A FAREWELL SONG

REVIEWED BY NICHOLAS SMITH, CHINA REVIEW

"Much guff has been written about music in China recently, so A Farewell Song comes as a breath of fresh air, capturing the sounds, atmosphere and very real plight of traditional Chinese music in a society where music, like other forms of theatre, is being firmly transformed into a consumer product with no meaning past that of a status symbol.  A Farewell Song is a documentary focusing on a group of retired professional musicians who, rather than diminuendo into obscurity, create arrangements of traditional Chinese tunes with a modern feel and an orchestral sound in an attempt to take on the prevailing apathy of the Chinese public. It’s a curious idea – 40 years of state sponsorship of music in China produced orchestras with guaranteed salaries and jobs for life along with the consequent arrogance, decay in performance standards and alienation of the public – but each of the musicians featured in this documentary is an experienced virtuoso and as well placed as anyone to win the hearts and minds of the Chinese for the music of their own country. These performers also clearly enjoy what they do. In a country where music is the slave of politics, this is far from the norm. Unfortunately, their efforts to create a new repertoire and sound are abruptly curtailed by the sudden death of Chen Dawei, the composer who has been creating the group’s arrangements. The next step for the band is to give him a rousing send-off, monks and all, which they do with great aplomb in the concert hall of the Shanghai Music Conservatory. The documentary is cut together with solos performed by the various members of the band, serving both to introduce the sounds of the main Chinese traditional instruments and acquaint us with some of the highlights of the Chinese traditional repertoire. A Farewell Song is a treasure house of quintessentially Chinese moments – Chen Dawei’s mock-scolding of his cheeky son, the frank admissions of physical frailty of flautist Luo Shoucheng’s old neighbours, stories of rigging downstairs flats as a stage and bombs landing in woks during concerts, the airport send-off of an only child. One can imagine the rehearsal and recording studio banter taking place in other parts of the world, but the delicacy and good manners of these talented sons of Shanghai makes it sparkle. The subtitles are well done in each situation, capturing the spirit of the moment; not an easy task given the musicians tendency to understatement.

The glimpses we are afforded of the players’ private lives give their story real human depth.  Many of them suffered genuine hardship, as musicians were alternately persecuted and ignored during the Mao years. Weng Zhenfa (the group’s Sheng player) is unusual among musicians of his age group for encouraging his daughter to learn an instrument, but tellingly she plays a western instrument and studies in Germany – a country where musicians command some respect and can make a decent wage. A number of the group wonder whether traditional Chinese music will survive their generation, and the reminiscences of some of the players make it clear that traditional Chinese music is on the way out. “We played a lot for the leaders” and “the foreigners like it” are two of the most telling comments in the whole documentary. An art form that functions only as aural wallpaper at political meetings or roast duck dinners is surely in its death throes.

A Farewell Song is a beautifully crafted documentary full of insights into Chinese traditional music. My hope is the Chinese will watch it themselves."

REVIEWED BY HANNE LANDBECK, POTSDAMER STADTKURIER

"A moving and richly musical documentary, A Farewell Song, from Arthur and Luther Jones, is about four musicians who after a lifetime of working in the state-controlled orchestra system, decide to go independent. The documentary takes us into their family life, as well as showing their shared laughter and debates about their music, and is truly a delightful and humane exploration of what is essentially, for many in the West, an alien culture.

The death of composer Chen Dawei – whose music saturates the film – is a tremendous shock to his companions. The concert that follows – and becomes a tribute to Chen – is a fitting sendoff and features some extraordinarily moving music whose universal melodies and sounds will surely cross all cultural boundaries."

(Translated from the German by Raymond Gress.)

© 2010 LostPensivos Films