Right line
The entire folk music troupe of Yangzhou Song and Dance Theatre delivered a high-standard concert filled with tremendous Chinese charm at the opening ceremony of Chinafest Duisburg in Germany on Sept 19.
Instrumentalists from Yangzhou Song and Dance Theatre perform at Chinafest Duisburg in Germany on Sept 19. [Photo/yznews.cn]
It marked the theater's first-ever full-length folk music concert overseas and has deepened the sister-city relationship between Yangzhou and Duisburg, a European city involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The concert started with Dance of the Golden Snake, a Chinese orchestral piece that is so vibrant and jubilant that it ignited on-site enthusiasm. Following it was a meticulously arranged repertoire that comprehensively showcased the richness and diversity of Chinese folk music.
Flutist Chen Linkun performed a solo with crisp and melodious tunes depicting spring in Yangzhou. Violinist Li Xiaotong and cellist Wang Yutong staged Why Are the Flowers So Red together with the troupe, striking resonance among listeners of cross-cultural backgrounds.
Musician Chen Tao played the erhu (a two-stringed fiddle) to celebrate the melancholic love legend Butterfly Lovers, one of China's four great folktales. Sheng (a mouth-blown, free-reed instrument) player Li Guangxin captured the grandeur and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) with the majestic Prince of Qin Smashing the Battle-line.
The classic suona (double-reed horn) piece Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix by performer Han Yuhang recreated a symphony of hundreds of chirping birds. Another orchestral piece Silk Road painted a cross-temporal dialogue of civilizations, propelling the entire performance to its climax.
Subsequently, against the backdrop of thunderous gongs and drums with exuberant rhythms, Flying Dragon Leaping Tiger embodied the Chinese nation's dynamic spirit, sparking a lively atmosphere.
The concert concluded amid enthusiastic applause and cheers. "This is the first time I've experienced Chinese folk music so comprehensively. Both the suona's lifelike imitations in Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix and the erhu's soulful melodies in Butterfly Lovers allow me to feel the unique charm of Chinese music," said one local.
