Yage 雅歌: A Poetic Sense of China

CEAS at Yale hosts a special presentation by Tenor FAN JINGMA 范竞马 with The China Philharmonic String Quartet and Piano and Guest Soprano Erika Rauer

Yage (雅歌), a new musical concept which originated in the Chinese language, literally means “Elegant Songs.”  As an emerging musical genre, Yage or Chinese art songs, combines the Bel Canto technique, Lieder style, and Chinese poetry.  The singer is required to master the technique of controlled breathing with limpid Chinese diction to create the highest aesthetic beauty in both poetry and music.  The initiator of Yage, FAN Jingma, a refined opera singer, received his Bel Canto training in Italy (Carlo Bergonzi) and New York (Juilliard & Franco Corelli), in addition to his native China.   

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

FAN JINGMA
FAN Jingma came to international attention as a prize winner at the Third Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1987, and then a silver medal at the Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition in 1988 and the first prize at the Opera Index Vocal Competition in 1991 in New York.  After having graduated from the Conservatory of Music in his native China in 1982, he stayed on as a Professor of Voice. In 1984, he became an overnight national celebrity after winning China’s First Televised National Youth Vocal Competition. He went to Italy in 1987 to refine his Bel Canto technique under the guidance of Carlo Bergonzi, and then furthered his studies at the Juilliard School of Music and studied with the famed tenor Franco Corelli from 1992-1993 in New York.

FAN Jingma’s wide repertoire includes the title and leading roles from over 50 operas, operetta, and oratorios: Faust, Don Carlos, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Boheme, La Traviata, L’Oracolo, La Cenerentola, Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Fidelio, Die Fliegende Hollander, as well as Prince Su Chong in Franz Lehár’s operetta Das Land des Lächelns and the Evangelist in Jerrome Hines' I Am the Way, among others.  He has performed on all major opera stages around the world and cooperated with major symphony orchestras in concerts.  He has impressed audiences not only with his refined tenor voice, but also his truthful and vivid characterizations.  Opera Now called his portrayal of Goro in the 1995 release of the film version of Madam Butterfly (by Frederic Mitterand with James Conlon) “worthy of an Oscar nomination.”

FAN Jingma is also an accomplished recitalist and is particularly appreciated for his warm and passionate rendition of Neapolitan songs and the original and genuine interpretation of Chinese art songs.  Critics and fans alike have the highest praise for the collection of Neapolitan songs, “Bel Canto”, which he recorded with the Central Ballet Orchestra of Beijing, and the CD set “The Most Beloved Tenor Arias” with Virginia Symphony Orchestra.  His latest recording of the “Chinese Lieder” in super audio CD, accompanied by Reinild Mees (Piano), was an immediate hit after the release by Channel Classics in 2008.  Inspired by the great success, FAN Jingma launched an ambitious project in the same year that has emerged as a new genre of art songs: Yage – the Chinese Lieder, which is the fusion of the Lieder style, Bel Canto technique, and Chinese poetry.  He cherishes the hope that one day, Chinese Yage will be accepted and appreciated by both the Eastern and the Western worlds.

世界著名男高音歌唱家范竞马曾就读于四川音乐学院，师从兰幼青教授；后于中央音乐学院声歌系，师从沈湘教授。他先后在意大利帕尔玛威尔第音乐学院、美国纽约朱利亚音乐学院歌剧中心深造并受教于意大利声乐大师卡罗.贝尔岗奇和弗朗科.科莱里以完善美声唱法。1984年他因获得中央电视台“首届青年歌手电视大奖赛”第二名而驰名全国，此后又连续赢得1987年英国“第三届卡迪夫世界声乐比赛”水晶杯奖男声组第一名、1988年美国纽约“第三届罗萨·庞赛尔国际声乐比赛”银牌、1991年美国纽约“歌剧精粹声乐比赛”金奖和1995年美国费城“帕瓦罗蒂国际声乐比赛”决赛奖等顶级国际比赛大奖。多年来范竞马活跃于国际歌剧舞台，与世界主要歌剧院和交响乐团合作，在50余部歌剧、交响乐及宗教剧中担纲男主角并被著名男高音歌唱家多明戈誉为“近十年来欧洲罕见的男高音”。范竞马经常应邀参加国内外重要演出活动，对促进中外音乐文化交流发挥了重要作用。2008年以来他致力于探索和开创以汉语为基础、美声唱法为技术支持的斩新中国艺术歌曲流派“雅歌”并使之与世界艺术歌曲并行与对话。

THE CHINA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

The China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), founded in Beijing, China on May 25, 2000,  is a leading symphony orchestra in China and a division of the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) of the People’s Republic of China, with YU Long as its Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, and CHEN Yun as the Assistant Director and Concert Master.  Since the founding of CPO, it has performed in all major cities and concert halls around the world.  Its lengthiest overseas tour was in 2005, when it visited 22 cities in seven European and North American countries and was highly praised by the local media for its high-level of artistry.  The CPO Quartet was founded in 2005, and  is composed of the Concert Master CHEN Yun, Associate Principal Second Violin YAN Ke, Associate Principal Viola MAO Xinguang, and Associate Principal Cello GUAN Zhengyue. The Quintet that accompanies the Yage presentation today also presents Pianist CHEN Min.   

 中 国爱乐乐团是中国国家级交响乐团。余隆任艺术总监和首席指挥。陈允任助理艺术总监和乐团首席。2005年2月至4月，乐团在余隆和陈允率领下远涉重洋，举 行中国音乐史上空前规模的环球世界巡演，在美国、加拿大、意大利、斯洛伐尼亚、克罗地亚、英国、德国等国家的22个城市举办音乐会，其巡演时间之长，涉及 地域之广，演出场次之多，不仅在中国乐团出访史上前所未有，在世界的交响乐团中亦属罕见。受到包括美国《纽约时报》、英国《泰晤⼠报》、德国《法兰克福汇 报》等媒体的盛赞。2009年春天，英国《留声机》杂志评出“世界最具影响的乐团”，中国爱乐乐团与柏林爱乐乐团、伦敦交响乐团、纽约爱乐乐团等一起榜上 有名。中国爱乐乐团弦乐四重奏成立于2005年，是由中国爱乐乐团弦乐各声部首席/副首席组成，他们是当今中国顶尖的、并最具影响的弦乐四重奏组，足迹遍 及全国各地。

首席小提琴： 陈允，中国爱乐乐团首席，中央音乐学院教授

第二小提琴： 颜柯 ，小提琴声部副首席，原中国青年交响乐团首席

中提琴：毛新光，中提琴声部副首席，国家一级演奏家

大提琴：关正跃，大提琴声部副首席，国家一级演奏家

钢琴：陈敏，中国爱乐乐团, 一级钢琴演奏家

ERIKA RAUER

Soprano Erika Rauer‘s voice has been described as “iridescent” (Financial Times) and she has been commended by The Boston Globe for her ”great stage face and strikingly individual timbre.”   Ms. Rauer’s operatic credits include the title role of Salome at Oper Bremen, Abigail Williams in The Crucible with Opera Boston, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Tanglewood Music Festival and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as roles with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Gotham Chamber Opera, the Opera Company of North Carolina and dell’Arte Opera Ensemble.  Ms. Rauer has been a member of the Young American Artist’s Program at Glimmerglass Opera, a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival for three seasons, and a Chamber Music Fellow at the Steans Institute at Ravinia.  An advocate for Arts Education with many years of experience working with opera and music in public schools in New York City, Ms. Rauer was most recently the Director of Education for the New York City Opera.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Swarthmore College in religion and her Master’s Degree in voice from the Yale School of Music. Ms. Rauer is proud to be selected as the guest soprano to sing Yage together with its founder, tenor FAN Jingma, for the North American debut at Carnegie Hall and also to return to Yale to give a “homecoming” performance. Her newly found interest and passion is to sing Chinese songs in Chinese!

For more information:
fanjingma.com
erikarauer.com