Under the baton of conductor Zhang Guoyong, the China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus and the Song and Dance Theater in Nanjing City perform the orchestral suite, Yuhuatai－The Power of Belief, at the Jiangsu Center for the Performing Arts in Nanjing on March 13.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Orchestral suite pays tribute to the fallen with music and songs that inspire, Chen Nan reports.
Under the baton of conductor Zhang Guoyong, the China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus and the Song and Dance Theater in Nanjing City will perform the orchestral suite Yuhuatai-The Power of Belief, at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing on April 24 and 25.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the orchestral suite will pay tribute to the heroes and martyrs who lost their lives fighting for the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Wang Xiaoling, artistic director and lyricist of Yuhuatai, went with the creative team to the Yuhuatai Scenic Area in Nanjing over a year ago to collect materials for the suite. The scenic area is known for several tourist attractions preserving the stories of the martyrs. These include the Yuhuatai Martyrs Group Sculptures, the Yuhuatai Revolutionary Martyrs Monument and the Yuhuatai Martyrs Memorial Hall.
Conductor Zhang Guoyong during the performance in Nanjing on March 13.[Photo provided to China Daily]
"I was impressed by the name of the place, Yuhuatai, which is very poetic and beautiful," Wang says. Yuhuatai means rain-flower stone. "There are 1,519 martyrs who have left their names in Yuhuatai. And their stories are real, which inspired us."
Wang says Yuhuatai has inspired many Chinese artists who told stories of the martyrs through television dramas, movies and dance. For the orchestral suite, Wang and composer Yin Qing will use 16 songs portraying 16 heroes, telling their stories through music and poems.
"I was born in Nanjing and worked there for over two decades. I've visited Yuhuatai many times and I still feel touched when I went there for the orchestral suite," says Yin, adding that he took his daughter with him on the trip. He hopes to share the stories of the heroes with the younger generations.
Tenor Wang Kai during the performance in Nanjing on March 13.[Photo provided to China Daily]
"Some of the heroes died at a very young age for the country, barely in their early 20s. We want to depict those characters through music, so as to bring them a step closer to the young people of today," he says. "It's a great way to pass the spirit of the heroes down."
The orchestral suite premiered at the Jiangsu Center for the Performing Arts in Nanjing on March 13.
For the Beijing shows, the audience can expect more than 10 solo performances apart from the 100-member chorus and 80-member orchestra.
Baritone Wang Haitao, who will be taking on the role of Deng Zhongxia, one of the leaders of China's early patriotic movements, says the audience will be able to relate to the performance with relative ease.
Soprano Gong Shuang during the performance in Nanjing on March 13.[Photo provided to China Daily]
"The songs are based on real stories, which make the orchestral suite very dramatic and compelling. Many of the martyrs' stories are well-known among the audience and with music, they will know the history and remember the noble spirit of those martyrs," he says.
Lyrics of Farewell Letter-one of the songs from the orchestral suite-are based on the farewell letter Shi Yanfen wrote to his family when he was in prison. He participated in the May Fourth Movement, a patriotic campaign launched in 1919, pioneered by advanced young intellectuals and joined by people from all walks of life to resolutely fight imperialism and feudalism. He died in 1928 at the age of 25.
"When I recited his letter onstage, it was very emotional. It felt like I was having a conversation with Shi Yanfen," says tenor Wang Kai, who plays the role of Shi in the orchestral suite. "Though the martyrs are not with us, they are not silent."
