Composer Chen Qigang wrote the theme song for the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Jiang Dong

Musical director Chen Qigang has revealed the tortuous task involved in creating the score for the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Chen's theme song You and Me, sung by Sarah Brightman and Liu Huan, impressed many with its peaceful melody and warm lyrics but others have claimed it was too gentle for such a powerful event.

Questions have also been asked about how the ceremony's musical director managed to beat all his rivals and land the coveted theme song.

Chen has now answered his doubters and shared some of the secrets of the events leading up to the big night.

"First of all, I must say I had no right to decide the theme song," he says. "And actually, You and Me was not written to be the theme song. Last August, I wrote it and called it Forever One Family to use when the Chinese national flag was marched into the stadium but the Beijing Olympic Committee and the directors thought it could be the theme song.

"Nor had I even planned on writing the theme song. Even if I had, I would still have written a soft one instead of a mighty and inspiring one, because the Beijing Olympic Committee had decided beforehand that the theme of the Opening Ceremony should be civilization and harmony.

"Harmony was the key message, expressing humanity, communication and understanding."

Then it was decided that another "soft and warm" piece was needed for when the flag arrived and they picked Singing for the Motherland, to be performed by a little girl with a very slow rhythm.

Says Chen: "Today's China is a powerful country in the world but we don't stress that message. We try to present a friendly, humane and warm image. We had thought about including a few popular songs expressing strong patriotism but we could not be so arrogant.

"Anyway, the Olympic Games is a party for the whole world."

Chen also explains why director Zhang Yimou picked 6-year-old Li Muzi to play the piano with Lang Lang. "It was not an occasion to showcase a pianist," he says. "The little girl did not play that carefully. She just had fun, which summed up the message that everyone was there to just enjoy the party."

The 50-year-old composer spent more than a year supervising about 50 Chinese musicians at home and abroad to work on the ever-changing musical score.

No composer was left alone to simply do his own song. Zhang first discussed his ideas for each number and then Chen assigned each number to several composers according to their different personalities and styles. Eventually, the two men picked one man for each number and there were numerous arguments over several months as Zhang laid down the law about what he wanted. According to Chen, 20 composers spent seven months working on one difficult six-minute number.

Ideas also changed along the way - composer Guo Wenjing, for instance, was commissioned to write for a number about Laozi (Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism), but after he finished it, he was told the number had been changed to Confucius.

"Many of the composers were used to writing symphonic works and were not accustomed to revising short pieces of less than 10 minutes a dozen times in a very tight schedule. They were under great pressure, both physically and mentally," says Chen. "But finally, we feel we achieved what we wanted."

The France-based Chinese composer who is known for his strong personality and high-brow music, says he learned from the experience. "I worked with some pop songwriters and singers whom I used to disregard," he says.

"When I taught at the China Conservatory of Music in 1993, Liu Huan was rising in the pop scene. I had never thought much about his music but after working with him, I found Liu a good interpreter of the theme song, having not only a good voice, but also a unique personality, wide knowledge and vision."

Chen also looks back with affection at the creating of the Opening Ceremony music. "I learned many things from different people," he says.

"I learned to communicate, understand, make compromises but also stick to what was right. For me, a very reserved person who enjoys working behind closed doors, the experience will definitely have an effect on my work in future."

(China Daily 08/20/2008 page15)