The Evolution of Shanghai's Choral Culture in Terms of Interaction with the Traditions of European Musical Art

Abstract

Relevance of study. There are considered the features of the development of Shanghai choral culture in historical retrospective. The choral performance of Shanghai is characterized as a separate musical infrastructure, for the successful development of which it is necessary to implement industries and activities that ensure the functioning of the entire system. Main Objective.The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the formation of Shanghai performing choral in terms of interaction with the traditions of European music.Methodology. In the process of research, a set of analytical methods was used. The main of them were the structural method (in understanding the system of choral art infrastructure in Shanghai), factual (collection and comparison of various information), archival and bibliographic (during the work with primary sources) and historical-typological method, that helped to summarize information on the history of choral art in Shanghai in the twentieth century.Results/Finding and Conclusions. It is revealed the evolutionary nature of the formation of the Shanghai choral infrastructure. It is determined the role of mental attitudes of the Shanghai population in the process of assimilation of the traditions performing music of other countries (including choral art). It is noted that the active period of the development of Shanghai choral art began in the 1920s. It was associated with mastering by Chinese musicians of the Western European traditions of choral singing. It was happening mainly in virtue of listening to and performing pieces by European composers. It is noted the importance of the Shanghai Music Conservatory in the process of professionalization and intensification of the Shanghai choral culture. The Europeanization of choral art took place under the influence of teachers who received a Western-style education. It was determined that the concert activity of choral groups, including from students of the conservatory, has become an important component of the infrastructure of Shanghai choral culture. The most productive period of Chinese choral music began in the last quarter of the twentieth century and was associated with the “openness policy” of the country. It is concluded that today Shanghai is considered one of the centres of choral art. More than 2,000 choirs are guides of Chinese traditional and Western European musical culture.