to composers of the last century representing the classical style of the early Chinese academic school, including many art songs that do not yet have tenor recorded versions, such as "Mountain", "Pursuit", "Wangyun", "Baiyun Hometown" and so on.

The "Chinese Art Songs" album contains a total of 20 songs, which are roughly in chronological order, based on the composer as a unit, into a full-weight album. In addition to those enduring classic works, this album also excavates a number of unknown and sung works, such as Lin Shengyi's "Autumn Night", "Wangyun", Huang Yongxi's "Where are the Si people", Liu Xue'an's "Pursuit" and Chen Tianhe's "Where is Spring Return", which shows Shi Yijie's deep love and attachment to Chinese culture, tribute and reverence for the artists of predecessors, and the ambition to convey Chinese music masterpieces to the public.

One of the highlights of this album is also the first collaboration between Shi Yijie and the famous pianist Chen Sa, which adds a lot of color to the recording. Chen Sa is a solo pianist who has a lot of pursuit and insight in artistic attainment, Shi Yijie has long admired, they have met unexpectedly on several performance occasions, but have never had the opportunity to cooperate. Shi Yijie asked Chen Sa's wishes with a very nervous mood, and because of the matchmaking of mutual friends, he promoted this cooperation. For the first collaboration, both musicians were very satisfied. Pianist Chen Sa said, "It is a great honor that at the suggestion and invitation of Shi Yijie, I have this opportunity to understand and experience some of the incomparable oriental beauty contained in traditional Chinese art songs. Teacher Shi is a humble gentleman in his life, and at the same time a typical perfectionist musician who tirelessly pursues more possibilities in art, and this point is also in line with his enjoyment of interpreting music. ”

On November 19, 2021, Universal Music will release the digital and physical album "Chinese Art Songs" at the same time. Next, Shi Yijie and Chen Sa's special concert of Chinese art songs will be held in Chongqing, Jinan, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xi'an, Shanghai and other places.

Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting

Editor/Ying Qiao