Yellow River Cantata Xian Xing Hai China's Weimar
Source: classical-iconoclast.blogspot.com - Sunday, September 16, 2012
On BBC Radio 3 "The Choir" there's a piece on Xian Xing Hai's Yellow River Cantata , (黄河大合唱), describing a new edition in English to encourage greater awareness of the piece in the west. Good idea! But The Yellow River Cantata is so central to the Chinese psyche that I'm not sure that western performances would really help. In this increasingly monophone world, the last thing we need is more west-centrism. We need to learn things from other perspectives. Even Chinese raised overseas seem to be losing their identity. A better approach may be to listen to really idiomatic recordings, and develop a wider understanding of modern China. Only then, perhaps the Cantata and its true emotional impact will fall into place. Xian Xing Hai (Sin Sing Hoi in Cantonese) (冼星海;) was born 13/6/1905, the posthumous child of a fisherman in Macau, "the lowest of the low", as boat people were looked down on by farmers and townsfolk. Yet almost from the start he seemed destined to rise above extreme hardship. Aged six, he went to Singapore with his mother, who had a job as an amah. Yet, aspiration already. He studied first in an English school, then in a Singapore school affiliateded to Lingnan University, where he learned Chinese and western music. In 1918, mother and son were back in Guangzhou, struggling hard to put the son through music school. He was a clarinet prodigy, known as "The Southern Piper" because he'd grown up in the nam yang (south). NEW GIG: Usher Set To Take Over "The Voice" As New Coach
Source: theybf.com - Monday, September 17, 2012
Usher is gearing up alongside to Shakira to replace "The Voice" coaches Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo . Deets inside... For the upcoming next cycle of "The Voice," Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo will be taking a season off to work on their music, tours and tv projects. So, R&B/Pop man Usher has been tapped to keep one of the seats warm. And Latin bombshell Shakira has been tapped for the other seat. Executive Producer Mark Burnett said, “Usher is not just a singer or an entertainer, he is a global icon.” The L.A. gig is also good for Usher's new schedule as a full-time primary custody dad, so he canhave his boys in one place for a certain amount of time. As for the semi-surprising change-up, Deadline.com reports : When it expanded The Voice to two editions a year, NBC brass said that not all Voice coaches will be able to do both cycles of the reality singing competition because of the demands of their music careers. NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt said the network was “happy to accommodate” Green and Aguilera’s commitments. “The participants on our show benefit from our coaches’ expertise and their continued success in the music business allows for significant new contributions to the contestants when they return,” he said. Both Christina and Cee-Lo will return the following fall. You excited to see Ursh take on a prominent role on a music competition show?
