About this Recording 82081 - XIAN: Ode to the Yellow River |
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Xian Xinghai (1909-1945) is a figure of great importance in the
history of the development of music in Xian Xinghai left an enduring legacy of songs that reflect the
spirit of the time in which he lived. At the same time he continued to write
music for more formal use. Nevertheless it is by compositions like the Yellow River Cantata and his songs that
he is most widely remembered. The seven orchestral pieces included in the
present recording are instrumental arrangements of some of these songs,
providing a further insight into the work of the composer. Ode to the Composed in
1939, Ode to the Yellow River was
originally a movement for baritone solo from the Yellow River Cantata. The river itself is considered the cradle of
the Chinese nation and the source of the five-thousand-year-old civilisation of Go To The
Rear Area of The Enemy Originally
a choral song, Go To
The Rear Area of The Enemy depicts the brave guerrilla troops operating
behind enemy lines. It reflects the determination of the people to defeat all
aggressors. Written in Song at Midnight In 1936
Xian Xinghai was working for the New China Film
Company and provided the music for the film Song
at Midnight. The theme song of the same title was sung in the stillness of
the middle of the night by the hero, a talented young actor, Song Danping, disfigured with nitric acid by his sinister
enemies. In the song he expresses his sense of solitude, his longing for his
beloved Li Xiaoxia and his hatred for the forces of
oppression. February It was in Yan’an in 1939 that Xian Xinghai
wrote his Production Cantata, from
which February is taken. The movement
shows people ploughing the spring fields and sowing
in the base area of the forces ranged against the Japanese invaders. They are
determined to grow more grain in support of the national effort. The song has
enjoyed wide popularity. Lamentation to the Lamentation to the Yellow River is a movement for soprano solo
taken from the Yellow River Cantata.
It brings the lament of a woman who has suffered at the hands of the aggressor
in the occupied area of the country. Song of Working Women’s Day Composed in
1938, Song of Working Women’s Day
expresses something of the demand for freedom marked by International Working
Women’s Day on 8th March. The women of the new Thorns of the Wild Jujube Tree A choral
movement from the Production Cantata,
Thorns of the Wild Jujube Tree
reflects the innocent artlessness of children, who also joined in the struggle
against Japanese aggression. Carrying swords and spears, they helped to guard
and defend the base areas of the forces mobilised against
the Japanese invaders. Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra The
Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra is among the most distinguished ensembles of
its kind in Cao Peng One of the
most distinguished conductors in |
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