Ode to traditional world tunes

Tibetan musicians perform at the Beijing Traditional Music Festival. Provided to China Daily

It's rare for Yellow River chantey, Egypt's whirling dervishes, Iranian ensembles, Greek folk dances and Bulgarian women's choir singers to share the same stage.

That was what happened at the opening concert of the Beijing Traditional Music Festival on Oct 7, drawing excitement from audiences who were fascinated by the performances by artists from different nations. Watching the concert was akin to taking a tour of world civilizations.

"The concert presents the music and living conditions of people from different countries," says Cao Yuhan, a singer who attended the concert. "Now, I want to travel to those places as soon as possible."

Cao is particularly impressed with the swirling dance of the Dervish Abul Gheit group from Egypt, which she believes shows the cosmology of the Sufism. It contrasted with a Chinese guqin (zither) tune accompanied by a tai chi performance, which displayed Chinese people's attitude toward man and nature.

"Chinese music is part of world music, and we are trying to present it in the context of world music cultures through the Beijing Traditional Music Festival," says Zhao Talimu, president of China Conservatory, which presents the festival.

The theme for this year's event is "ode to the great river", using rivers as a collective symbol of civilizations and showcasing music cultures from the areas close to different rivers in the world.

The festival aims to "rediscover tradition", says Xie Jiaxing, a professor of China Conservatory and executive artistic director of the festival.

"In the last 100 years, many of China's traditions have been greatly challenged," Xie says. "It is our responsibility to protect our musical genes and to safeguard the diversity of global culture."

The festival will present 26 concerts of traditional music from China and the world in three weeks. Prior to the opening concert, a folk music competition was held at the Temple of Heaven, attracting performers and enthusiasts of various music forms, including folk songs, instrumentals and traditional operas.

Among the concerts are several dedicated to the music of minority ethnic groups of China, such as Music from Shangri-La, a concert of traditional Tibetan music performed by folk artists from Yunnan province.

"Our lives are being changed by developing technologies, and we are hearing more pop music nowadays but wish we can do something to preserve our traditional music so future generations won't forget their roots," says Tsering Tan, Tibetan singer and president of the Shangri-La Folk Music Preservation Association, which presented the concert.

This is also the vision of the organizer of the Beijing Traditional Music Festival, which was founded in 2009. With the support of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education and the Center of Ethnic and Folk Literature and Arts Development of the Ministry of Culture, the festival aimed to supplement the Beijing Music Festival, dedicated to Western classical music, and the Beijing Modern Music Festival.

This year's event has invited more than 100 music teachers from primary and middle schools in Beijing to participate in its activities to promote traditional music among students.

There are also fringe events, such as the World Higher Music Education Institutions Forum, National University Seminar on Minority Music Culture, International Seminar on Ancient Musical Instruments and master classes given by instrumentalists from both China and abroad.

At the closing ceremony on Oct 25, the festival will present the Taiji Awards to individuals and organizations who've made great achievements in traditional music from around the world. Nominees include Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, American ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl and Chinese-American writer Pai Hsien-yung.

"We hope to build the Beijing Traditional Music Festival into an event with international influence," says China Conservatory president Zhao.

muqian@chinadaily.com.cn