A visit to the tribes of the Dong ethnic minority to listen to their polyphonic songs is often on the itinerary of tourists to Southwest China's Guizhou Province. Now, however, Beijing concert goers are able to enjoy the special folk songs without leaving the city. The Dong chorus from Liping County, Guizhou, will bring its songs to Beijing Concert Hall on February 22 and 23.
The polyphonic songs of the Dongs first amazed the world in 1986 when they performed at the Golden Autumn Arts Festival in Paris.
The local press hailed the songs as "the most charming polyphony" and "the most important discovery and meaningful achievement in the festival."
The vocal performances of the Dongs have also won acclaim in other European nations which boast long and profound musical traditions such as Italy and Hungary.
Like many other ethnic groups, the Dong minority is a group whose people are natural born singers and dancers.
"Singing plays a key role in preserving the ethnic group's centuries-old culture since these people do not use written characters," explained Yi Tongjun, director of Liping's Bureau of Culture & Radio.
"The rice builds up our bodies, and the songs refine our minds." The often-spoken saying has been handed down generation after generation among the Dong people.
Songs reach across the rugged mountains and valleys to reach every member of the Dong minority, Yi said.
Songs are used in several social occasions, such as the meeting of friends, entertaining guests, working in groups, talking, greeting new-born children and bidding farewell to the dead.
A chorus with as little as five to six or as many as 40 to 50 people sing in perfect harmony without a conductor but with the direction of a gifted vocal leader, Yi said.
The men's chorus sounds powerful and majestic like the limitless expanse of surging waves while the women sing with fluency and grace like floating clouds and trickling springs.
"In terms of libretto, the poetic songs could represent the Dongs' highest level of literature," said Fan Zuying with the China Conservatory of Music.
Whether narrating stories, conveying emotions or delivering truth, the contents of the songs fully display the Dongs' lifestyle, customs, moral stands and many other cultural aspects.
"We sing the songs to tell love stories or encourage people to be good, or to express the pursuit of freedom and happiness," said Yi.
(China Daily February 20, 2002)
