At 7:30 p.m. on May 24, the special concert of The Long March Song Cycle was held in Sichuan Theater. The chorus was conducted by the famous conductor Tan Lihua and led by Wang Qian, Sun Yan, Zhang Yi, Dai Tao, Lv Hongwei, He Gang, Zhou Xiaolin and other outstanding young singers from within and outside the province. Jia Jianli and Dong Fan, national first-class actors of Sichuan People's Art Theater, served as reciters. Sichuan Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chengdu College Student Choir, with the magnificent power presented by choral art, they showed the splendid history of the Chinese Communist Party and recalled the extraordinary years of the Long March.
The Long March Song Cycle performed was unmodified. With a total of 10 pieces of music: Farewell Chorus, Breaking Through The Blockade, The Zunyi Conference, Battle At Chi Shui, Crossing The Dadu River, Across The Snowy Mountains And Grassland, Arriving At The Town of Wuqi, Celebrating The Victory, Spreading The Good News and Assembly Of The Army, 10 historical scenarios in sequence (including combat and non-combat scenarios) were presented. The performers epitomized the arduous journey of the long March in the form of musical art and ingeniously combined the folk tunes of different regions with the tunes of the traditional songs themed by the Red Army, creating a classic art work with distinct themes, rich contents, novel forms and unique styles. "I feel as if I have experienced the hardships of our ancestors and been conquered by their perseverance and character," said the audience. "I am very excited and the red spirit deserves better inheritance."
Mr. Tan said that he paid extra attention to details in rehearsals, so he required chorus members to accurately deal with every sentence and every word for a prominent articulation. "The Long March Song Cycle is a very important and excellent red classic, and we have done our best to preserve the original style in this revival to bring back memories of that awe-inspiring era."
Lv Hongwei, Distinguished Vice Dean of the School of Music and Dance of College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts and Executive Director of the Chengdu College Student Choir, led the songs Across The Snowy Mountains And Grassland and Arriving At The Town of Wuqi. He said it was a great honor for him to perform The Long March Song Cycle, and he relived the "Long March Spirit" in his work.
Sixty members of Chengdu College Student Choir participated in the performance, and their excellent work lived up to expectations and was appreciated by the audience. The successful performance of The Long March Song Cycle by the younger generation under the guidance of the older generation not only indicates the transmission of the classic red works, but also the inheritance of the great Long March Spirit.
It is reported that The Long March Song Cycle is one of the key works of the Art Tianfu "Looking back at the centennial history, forge ahead in a new era" event, which is a performance season of outstanding plays organized in Sichuan province to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. In the following month, The Long March Song Cycle will tour universities in Luding, Yibin, Mianyang, Xichang, Suining and Nanchong. It is expected that the "CPC music class" lively and moving (ten special shows conveying true feelings) will take people to review and recall the glorious course of the CPC's centennial struggle. The event is to spread the communist Party's faith, wisdom, courage and strength to local audiences through outstanding art and songs.
