Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition
From top to bottom, the pictures are: Spring Junior Choir of Shanghai Huangpu District Youth Art Activity Center participating in the 16th China International Choir Festival, Hamilton Children's Choir of Canada, Dekull Harmony Voice Choir of the Netherlands, and Inner Mongolia Art Theatre Choir. Courtesy of the organizer
The theme song of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics "Snowflake", which amazed the world, "Wei Sa Lao", which implanted world music elements into traditional Dai music, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" adapted from the American classic duet, "The Golden Bridge on the River of Sorrows"), the Zulu wedding song "Sizongena Homecoming", which depicts the mysterious African land style... On July 19, a celebration concert in the name of paying tribute to the 30th anniversary of the China International Choral Festival reverberated over the Beijing Concert Hall. An ethereal and wonderful natural sound, a classic masterpiece with both nationality and internationalization, through the online live broadcast to the world, leading people through 30 years of time, feel the charm of choral art and its composed cultural exchange movement.
Born in response to the needs of the times
1992 was a vibrant year.
This year, Comrade Deng Xiaoping's trip to the south played the "prelude to spring," and a new round of reform and opening up was set off in the land of China. At the same time, the field of culture, art and choral art has also ushered in a stage of great development and prosperity. On the one hand, the popularity of choral art and the widespread development of mass choral activities have made choral art lovers increasingly eager to communicate with world-class choral teams. On the other hand, with the increasingly frequent exchanges between China and foreign countries, a broader platform is needed to enhance international cultural exchanges.
"In our international exchange activities, we have deeply experienced the role of music, especially choral art, as a 'bridge'." Yang Hongnian, one of the founders of the China International Choir Festival, a music educator and conductor, said this when mentioning the original intention of founding the China International Choir Festival.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Yang Hongnian led the choir abroad many times and was loved by people of different colors, different countries and different nationalities overseas. Adhering to the purpose of further promoting cross-cultural exchange and dissemination through singing, he and Yan Liangkun, Ma Geshun, Qiu Li and other musicians and conductors of the older generation jointly initiated the establishment of the China International Choir Festival.
"Open your eyes and enjoy the same sky... Stretch out your hands and hold on to the same enthusiasm, even if the language barrier is different..." On the evening of July 16, 1992, in the song of "For The Friendship and Peace of Tomorrow", 17 Chinese and foreign choirs, including the Chorus of the Central Orchestra, the Choir of the Central Opera House, and the Nanyang Elementary School Choir of Singapore, jointly opened the curtain of the first China International Choir Festival.
The establishment of the China International Choir Festival is the most important event in the Chinese choral industry after the establishment of the China Choral Association in 1986, leading the Chinese choral cause into a new stage of development.
Figures show that at the first China International Choir Festival, the popularity of mass choral art is still low, and the choirs participating in the festival are mainly professional academies such as the Central Orchestra Choir and the China Opera Choir, but there are very few professional academies of the 530 Chinese and foreign choirs participating in the festival this year. This shows that the art of mass choral choral has spread rapidly in China. In large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, there are more than 3,000 active choirs all year round, and in many colleges, middle schools and primary schools, it can be said that there are choruses in classes.
In addition, at the first China International Choir Festival, the number of Chinese and foreign choirs participating in the festival has grown from 17 to 530 today, and the number of participating countries and regions has increased from the first few to 52 today. According to incomplete statistics, in the past 30 years, more than 3,000 choral teams and more than 120,000 people from more than 90 countries and regions have participated in choral festival activities, covering more than 100 million people online, effectively rewriting China's choral history.
"30 years ago, the overall level of choral singing in China, both in depth and breadth, including scale, the number of people involved, and the quality of art, could not be compared with today. But without the first and second steps taken by the fathers, it would not be possible today. These 30 years are the stages of china's choral development that have opened their eyes, 'going out', 'please come in', and flourishing. Yang Li, the son of Yang Hongnian, said. This time, Yang Li led the Beijing Philharmonic Choir to stand on the stage where his father had boarded 30 years ago, and he was deeply touched.
Compose the music of Sino-foreign exchanges
Literature and art is the best way for people to communicate with each other's hearts. The holding of the China International Choir Festival has built a bridge between Sino-foreign choral art exchanges and people's friendship. On this stage, there are a lot of stories that are unforgettable.
In the 1940s, in order to escape the war, Chinese musician Xian Xinghai traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Unaccompanied and impoverished, he met the Kazakh musician Bakadamov on the street. Although the language barrier, the sincere pursuit of music made them feel sorry for each other. Baikadamov accepted him and provided him with a warm home. In Almaty, Xian Xinghai created a series of musical works that were loved by the local people.
More than 80 years have passed, and the friendship of the older generation has been continued among the younger generations. Baikadamov's daughter Baikadamova and Xian Xing's overseas granddaughter Guo Min are thousands of miles apart, but they continue to write letters, and they are jointly committed to promoting music exchanges between China and Kazakhstan. At the opening ceremony of the 14th China International Choir Festival in 2018, the two sisters joined hands in the moving melody of the Kazakh folk song "Swallow" and the Chinese song "Where Has Time Gone", interpreting a touching chapter of cross-border friendship on the Silk Road.
In the United States, there is a Muscatine Youth Choir, initiated by Mrs. Sarah Randy, a friendly person to China in the United States, and established with the support of the Mascatine City Government and friendly people from all walks of life in China and the United States. With the mission of promoting Sino-US cultural exchanges and deepening feelings with Chinese sister cities and young people, the choir rehearsed songs praising Sino-US friendship, such as "Love Retains Eternal Memories".
With the efforts of all parties, in 2016, the Mascatin Youth Choir came to China to participate in the 13th China International Choir Festival. During the festival in China, the members of the choir not only brought wonderful performances to the Chinese audience, but also visited scenic spots in Beijing and Zhengding, and experienced traditional cultural courses with local middle school students, gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and leaving behind a good story of Sino-US friendship.
At the China International Choir Festival, such stories abound. Many foreign choirs are familiar with and in love with Chinese culture through choruses, and videos of them singing Chinese songs frequently appear on social media and become hot search topics. "Using chorus as a medium, Chinese and foreign people not only promote cultural exchanges and dialogue among civilizations, but also make the Chinese and foreign people forge deep friendship and become a vivid example of people-to-people diplomacy." Li Jinsheng, organizer of the China International Choir Festival and chairman of China International Culture Group Co., Ltd., said.
Tell the story of China with songs
Yang Hongnian once said: "Chorus is to use pure beautiful songs to tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese voices." ”
Over the past 30 years, a large number of Chinese choral works have told Chinese stories to the world through the stage of the China International Choir Festival, spread chinese voices, and promoted Chinese culture to "go global".
This year, during the 16th China International Choir Festival, dozens of choral masterpieces that integrate national characteristics and the spirit of the times have appeared. The Beijing Harmony Voice Choir, led by choral conductor Wu Lingfen, brought two impressive songs, "Wei Sa Lao" and "Moonlight Qingming Dance". The former's creation is inspired by Dai folk music, and adds world music elements, showing the beautiful customs and customs of the Dai people; The latter is adapted from an excerpt from the Peking opera "Farewell to the King" and is a model of the adaptation of traditional Chinese opera into a chorus work. Works such as "Moni Mountain" and "Joyful Naadam" brought by the Philharmonic Male Vocal Choir, and "Song of Shule" brought by the Financial Philharmonic Choir also reflect the strong Chinese charm and Chinese style.
While telling the story of China with singing, the China International Choir Festival is also writing the story of China. Since its inception, the China International Choir Festival has attached great importance to the popularization of choral art education, and has carried out targeted choral art training and popularization in economically underdeveloped areas through activities such as choral conducting master classes and choral training. In 2012, with the help of all sectors of society, it began a continuous choral public welfare cultural poverty alleviation action, with a total of 68 counterpart assistance and cultural poverty alleviation groups and more than 8,000 teachers in 10 years, covering 58 poor cities and counties, and radiating millions of students.
"The China International Choir Festival is not only a witness and beneficiary of China's reform and opening up, but also a participant and builder of the new era." Li Jinsheng said.
As the theme song of this year's China International Choir Festival, "The Light of Love", sings - "Don't see my face, don't look for my direction, our songs come from the air, and the songs shine with the light of love." Because of love, come together and realize dreams. We were like a family, listening to each other, and we joined hands and sang indulgently. "The 30-year-old China International Choir Festival will continue to shine in the future in terms of popularizing choral art, strengthening aesthetic education, displaying the achievements of Chinese choral art, and promoting the "going out" of Chinese culture. (Zheng Na, Wang Sirui)
People's Daily Overseas Edition ( 2022-07-27 Issue 07)