26th! Tan Dun sang "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" on the banks of the Yellow River
Tan Dun conducted the orchestra rehearsal
On the 23rd, the reporter learned that the musical masterpiece "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy", created by the internationally renowned composer and conductor Tan Dun for 5 years, will be officially performed at the Lanzhou Concert Hall on the evening of the 26th and 27th. Recently, Tan Dun has officially arrived in Lanzhou to start an intense rehearsal with the Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra and the Lanzhou Concert Hall Choir, hoping to bring the best artistic presentation to the Lanzhou audience.
All six acts have a deep philosophy
Hosted by the Lanzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and hosted by the Lanzhou Grand Theatre, the performance of "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" is a heavyweight project of the 2020 Lanzhou Huimin Performance. This concert specially invited famous composers and conductors Tan Dun to join hands with well-known baritone Wang Yunpeng and Zhang Xiaomeng, mezzo-soprano Dong Fang and Wu Hongni, tenor Wang Chuanyue, sopranos Huang Ying and Xu Lei, original ecological soprano Ze Renyangjin, original ecological bass hasbargen and Dunhuang dance rebound pipa Chen Yining to perform together with the Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra and Lanzhou Concert Hall Choir.
The two-hour performance is a magnificent and far-reaching performance written for solo, choral and symphony orchestras, while blending ethnic and classical giant stage music. Created by Tan Dun over a period of 5 years, this work is based on the story of Dunhuang murals, vividly restoring the ancient music, musical instruments and musicians in it, and expressing it in the form of a symphony orchestra and a chorus.
The whole text of "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" is divided into six acts: "Under the Bodhi Tree", "Nine Colored Deer", "Thousand Hands and Thousand Eyes", "Zen Garden", "Heart Sutra" and "Nirvana", each of which contains profound philosophy, aiming to use music and culture, history and spiritual dialogue to guide people to act towards good. Adhering to the core idea of "people and all things should be harmonious, people and sentient beings should love", the work fully advocates integrity, equality, dedication and compassion. In the process of creation, Tan Dun also rewrote and rearranged many details in the mural story, and strived to refine the human side of the characters in the play.
Turn Dunhuang murals into sounds
"Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" can be described as a thousand-year-old song that sang Dunhuang, and Tan Dun also made a precise interpretation of his own work: "'Ode to Mercy' tries to turn Dunhuang's murals into sounds, so that we can hear Dunhuang. When we look back at history and Chinese culture, we can see that we have experienced so many vicissitudes and can find a little spiritual strength in it. ”
He said: "The most important thing for Chinese culture to share with the whole world is to have a spiritual platform and a bridge of faith. Traditional Chinese culture is very appealing, such as the belief in compassion and kindness, which can be found in many other cultures. My greatest wish in creating Dunhuang Ode to Mercy is that there will be no war and that everyone will be inspired to pursue our common goal, love nature, and love human beings themselves. ”
It is understood that "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" has premiered in Europe and Australia and the venue is full. When the German premiere was made, more than 1,800 spectators stood up to pay tribute to the music masters from China and around the world, and the thunderous applause and cheers lasted for 15 minutes. At that moment, artists of different nationalities, different races and different faiths gathered together in one place to sing the Heart Sutra with Chinese, and the atmosphere was warm and touching and very shocking.
A true "Symphony of the East"
In this performance, this work will recreate the musical heritage hidden in the cave murals for the audience on today's stage, and through the institutional sound bridge of the choir and the symphony orchestra, the Dunhuang music that carries the faith, compassion and wishes for the future of the nation will be played, and strive to convey the Chinese culture about life and life reflections, which can be called a true "Oriental Symphony".
A major feature of "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" is that it presents the culture of the East with Western music, and ancient Oriental instruments will be sung in unison with modern Western instruments on the stage. Not only that, at the performance site, you can also see the rebound pipa, Xiqin and other ancient musical instruments restored in the Dunhuang murals, as well as traditional Chinese musical instruments such as bowls, wooden fish, and lure-outs interspersed in the music, with full layers and magnificent waves, which show many natural elements while producing unique resonance.
"Eight years ago in Dunhuang, Tan Dun and I joked that you could turn the Dunhuang murals into sounds." Fan Jinshi, honorary president of the Dunhuang Research Institute, once described the birth of this work: "I didn't expect that he really did this, and he did it. The world is talking about compassion, so what is compassion? Compassion is to make people get wisdom, compassion is to liberate people from suffering, and compassion is to talk about the equality of all sentient beings and save all sentient beings. "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" connects everyone together through music, and I was deeply moved after listening to it. ”
Li Chao, chief reporter of Lanzhou Daily, wen/photo