SALFORD, United Kingdom—The voices of Shen Yun’s bel canto singers filled the air, resonating through the auditorium.
Daniel Forbes, who advises architects and designers in acoustics, felt the power of Shen Yun’s singers as he sat in the front row of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
“It was something else being there,” he said, after watching the performance at The Lowry Salford on April 20.
Shen Yun singers are uniquely trained to sing in Chinese using the the traditional bel canto technique. Forbes was moved by the translation of the Chinese lyrics, which are projected on the backdrop.
“Some of the words of the songs, they were inspiring hope and inspiring love and humanity,” he said.
Live Music
Another unique characteristic of a Shen Yun performance is a live orchestra that blends music and melodies from the East and West.Forbes described the musicians as “phenomenally talented” and appreciated seeing the orchestra pit from the front row.
And one piece of music that struck him was a solo by the erhu, sometimes called the Chinese violin.
An incredibly expressive instrument, the erhu has a history of over 4,000 years, and only has two strings.
“It was like a mix of sorrow but at the same time hope in what she was playing, which sounds quite deep for just an instrument,” he said.
Creativity
In some scenes, dancers appear to fly up into the heavens, as their jumps are perfectly in sync with the animated backdrop.“It was really clever how they used the projection and the screens at the back,” said Forbes. “It worked well with the architecture of the stage as well. It was really good.”
Shen Yun has an all-new performance each year, with different costumes, storylines, choreography, and music.
“The love and humanity in the messages, it’s something that everyone needs to hear, so it’s fantastic that it’s going round the world,” said Forbes. “It’s something you can be reminded of each year if you come back and see it again.”
