Moving melody

[Photo/China Daily]

In 1995, composer Chen Qigang, music director of the Beijing Olympic Games, wrote Extase for oboe and orchestra in memory of his friend composer Mo Wuping. Mo, one of the first few Chinese contemporary musicians known to the Western music circle died of cancer at 34 in 1993.

"He was so talented but passed away when he was so young. I suddenly realized how fragile life is. So I used the melody of folk song Sanshilipu which Mo used in his work Fan I to create Extase," Chen said in Beijing on Oct 24. That evening, The London Sinfonietta played Extrase under the baton of George Benjamin.

It is a major concert presented by Beijing Music Festival to celebrate contemporary music as both Chen and Benjamin are backbone figures in this genre. More importantly, and the interesting point is, both studied under Olivier Messiaen (1908-92), the great French composer of the 20th century.

Beijing Music Festival's founder and artistic director Yu Long considers the concert "a conversation between Western and Chinese interpretation of new music from one same influence".

The Chinese folk song Sanshilipu is played on a Chinese folk instrument called the suona, so Chen makes the oboe play in the direction of the suona. The player uses circular breathing and difficult repeated-note techniques to produce a strong, harsh reed-instrument sound that is nevertheless carefully matched to the oboe's capabilities.

The piece has been included in the Western conservatories' textbooks for oboe students.

Despite its success, the sound of the heart-broken tune of Sanshilipu brings back too many painful memories for Chen. Some 17 years ago, he wrote it after losing a talented friend. In early September, he lost his only son Chen Yuli, also a talented young musician who produced many movie & TV soundtracks including director Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War and Under the Hawthorn Tree.

"I cannot listen to the entire tune of Sanshilipu," says Chen with his usual calm face but his moistened eyes betray his feelings.

"I feel remorseful that as a father, I did not know my son at all until I opened his e-mail," says Chen while trying to control his grief and regrets." He has some 800 contracts from all over the world His life, personality, work, the wide range of friends, I would never have imagined."

Chen also regrets missing most part of his son's life as he has been too occupied with his work. He can only take comfort in some 100-hour-long videos of his son's childhood taken by his wife.

"Every scene, every detail that you think is boring or normal to any kid, I find it touching Yuli, when he was learning piano, or Yuli receiving Christmas gifts. There is a 10-minute scene of him in deep sleep on his bed. The camera focused on that moment and time froze. He slept so well, his breathing was smooth."

Chen says he has no interest in making music for movie or TV, but to continue Yuli's career, he would take care of his studio which mainly engages in post-production.

The academy-trained musician says he became more interested in pop music after he worked with his son during the Beijing Olympic Games.

"I find pop singing to be more natural and has a wide variety. Every singer has his or her unique voice and singing style. Maestro Messiaen taught me to be myself, not copy or repeat anybody else."

Meanwhile, Chen is directing a project comprising young composers, organized by the National Center for the Performing Arts to discover, train and promote young talents.

He recalled his experience in 1993 when he first returned to China from France, working as an interpreter for George Benjamin who visited conservatories in Beijing and Shanghai. He found thirst in students' eyes. They were so focus in class and did not want to miss any word from the maestro.

"The whole society was in a good condition and people loved culture. But now, the economy is booming, the culture is so-called 'flourishing', which is not true," he says, adding that when he visited China Conservatory of Music for that project a week ago, he was disappointed by the students' reaction in class.

"It's hard to do the project. In a society that places high priority on the economic benefit, everybody eyes instant reward. I need an orchestra to perform those young composers' works, but who will be willing to play a nobody's music for free?"

"Beijing Music Festival is a pioneer in China to promote contemporary music. It is a venture without instant reward. The concert does not sell well and not everybody who comes to the concert will understand the music. But this is BMF's choice. They challenge and guide the audience. It's very hard, but they've been doing it for 15 years," says Chen. "Anyway I am an idealistic person. I will do what I can," he adds.

Contact the writer at chenjie@chinadaily.com.cn.