Instrumental music from a distance age,
The melody of China,
Accentuated by... an exclusive blending of East and West.
THE MUSIC OF SHEN YUN
[Johnny Stuart – Music Director] Min-d Blowing! The music is just phenomenal.
[Diane Wilkinson – Floral Designer] My husband was even brought to tears.
He’s a big man and he’s never in tears except with music.
[Mennato Forgione – Director of Business Development] Great energy and just reach the levels of vibrate within the audience.
[Leon Natker – Conductor] Putting together classical Chinese instruments
and classical western instruments is a way toward the future from me as a musician.
[Milen Nachev – Conductor, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] It’s so difficult to achieve the perfect integration for every orchestra.
This is most challenging working onto any music.
[Keng-Wei Kou - Conductor, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] All around the world,
many orchestras have tried to combine the elements of Chinese and western mucsic and it almost always fail.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] Both the musical systems are excellent but it’s just like cooking,
you might have great ingredients
but if you don’t understand the characteristics of the ingredients
and just stir fire random things together, it simply won’t taste good.
Shen Yun’s original music features the perfect harmony of classical eastern and western music.
The western orchestra is the foundation enhancing the distinct sound of Chinese instruments.
The melody of ancient middle kingdom severs at the bedrock
and it is with the western orchestra that Shen Yun brings them to life.
This is a new frontier in classical music and it what makes Shun Yun’s music unique.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] Shen Yun has a unique way of blending east and west and as composers,
we need to have a foundation of both western and eastern traditions.
Shen Yun artistic goals and aspirations are very demanding that requires a lot of us both technically and spiritually.
There’re certain special methods exclusive to Shen Yun.
So what are these exclusive methods? Let’s get a little closer and see for ourselves.
DEEPLY ROOTED IN A GRAND CULTURE
Located in New York State, Shen Yun Performing Arts mission
is to revise the traditional culture that had almost been lost.
Classical Chinese Dance is Shen Yun’s main art form
and most original Shen Yun’s music is created for its dances.
It displays China traditional melodies.
Just like that, music can also present different times, places, characters and moods.
China has 5 millennia worth of culture.
From the melodic styles of over 50 ethnic groups to grand imperial court music and […] folk tunes.
This heritage is an endless source of inspiration.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] The music also embody this.
We have to get the form of the music right.
For example, The Lady of The Tang court were very elegant.
During the Qing Dynasty, the princesses have this noble air.
The male dancers are masculate and vigorous. The Tang imperial drum is all drums and brass.
On the other hand, the female dancers display gentle beauty,
so you hear most strings, pipa, lighter instrument.
Creating Daoism music we go for mystical air and a strong sense of integrity.
Buddha’s music is solemn and merciful, the […] embodies the dignity.
Put key chains on the same melody, the […] for the Monkey King suddenly becomes nimble and playful.
As for Pigsy, the trumbon at the body accentuate the clumsiness and the Sona (??) on top,
gives you a very comical feeling.
And in each corner of China, you’ll find different customs and styles.
[Junyi Tan - Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] Northeastern music for example, tends to favor this sona.
The region south of the Yangzi River tends to use the pipa a little more.
Mongolians use a lot of vibratos.
And other ethnic groups have their own unique styles and characteristics.
China was once known as The Land of the Divine,
a magnificent civilization said to has been bestowed from above.
From the earliest music of the ancient Emperors to the bells and chimes of four millennia gold;
from the classical poetry of the Zhou Dynasty and Warring States to those of the Han Dynasty;
from the grand melodies of the Swei and Tang to Song Dynasty poetry based music;
the opera and drama of the Yuan Dynasty all the way to the folk songs and ditty of the Ming and Qing
and even the emergent original tunes and Pekking opera.
Each Dynasty adopted vastly different musical forms.
Their melodies are rich yet simple.
Each with its own heritage and lasting contribution.
[Keng-Wei Kou - Conductor, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] Most people assume that Chinese music only has a pentatonic skill,
but actually historical records show that as earliest the Yellow Emperor,
around 2,600B.C, a twelve known scale was already in use.
Ancient Chinese music had many kinds of instruments
and a very comprehensive system of music theory and principles.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] The Tang Dynasty Performance Group has as many as a hundred and eighty musicians.
Some say that was the earliest symphony orchestra.
Looking back at history's development over thousands of years,
we see that China's traditional music is wolven into human kind’s culture legacy.
Through early cultural exchange,
the 12 tone chromatic system invented by a Ming Dynasty prince spread from China to the west.
Today it is the basis of western music.
It was as if an age of creativity has swept across the world
by the time that Yuan Dynasty was producing a range of operas and other arts.
The west, likewise entered their renaissance period and western music was reaching its pinnacle.
Evolving from accompaniment to dance and […], the symphony orchestra was gradually refined and perfected.
Shen Yun uses the symphony orchestra as the core then integrate Chinese instruments
creating a profoundly fulfilling musical experience for the people of today.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] We wanted to choose a form that all nationalities could accept.
The western orchestra sound is terrific and is a widely accepted form,
so we took these two comprehensive systems and combined the best each has to offer.
[Junyi Tan - Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] Shen Yun music is based on Chinese melodies.
We use the western orchestra as a backdrop, as the way of underlining.
We’re not entirely using western arrangement methods.
DISTINCT ARRANGEMENT METHODS
Traditional Chinese music emphasizes the expression of inner feelings.
The ancients always use musical instruments to convey their states of mind.
Western music, meanwhile, emphasizes the effect of the ensemble and to achieve that,
arrangement and harmony are of utmost importance.
Shen Yun combines these two approaches.
[Junyi Tan - Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] Between these two systems,
the first major distinction is the instrument, but the most fundamental different is the internality.
Just look at these strings, the erhu (??) and the violin have completely difference timbre or tone caller.
The pipa is plucked and there is no equivalent to it among western instruments.
Once these two instruments appear, the western symphony can’t submerge that.
That's because their musical features are so unique.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] The ancient focused on each individual note
and each note could be expressed in many different ways.
They also emphasized the transitions between notes.
It just like how Chinese dance stresses that space between one movement and the next should have rythm to it.
Chinese music is also this way the rhythms
and feelings between notes are big parts of Chinese music special tonality.
For example, on the piano you play do re mi,
but on the Chinese instrument you rarely hear note played like that.
The score may not say anything more, may just say do re mi,
but it’s up to the musician to bring out the feeling.
That kind of feeling.
When Chinese and western instruments come together,
some instruments can be combined well but others simply can’t.
So what method can be used to put them in harmony?
[Junyi Tan - Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] These past few years,
Shen Yun has defined its own arrangement methods.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] It’s the same with different musical temperament,
we come up with some special ways making them work together.
PURE ENERGY
[Tony Carroll – Entrepreneur] It’s a wonderful culture. All the things are beneficial to humanity in general.
[Elizabath Stafford – Arts Philanthropist] It’s almost heavenly.
[Amer Moheidden – Drummer] Seriously, I love all the music [….]
[Haitao Wang – Student] It has the righteous energy. It fills you with words.
[Janice Bostic – International Union] I’m in pain 24 hours a day
and I don’t take pain pills because they do not work.
And I lost myself in music tonight and I don’t feel any pain right now.
When people today are struct by such feelings strange of performance,
perhaps they do not realize the ancient wisdom behind it all.
[Junyi Tan - Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] The Chinese character or word for ‘medicine’ comes from the word for ‘music’.
When you add the grass radical to ‘music’, you’ll get the word ‘medicine’.
Ancient Chinese know that music has the power to heal. Modern medicine has now proven this.
Over the course of 5,000 years, the world view that man
and heaven are one and that all matter has life has permeated all aspects of Chinese culture including music.
The Records of The Grand Historian states ‘music is a harmony with heaven and earth’;
‘virtuous elegant music is an alignment with the motions of matter and with principles of human health,
it possesses a pure energy.’
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] The 5 notes of the ancient pentatonic scale for example,
are connected to China's theory of 5 elements.
The first note, gong(?), is connect to the earth element which cause one to the digestive system.
Music based on this note makes the person feel serene.
The third note, jue(?) was connected to the wood element and relates to liver health.
In the past it was the concept of elegant music that nurtured virtue
that places the person organs in harmony.
It really has a healing effect.
A lot of music nowadays is dedicant, noisy, chaotic and provoke senses it wounds your body.
Shen Yun just use its classical composing method.
A DIVINE REALM
As Shen Yun gains international prominence, its original music has also drawn wide attention.
In 2012, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra played its international debut at Carnegie Hall.
In 2013, it began touring.
[Col. Baron – U.S. Army and Air Force, retired] It was the most outstanding performance that we’ve seen.
[Betsy Swann – Writer] You know with the music you can picture the mountains and the seasons and,
you know, snow falling and for me, the visual was all nature.
[Pandora Spelios – Greek radio hostess] It sent you to another place, like fairy tale.
[Michele Berk – Hollywood Producer] The music of China has such haunting melody. It just seduces you.
[Jim Crill – Producer] The music captured all the dynamics of the human spirit.
[Michael Duckett – Social scientist and physician] The unspoken words that were so loud that you can feel them in yourself.
[Michael Blaszko – Case Management Supervisor] It gets you right here.
Music comes from the heart. Be performing music or enjoying it, it is actually heart to heart communication.
[Dale Robertson – Entrepreneur] It is so moving. It transcends all cultures, all languages.
I mean it makes you celebrate humanity
[Margaux Brooks – Film producer] You transcended to a higher stage of consciousness which is a divine state of mind.
[Arthur galbraith – Cancer researcher] For one thing it has an incredible spiritual message,
something that goes beyond just traditional religion. It’s just like cosmic.
Indeed, beyond territorial boundaries, beyond religious divisions, from ancient time,
Chinese people felt in their hearts a very natural connection with the heavens.
People revere the heavens and the divine and believe that somewhere in the cosmos,
there is a higher wisdom and that there is some magnificent Law guiding the circle of life,
that our existence has a more profound meaning.
Actually, the way of seeking wisdom from heaven is not so mysterious.
Purify the heart, regulate the breathing, and refine oneself.
The concept of self-cultivation was infused throughout ancient Chinese cultures.
It could be seen across all professions and every level of society.
Many of China's famous ancient artists were in fact, cultivators.
The ancients said, through music, the depths can be seen, virtuous sound is music,
the sound of moral excellence is music to the ears.
They focused on inner cultivation.
When the ancients played the zither, they were actually cultivating their hearts and minds
even in today’s China, the society is eroded by atheism,
this culture of cultivation dating back thousands of years has not vanished.
In the […] of the city, a group of artist is reviving the tradition,
calmly putting into practice the way of self-cultivation.
[Jing Xian – Composer, Shen Yun Performing Arts] The main difference is Shen Yun approaches things from higher stand point.
It has a higher spiritual level that is a divine nature.
The ancient said, the Sage plays music in accordance with heaven.
This was Chinese culture traditional approach.
I used to be quite the bragger used to think I’m really something.
Now I feel like I can’t brag at all.
I realize that my self improvement is what's most important.
I can’t be like I was in the past writing music for my personal fame and gain.
Now I think more about what the audience truly needs.
When I write, I’m now with the mindset of trying to find a harmony with heaven.
[Patrick Swiatek – Violin, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] My first impression when I saw Shen Yun, I want to play there.
[George Sullivan – French Horn, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] I had no idea what this was like when I came here,
but I was just terribly moved. The culture is actually amazing.
The ‘divine’ is just not my everyday vocabulary until I came here.
And I see so much effort everywhere. It’s got to be Falun Dafa,
the meditation. It is an amazing experience.
I know because of that, its' improved my health, it improved my playing, it improved me as a person.
I become more compassionate towards people.
[Leatra Hillhouse – Oboe, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] everybody here is very genuine and it encourages you to become better.
It encourages you to be a better person, to be a better musician.
It makes you excited. It makes you proud to be a part of something like this.
[Milen Nachev – Conductor, Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra] During concert, everybody around me is so deep inside of the music that I even don’t need to conduct.
Just put my thoughts into the emotion and lead them with eyes.
That’s, well, such a magical moment.
[Kim Brown – Marketing Manager] At of the pureness of the soul is how they create beautiful arts, so I think it’s fascinating and you can tell.
[Anita Swiatek – Concertmaster, Germany] Shen Yun must be getting help from above. It’s so powerful.
Throughout our human kind's extensive history,
the mission of art has long been to take those divine sounds and celestral melodies,
and the deep inner wisdom behind them, and warm people's hearts.
[Michael Burgos – IT professional] This is something that timeless that can be shared through our generation and to generations to come.
[Lisa Sherman – Dietitian] I would absolutely recommend this show,
not just to my friends but to my enemies too.
It would help sweeten the whole world, help everybody to become more kind-hearted and
more light-hearted and to see the world from that perspective of beauty.