UDC 784
10.36871/hon.202301079
Authors
Xu Kaihua,
Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts, Moscow, 121165, Russian Federation
Abstract
The article traces the early development of Chinese choral art: from the singing courses introduced into the secondary school curriculum and the "school song" (Xue tang yuey ge), which acted both as an academic discipline and a popular vocal genre, to the appearance of the first three-voice choir "Spring Walk" by the composer and teacher Li Shutong. It is noted that the school song genre originated as an independent phenomenon in Japan, where works written in the hogaku style were highly revered, and the reforms of the Meiji period (1898–1912) played an important role in the development of choral art. Many Chinese students continued their studies in Japan, where, during the reforms, Western military and school music was borrowed, and choral singing began to be cultivated as a result of the perception of Christian culture. The purpose of this article is to present the works of Chinese educators, Shen Xingong and Li Shutong, whose activities were aimed at establishing the choral art in China. It describes the first school songs composed by Shen Xingong and Li Shutong to music borrowed from folklore, Christian hymns or famous Western European works, and the first three-voice composition by Li Shutong, which paved the way to Chinese choral polyphony.
Keywords
school song genre, choral art, Japan, the activities of educators, Shen Xingong and Li Shutong
