"Chinese Art Songs" album cover Courtesy of Universal Music
BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- On November 19, Universal Music released the digital and physical album "Chinese Art Songs" jointly presented by the famous Chinese tenor Shi Yijie and pianist Chen Sa.
As an outstanding tenor who has long been active on the opera stage in today's world, Shi Yijie said, "Although Western classic opera is my housekeeping skill, as a professional vocal actor from China, it has been a wish for a long time for listeners at home and abroad to listen to excellent vocal works from China. ”
In 2020, due to the stagnation of the world performance market caused by the new crown epidemic, Shi Yijie had a recording gap. In the three sets of recording repertoire plan, Shi Yijie did not hesitate to choose this set of Chinese art songs, because compared with the other two sets of Western classic arias that already have many recorded versions, the need for recording of Chinese art songs is more urgent.
Tenor Shi Yijie (left) and pianist Chen Sa (right) Courtesy of Universal Music
This album contains a total of 20 songs, roughly in chronological order, based on the composer as a unit, not only has the classic works "Rose Three Wishes", "Teach Me How not to Miss Her", "Red Bean Words", "The Great River Goes East", etc., but also excavates and supplements a number of art songs that have not yet been recorded in tenor, such as "Mountain", "Pursuit", "Wangyun", "Baiyun Hometown" and so on.
Another highlight of this album is that Shi Yijie's first collaboration with the famous pianist Chen Sa added a strong touch to the recording. As a world-renowned soloist today, Chansa is currently the only Chinese to have won awards in three international piano competitions: Leeds, Chopin and Van Claiborne.
Shi Yijie admitted that it was indeed a somewhat abrupt invitation to invite a soloist to accompany him, but out of strong expectations for the effect of cooperation, he inquired about Chen Sa's wishes with a nervous mood, and because of the matchmaking of mutual friends, he contributed to this almost perfect tianzuo cooperation.
Chen Sa talked about the experience of this cooperation is also very pleasant, "It is very fortunate that at the suggestion and invitation of Shi Yijie, I have this opportunity to understand and experience some of the incomparable oriental beauty implied by 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. ”
The famous composer Ye Xiaogang said: "Shi Yijie and Chen Sa are China's perfect musicians, and they have made great achievements in their respective fields - Shi Yijie's male voice image of Chinese works has been established, and Chen Sa's piano tone has the courage of women in the new era, and there is also a hidden uninhibited." They have rich skills, the persistence of being lonely for art, and the heart of a child with auspicious brilliance. This shows the thickness of this album, and because of the combination of these two young artists, it brings a breeze. ”
It is reported that after the debut of the album, the Chinese art song concert China tour will be held in Chongqing, Jinan, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Xi'an, Shanghai and other places, and the physical album of "Chinese Art Song" will be signed and sold offline at the performance site. (End)
Source: China News Network