By: Jennifer Jones
Shengzhao Jiang is an award-winning Chinese soprano currently living in London, UK. At The Silk Concerts she launched, this young musician recently created a new highlight – a performance of atypical Western classical music that conveys the growing need for women’s empowerment and diversity in music.
Peach Blossom, from the Chinese opera Farewell to the Cambridge again, is based on a poem by Lin Huiyin, the prototype of the heroine. Composer Xueshi Zhou combines the early 20th century art song style with a melody that is closely linked to the rhythm and direction of the poem. The addition of delicate violin tones and mellow cello tones, echoed by the bright tones of the piano and the vocals, sets the emotional tone of the piece – a sense of sadness, melancholy and haze. It reflects to the character of the heroine, paves the way of setting thoughts on the peach blossom, and also the collision of Chinese and Western civilisations – which resonates with the new ideas and culture that Huiyin exudes in her works, rendering the song rich in tones as well as a brand-new auditory experience.
Photo Courtesy: Shengzhao Jiang
Shengzhao’s concert featured mostly female performers, including Peach Blossom, where she added violin and cello in the adaptation with young musicians from the Royal College of Music background. This song also witnessed a full house applauding with St James’s Church, Sussex Gardens, London. Through their music, performances and public appearances, Shengzhao hopes that female musicians can change the stereotypical roles of women in society, who are not only symbols of motherhood and feminine appearance, but also independent, creative and talented individuals. This will also contribute to a more inclusive culture, and the development of the wider Music Industry.
‘Female musicians face numerous obstacles in their music careers for a range of reasons such as historical background, motherhood penalty, sexism, harassment, unconscious bias, lack of role models and so on.’ Shengzhao said, ‘I hope to promote inclusivity in the music industry through performances like this.’
Pusaman·The one, from the drama ‘Empresses in the Palace’. Shengzhao’s innovative combination of classical singing and traditional Chinese instruments has brought the song to the attention of social media. Composed by Huan Liu, the song features lyrics from the poem of the same name by Tang Dynasty poet Tingyun Wen. The words describe the woman’s beautiful appearance and her garments, using the technique of counterpoint to subtly reveal the character’s inner loneliness and emptiness. The whole song is a metaphor for the sadness of the woman who devoted her life to the imperial family, and also expresses hope for the development of women’s independence. Shengzhao sings in the bel canto technique, and added pipa and erhu in the adaptation – both of them are traditional Chinese musical instruments with thousands years of history. In particular, erhu has a human-like tone and produces a sobbing acoustic effect reminiscent of the dramatic emotions in the original series.
Photo Courtesy: Shengzhao Jiang
Ethnic musical instruments play an indispensable role in cultural heritage and innovation, and have great potential to promote musical diversity. Performing non-Western classical music, along with expanding female musicians’ performance opportunities, can also provide a platform for neglected voices to express themselves and promote gender equality and social justice. As Vick Bain points out, ‘We need greater diversity and inclusivity in the music field, those in education and leaders in the music industry need to realise that it is in their best interests to get this right; it’s a cultural shift.’ (Counting the Music Industry: The Gender Gap, 2019)
Photo Courtesy: Shengzhao Jiang
The highlights of diversity and inclusivity made Shengzhao’s concerts well received and critically acclaimed, and her concerts became one of the top three popular concerts of the year at London’s Westminster Music Library. Indeed, in today’s world of growing globalisation, female roles and diversity have become important components in music. These factors have injected a rich cultural heritage and artistic value into world music.
Published By: Nelly Chavez
