Taipei, 24 May (China News Service) -- Taiwan's "42 Folk Songs Summit" will be sung in Kaohsiung and Taipei at the end of this month to relive the most classic songs. Shi Xiaorong, a veteran folk singer from Taiwan, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency on the 24th that he looked forward to a formal opportunity to communicate face-to-face with outstanding folk songwriters in the mainland.
Shi Xiaorong at the taipei press conference. Photo by Liu Shuangshuang, a reporter from China News Service
He said that there is no limit to music, and the energy of Chinese music is very large.
The Taiwanese campus folk song movement originated in the 1970s. In particular, in 1975, Yang Xian and Hu Defu sang works composed of modern poems such as "Four Rhymes of Nostalgia" in Zhongshan Hall in Taipei, which is generally regarded as the beginning of the folk song movement. In the face of the situation that Western music in Taiwan was flooding the streets and alleys at that time, the folk song movement advocated "composing your own songs in your own language", during which many well-known musicians came out and left popular songs.
The Folk Song Summit has been held for the first time since 2006, and this Chinese music industry's performance feast is now in its 12th year. The "Folk Song 42 Summit" is not only the initiator Shi Xiaorong's agreement to meet with fans every year, but also a tribute to the folk songs that have gone through 42 years.
This year, the folk song summit is scheduled to appear in Kaohsiung and Taipei on the 27th and 28th of this month, and 14 folk singers such as Shi Xiaorong, Wang Menglin, Xu Jingchun, Chen Mingshao, Wang Hailing, Zeng Shuqin, Yu Taiyan, Yang Yaodong, Jin Zhijuan, Tai Zhaomei and so on will sing "Visiting Spring" and "Sunshine and Light Rain" together with guitars to reminisce about their youth.
Folk singers sang "Visiting Spring" and "Sunshine and Light Rain" live. Photo by Liu Shuangshuang, a reporter from China News Service
In the past ten years, Taiwanese singers have continuously gone to the mainland to develop and sing folk songs on various stages, cai qin, Pan Anbang, Qi Qin, Wang Menglin, Meng Tingwei, Luo Dayou, etc. are all well-known folk singers.
Shi Xiaorong believes that there are many excellent creators and singers in the mainland, like Lao Wolf's "You at the Same Table" is more similar to Taiwan's folk song style. "I hope there's a formal platform, a concert where people play guitar together and introduce songs they've created."
Wang Menglin, 63, just completed her third laryngeal surgery in April and still insists on attending. He told reporters that the first folk song on the mainland that he learned to sing was "The Sound of the Waves Is Still", and the melody was very beautiful. In recent years, the mainland folk song creation has made very rapid progress, and I also like the songs of Daolang and Wang Feng.
In November last year, Wang Menglin and a number of Taiwanese singers participated in the "Folk Song 40 - Sing aNother Thought" concert in Shenzhen. In his view, the two sides of the strait should promote the exchange of folk songs between them more. Music has no boundaries, and only communication can progress. (End)