Shanghai's many voices are being heard. The city's long love affair with choirs makes it a great place for amateur vocalists, writes Susan Zheng Karen Carpenter's melancholy tune Rainy Days and Mondays has never bothered Guo Qiang. For him, Monday is the best day of the week, even if it rains.
"On Mondays, I countdown the hours to 7 pm, when I will start singing with those who share my passion for music," says Guo, a 52-year-old librarian. "Sometimes, it's pouring down and hard to hail a cab. But nothing can stop me." What attracts Guo is the weekly rehearsals for the Shanghai Philharmonic Chorus, the city's best non-professional chorus.
As one of the founding members of the choir 12 years ago, the Monday rehearsal is a church-like ritual for Guo. "It's amazing to hear an individual's voice absorbed into the chorus and many voices singing as one," says Guo, now in charge of the sopranos. "When I sing in the group, all my troubles and unhappiness disappear."
In 1991, a few music lovers established a chorus that recruited amateur vocalists in the city. More than 600 people auditioned and 100 were recruited, ranging from 18 to 65 years old. In the past few years, the chorus' has spread far and wide. The group has toured France, Italy, Austria, Singapore and South Korea. Many renowned conductors in Shanghai, including Chen Xieyang, Cao Peng, Zhang Guoyong, as well as guests from the US, Germany and Russia have taken its baton. "I would never have had the chance to work with so many famous musicians if not for the chorus," she says. "I feel especially blessed that I can enjoy music and make friends." Guo's enthusiasm is widely echoed.
While most think karaoke, and the shower, are the only options for amateurs to burst into song, the city's long-time affair with choirs is largely ignored. "In the 1930s, Shanghainese sang in chorus to express their anger toward the Japanese invaders," says Zhao Jiagui, a 60-something chorus conductor. "In the past 20 years, the artistic level of choirs improved substantially with people's increasing interest and knowledge in music." Last year, more than 1,800 choruses signed up for the annual "Sunshine and Earth" Chorus Competition, according to the Chorus Committee of the Shanghai Musicians' Association.
"Since Shanghai has only one professional choir, which is attached to the Shanghai Opera House, the non-professional choruses truly represent the city's chorus level," says Zhao, who insists that they are not "amateurs." While the local philharmonic chorus embodies the apex of non-professional choirs in the city, many chorus groups with less professional training have just as much passion.
The 65-year-old Cai Guojun, a former college teacher, remembers a choir made up entirely of senior citizens. Five years ago, he and another four retirees met frequently in Fuxing Park. They shared a similar interest in singing English and Russian songs and started meeting on Sundays. "People surrounded us while we were singing and some of them joined us eventually," Cai recalls. "By and by, we expanded into a 80-strong chorus." The chorus, now named Sunday Foreign Song Chorus, is one of three in Fuxing Park. Made up mostly of senior citizens aging from 50 to 80, the choirs are a nice addition to the park. Despite the increasing enthusiasm, insiders think there are problems impeding the developments of these choruses. "Most of them participating in the local competition don't practice on a regular basis," says Xiao Ba, chairman of the chorus committee.
"Many disband when the competition ends and reunite when another pops up." Xiao says that about 80 choirs with regular rehearsals currently have registered with the committee, among which are a few citywide choruses such as the Shanghai Philharmonic Chorus and those from communities and schools.
While nearly half of the registered choruses are comprised of senior citizens. In China, many amateur choirs use numbered scores -- vastly different to the Western scale. The different way of learning music is easier in the beginning, says Zhao. However it is also a system that makes it more difficult to improve once reaching a certain level. Last year, Zhao led the Shanghai Prosecutors' Choir in a concert in Hamburg that earned column space in newspapers in Germany.
However, before that, the 17-year-old chorus experienced a painstaking process of training members. "Many of these busy prosecutors wanted to give up half way, but after they mastered it, they find it very convenient," says Zhao. "In fact, it is a common practice (to use the staff) among foreign choruses. The choirs here still have a long way to catch up." Except for the staff, the scarcity of professional conductors also poses a big problem. The Shanghai Conservatory of Music set up chorus conducting major in the 1950s. Zhao was a graduate then. However, this course hasn't existed for decades.
Earlier this year, Cao Tongyi, an associate professor in the conservatory, reopened it because he noticed that all the good chorus conductors were getting older. "The conductor is the soul of a chorus," Cao says. "The city is in bad need of talents in this area." Cao managed to recruit one prospect this year, though he originally planned on admitting two students. The city's chorus committee, at the same time, holds master classes for amateur chorus conductors. Xiao, the chairman, says 30 such conductors are very active among the city's amateur choirs at present. Coincidentally, these insiders place their hope on younger choruses, indicating that they are the ones that will lift the artistic level to new heights.
In 1994, Zhao founded the Nice Children Chorus and it is regarded as the only children's choir that can sing both classic and complex music in the city. Many of its former members now study in conservatories around the world. The Shanghai Philharmonic Chorus recently also established a female chorus that enrolled more than 50 young amateur vocalists. Famous conductor Yang Hongnian is the group's artistic director. As you can see, Shanghai has many voices. And more and more, they are beginning to be heard.
(eastday.com September 17, 2003)
