Xian Xinghai Music Collection 1 for Band

Note

Ever since I first heard the Yellow River Cantata performed live, I’ve been interested in Xian Xinghai. I managed to find his complete works, and discovered a whole universe of neglected music in those folios. The editors sensibly included his diaries too, which give fascinating insights on the state of music making in China in early twentieth century China.

In my explorations of Xian Xinghai’s music, I’ve often been surprised at how many of his melodies are still well known to ordinary Chinese people, who are generally unaware that they were penned by Xian Xinghai.  The durability of these melodies, I feel, says a lot about his insight into the Chinese psyche.  So when Joseph Cheung asked me if I would be willing to write some music for beginner wind band for Chinese schools, rather than fall back on folksong, I thought it would be fun to use some of Xian Xinghai’s forgotten tunes, and, hopefully, enable a new generation of Chinese students to enjoy his melodic gifts.  To make these arrangements, I left the original melodies largely intact while simplifying some rhythms to make them suitable for beginners, and created harmonies and orchestrations which I hope are attractive for both players and listeners.