At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, beyond everyone's imagination, instead of choosing famous singers to sing the theme song, more than 100 children sang the theme song of the Beijing Winter Olympics "Snowflakes". Children hold peace dove lanterns, dance and play freely in the bird's nest, and the children's chorus of "Snowflakes" is melodious and clear, innocent and moving, romantic and ethereal. The children who sang "Snowflake" on the spot came from the Beijing Philharmonic Choir.
Children sang "Snowflakes" at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Xinhua News Agency
Behind "Snowflakes", it carries the long history of the Beijing Philharmonic Choir and its fate with the Olympic Games. This well-known children's choir, which has been established for nearly 40 years, participated in the performance of the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, and has become a veritable "double Olympic" choir.
From 40 to 138 people, rehearsing for confidentiality " only open mouth and no sound"
At the opening ceremony, when the children sang "Snowflakes" with the "Peace Dove", the childish and moving singing was touching. At the opening ceremonies of previous Olympic Games, the form of children's chorus has been used in the singing of Olympic songs, but it is rarely used in the singing of theme songs.
In March 2021, Zhao Lin, music director of the opening ceremony, issued a creative invitation to more than 30 composers, and finally selected "Snowflake" as the theme song of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics among nearly 40 songs. Initially, the creative team thought of letting famous singers sing, and also thought of some connection with "Me and You" sung by Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman in 2008, but after repeatedly pondering the deep meaning of the theme slogan of the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, "Together to the Future", they decided to adopt the form of children's chorus - because the future is pinned on children.
At the beginning of September 2021, the responsibility of singing the theme song "Snowflake" fell on the shoulders of the Beijing Philharmonic Choir. "In early September 2021, our choir was tasked with recording a sample of the song for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. In mid-October, the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games informed us that 30 to 40 students from the choir would be selected to prepare to sing the theme song of the opening ceremony. Yang Li, currently the artistic director and permanent conductor of the Beijing Philharmonic Choir and a professor of the Conducting Department of the Central Conservatory of Music, said in an interview with the Southern Daily and The Southern + reporter.
The Beijing Philharmonic Choir recorded a demo of Snowflake. Courtesy of respondents
Yang Li said that the Olympic Organizing Committee has some specific and strict requirements for the age and height of the children participating in the singing, but the Beijing Philharmonic Choir is a step-by-step training, and the members who meet these requirements are relatively young, and it is actually very difficult to complete the recording of the theme song. "But we still organized a team of 40 members from different echelons. The performance program was adjusted several times, from 40 to 80 and later to 155. At the end of January, the performance plan was finalized, and the number of participants was 138. The oldest choir members who ended up performing were 14 years old and the youngest was 7 years old, with an average age of 9 to 10 years old, and the vast majority were elementary school students. In the 4 months of preparation time, in order to have the best state on the stage, they rehearsed hard with tension and excitement, quickly ran in in a very short period of time, and the singing was harmonious and unified. At the end of the rehearsal, the children need to live in a centralized area, but there is no soundproof rehearsal space suitable for 150 people. In order to ensure training, they can only do everything they can to rehearse in non-closed places such as the corridor of the residence and the vacant place outside the corner of the building. Yang Li also mentioned a detail during the centralized rehearsal, that is, in order to keep it secret, the children only opened their mouths and did not make a sound: "We are singing the theme song of the opening ceremony, which must be kept strictly confidential." To this end, all our children in the group have practiced a "silent film performance" skill of 'only opening their mouths and not making a sound, but the expression and action are fully engaged', and quietly rehearse. Many people passing by for unknown reasons were startled. Because they couldn't hear a sound, but when they looked closer, it was a group of black-pressed children rehearsing. ”
The children are participating in such a grand opening ceremony for the first time, will they be nervous before going on stage? "The biggest feature of the choir is wherever it goes. Singing is a great way to relieve their nervousness. ”
Group photo during rehearsals. Courtesy of respondents
Yang Li said that the children were still slightly nervous when waiting for the scene, and when the opening ceremony began, this tension was alleviated, "The Athletes of the Chinese Delegation entered, and "Singing the Motherland" was played in the venue. Hearing the familiar and proud music, the children could not suppress their inner excitement, and they all sang loudly, and the song echoed throughout the waiting area. I saw the happy smiles on each of them' faces at the time, and their nervousness flew to the cloud nine with the song. ”
Yang Zihan, who participated in the opening ceremony, is a fifth-grade primary school student, her birthday is on the first day of the New Year, this year because of the closed training can only spend her birthday in the resident room, but she feels that this is a very special experience: "Although there is no big cake in the past, there is no rich birthday gift, but the small partner's oratorio and the teacher's warm blessings make me feel the warmth of the big family." She said that this warm atmosphere also continued to the opening ceremony stage, "all the people present, including foreign athletes, smiled at each other, greeted each other warmly, everyone was like a family, participating in a big party of ice and snow, just like our theme song "Snowflakes" sang, 'Thousands of you and me, gathered into a home'."
The "Double Olympic" choir, the fate of the Olympic Games began in 1993
The Beijing Philharmonic Choir was founded in 1983 by Professor Yang Hongnian, a famous conductor, musician and educator. Among music lovers, it is more often called "Yang Hongnian Choir", which is not only the benchmark of domestic children's chorus, but also has a deep relationship with the Olympic Games.
Yang Li introduced us to the choir's fate with the Olympic Games: in 1993 and 2001, the choir helped Beijing bid for the Olympic Games and showed the style of Chinese children to the world with singing; in 2008, the choir pioneered the singing of the Olympic permanent olympic song "Ode to the Olympics" in the form of an a cappella children's chorus at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. "This time, Beijing has created the history of 'City of The Two Olympics'. It is also very rare for a choir to perform at the opening ceremonies of the two Olympic Games in the 'City of Two Olympics'. Yang Li said.
"First of all, there is a difference of 14 years, the choir members performed at the opening ceremony and the choir members performed at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games have been completely two generations, and now the children are more knowledgeable, more thoughtful, more confident, and more personal. How do you balance individuality and commonalities? Children need to deeply understand the relationship between 'me' and 'us'. Asked how it was different to personally participate in the opening ceremonies of the two Olympic Games, Yang Li replied, "And this Winter Olympics we sang the theme song "Snowflakes". Compared with Ode to the Olympics, the theme song emphasizes romance, ethereality and innocence. Therefore, in terms of form of expression, this time it highlights the freedom and innocence of children. ”
Choir members and teachers attending the opening ceremony took a group photo in front of the "Bird's Nest". Courtesy of respondents
There is another "double Olympic musician" in the choir who has personally participated in the opening ceremonies of the two Olympic Games. Wang Bowen joined the Beijing Philharmonic Choir in 2003 and participated in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as a member of the participating team, and now as a team leader, he leads a new group of small members to stand on the stage of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. "I went from being a small team member to one of the many teachers who led the team, which meant that the responsibility was unprecedented – no longer to perform my role well. And it is to ensure that more than 100 children can complete their own performances. The effort paid off, and this time the task was finally successfully completed. It also gave me an unforgettable workout and grew up with the kids. Wang Bowen sighed.
[Reporter] Zhang Siyi
【Photo】 Xinhua News Agency Photo courtesy of the interviewee
【Author】 Zhang Siyi
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client
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