Today I had the chance to attend a concert celebrating China's Victory Over the Japanese. It was held at the Hangzhou TV Station; the session was recorded and will be broadcast at a later date.
Though I didn't manage to record any of the music (it just didn't feel right in this setting), I managed to take some pictures. It was quite a spectacle:
Here are some quick thoughts:
- Why an orchestra? It's such a Western musical medium - what does that communicate to the audience in this context? How does that change based on the viewer (i.e. Chinese vs. "Foreigners")?
- One song had three movements: the first was about troubles of the "old home" and asking for brave volunteers to stand up, while the third was about the majesty and strength of the rising power. While the first movement was slow and featured a melancholic soprano (singer), the third movement was in a major key, upbeat, and celebratory in nature. This was striking to me because [self-censored]...I will now let you draw your own conclusions.
- Now I think I understand why the theatre lights are like that at our new school - maybe it's just the Chinese way of doing lighting/theatrics (I personally think it's kind of gaudy and distracting, but then again, I'm seeing this from an American perspective. I would like to hear why it's done like that in China).
They also sang some songs that were originally in Russian, but changed to Chinese lyrics. They sang this one (I knew it was familiar; I have this album in my iTunes); at the very least, I could give you a small glimpse of the music featured in this concert through this YouTube video:
Anyway - that was an INTERESTING cultural experience! No, really, there's something about the "Red" style music that just stirs up your soul - it's grand, big, and impressive!
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