More than 300 people gathered at the Royal College of Music in London’s Kensington district on the evening of August 28 for a concert arranged by the Chinese Embassy in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
With the theme, Honour History for a Better Future, the concert featured ten pieces of Chinese and Western music presented by the Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theatre and New Elements Music.
Founded in 1953, the Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theatre is one of China’s most prestigious performing arts groups. New Elements Music was founded in London in 2019 and is dedicated to building bridges between Chinese and global music cultures. There were also guest performers from the London City Orchestra and the Camden Philharmonia Orchestra.
Opening with the Ode to the Red Flag, a classic of revolutionary Chinese music composed by Lü Qiming in 1965, the program featured Chinese modern folk music from the period of war and revolution along with contemporary work inspired by the vision of building a community of shared future for humanity. Western pieces included Sir Edward Elgar’s Nimrod.
Particularly poignant for a number of people in the audience was Long Way from Home, the theme song from the documentary film The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru, performed live by Elly O’Keeffe, the London-based Irish singer, who also sings it in the film, accompanied by clips from the film.
A stirring finale was provided by the piano solo Ode to the Yellow River, performed by Di Xiao, Professor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, followed by the choral singing of Defend the Yellow River and My Motherland.
Defend the Yellow River is the last movement of the Yellow River Piano Cantata composed by Xian Xinghai during the war against Japanese aggression. In 1970, it was also adapted into the Yellow River Piano Concerto, which incorporates phrases from The East is Red and the Internationale.
The mixed choir was formed by members of the Choir of the Chinese Embassy in London, the London Chinese Philharmonic Choir and a team from the London Branch of the Bank of China.
Special mention should also be made of the evening’s conductors, Ray Lin from New Elements Music and Thomas Payne, Musical Director of the London City Orchestra.
The event was sponsored by the London Branch of the Bank of China.
Among the distinguished friends of China present were Labour member of the House of Lords, Lord Davidson of Glen Cova; Mrs Denise Wynne, daughter of Lisbon Maru survivor Dennis Morley; former President of the British Sociological Association Martin Albrow; and Jack Perry, Chairman of the 48 Group Club. Friends of Socialist China was represented by our co-editors Carlos Martinez and Keith Bennett.
A short report of the evening was carried by the Xinhua News Agency.
