In the show last night, hundreds of singers from abroad and home sang the same song as the last item

As the important item of “ festival in SSIMF ”of Shanghai Spring Festival 2013, the first session  of international chorus art week of Shanghai Spring began in Shanghai City theatre last night. The chorus week continued for six days, totally including six special concerts and one music forum. In this chorus week, ten choruses from nine countries such as China, Russia, U.S.A, German and Finland will give their performances on stage. This is also the international chorus communication activity which the largest number of countries took part in. In the future, international chorus week will become the “ exist for ever”program of Shanghai Spring of every year.    

Foreigners can sing more than Jasmine

Different from chorus festival hosted by Minhang district every other year before, the chorus art week of Shanghai Spring 2013 paid more attention to art and professional trait. It is a stage which intensively shows the top chorus in the world nowadays. In the chorus week, some groups from countries all over the world are excellent in singing skill or has prominent personality or have apparently national customs, bring the audience different audit feeling. For example, American Chanticleer is made up of twelve men. The twelve men have twelve voice parts from alto to bass. Their timbre is magnificent and smooth, and their harmony is changeable. The highest voice part reaches high voice of soprano, which is very rare. 

Finnish Viipuri Male Choir was established in 1897, which is the oldest choir in Finland. They will bring the pride of Finland. ---the vocal music work of Sibelius. Compared with his work of instrumental music, the opportunities for his vocal music work to perform in China is much less. Sibelius is good at combining the folk music with classical music. This kind of composing skill is also showed in chorus, worthy to taste. Slovak national Lou cheka choir impressed audience deeply with their strong east Europe feeling and passionate stage style.  New Zealand Patea Maori choir showed the culture characteristic of Maori nation, which is hard to see.  

In the performance last night, hundreds of singers from home and abroad sang the same song as the last item. In the following several days, in special concerts for each choir, almost every foreign choir will select one Chinese famous song to perform according to their own characters. In the past, most foreign only know Chinese famous song Jasmine. This year, the songs belong to this item became more abundant. For example, American Chanticleer will sing the folk song Flowing stream using sweet and soft female voice. Russian Spring Girl Chorus will select the song Unreal mountain adapted by A song of unending sorrow, music composed by Zi Huang. The Faraway Place sung by Finnish choir with north Europe feeling has a kind of special taste.

Chorus is not just sing standing in a line

Yan Wang, the conductor and the music chief inspector of this chorus festival told the journalist of Oriental Morning Post that chorus is a kind of art and not so easy as a number of people stand there and sing the same song. There are many famous choirs in the world, having very high artistic attainments and lively characters and styles. The song for chorus is also the important class of work for music composition masters. 　

“Shanghai is a city in singing”, said Zhen Yu, the vice chief president of shanghai music association. In the past, there are special performances with related chorus topic in Shanghai. However, this time, chorus art week included in to Shanghai Spring is to open a window for this music week and make people who like chorus watch special performances with higher level to promote the culture and art level. Yiqun Wang, the general secretary of organizing committee of Shanghai Spring international festival, said that choirs have huge mass basis. There are the thousands of choirs splitting in every community, units and universities. But in the same time, there are also professional problems such as lacking of conductor, lacking of talents for voice part and lacking of commanding standardization. During the chorus art week, the forum whose theme is chorus art and modern urban culture will also be hold to discuss many problems in professional field.  

advance notice of activities (part)

　　May 3rd

　　Shanghai centre theatre

　　harmonious voice

　　——Excellent chorus concert from home and abroad

　　May 4th

　　Small concert of Shanghai Conservatory of Music

　　Chorus art week forum:“chorus art and modern urbanism

　　May 4th

　　Changzhou Phenix Valley Theatre

　　Russian Spring Girl Chorus go to Changzhou for performance

　　May 4th

    Shanghai center theatre

　　Sound of the rhythm——Excellent chorus concert（Ⅱ）

　　May 5th

    Children’s  Palace in Pudong New Area

　  Performance of Finnish Viipuri Male Choir

    May 5th

　　Taicang Grand Theatre

    Hamburg Choir Music Viva of German and TV Female choir of Esthonia go to Taicang for performance

    May 5th

　　Shanghai Center Theatre 

　　Call of fairy-----Special Concert of American Chanticleer

    May 7th

　  Shanghai Oriental Art Center

　　“ The celebrity for chorus: the closing ceremony concert for the first session of international chorus art week of Shanghai Spring——Large special performances of Chinese and foreign chorus”