↑Li Guyi performs at a concert that featured works by Chinese songwriter Yan Su in Beijing on July 26, 2010. [Photo by Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua]

↑2010年7月26日，李谷一在中国作曲家严素的作品中演出。[罗晓光/新华社摄]

Li Guyi is to perform Homeland Love to mark 40 years of China's reform and opening-up.

李谷一将为纪念中国改革开放40周年演唱乡恋。

In 1980, Chinese singer Li Guyi performed a song, entitled Homeland Love, a mellow love ballad written by Ma Jinghua and Zhang Peiji, which made the then 36-year-old singer of the Central Symphony Orchestra-now known as China National Symphony Orchestra-into a household name in China.

1980年，中国歌手李谷一演唱了一首名为乡恋的歌曲，这是一首由马靖华和张丕基撰写的柔美爱情民谣。这首歌使当时身在中央交响乐团(现在被称为中国国家交响乐团)36岁的歌手李谷一 ，家喻户晓。

"The song was well received by audiences and I was asked to sing it again and again when I performed across the nation then," recalls Li, 74, who once gave 72 performances in 50 days nationwide.

“这首歌很受观众欢迎，当我在全国各地表演时，我被要求一次又一次地唱歌，”74岁的李回忆说，她曾在全国50天内演唱过72场。

However, her performance also became controversial. Instead of using a solid, wide vocal range while singing, a style which dominated the music scene in the country then, Li sounded sweet, easy and used air-breathing singing, a pop-singing style that challenged the aesthetics of singing in China at the time.

然而，她的表现也引起了争议。在演唱时，李谷一没有用当时“高、快、响、硬”的时代特点演唱风格，而采用“低、慢、弱、软”的演唱形式，这与中国当时时代歌曲曲风不符。

The lyrics of the song were also criticized heavily by critics and some audiences as "decadent music".

这首歌的歌词也被评论家和一些听众批评为“亡国之音”。

Disappointed and sad, Li was set to give up singing the song anymore when the turning point came in 1983.

由于失望和悲伤，李谷一打算不再唱这首歌，直到1983年出现转折点。

That year, she was invited to perform six songs at China Central Television's first Spring Festival Gala, known as chunwan in Chinese, one of the most-watched annual shows in Chinese broadcast on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

那一年，她被邀请在中央电视台举办的第一届春节联欢晚会上演六首歌，而春晚是除夕夜中国广播节目中最受瞩目的年度节目之一。

But Homeland Love was not included on the list.

但乡恋并未列入名单。

Then, a lot of viewers called in, asking for Li to perform the song at the gala. And the gala's director Huang Yihe made the decision to broadcast Li's performance of the song.

然后，很多观众打来电话点播这首歌，希望李谷一在晚会上演唱。晚会的导演黄一鹤决定让李谷一表演这首歌。

Since then, Homeland Love has become a hit, and is one of Li's most popular songs.

从那以后，乡恋成为热门歌曲，也是李谷一最受欢迎的歌曲之一。

"It's a beautiful song and most importantly, audience views about art started to change thanks to the reform and liberation of thought that went on through the 1980s," says Li.

“这是一首美妙的歌曲，最重要的是，观众对艺术的看法因改革开放而开始发生变化”，李谷一说。

"It was during that time that China started to develop its own pop music, which offered a platform for songwriters to create original material."

“正是在那段时间，中国开始发展自己的流行音乐，这为作曲家提供原创平台。”

As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of China's reform and opening-up, the veteran singer will hold a concert in Beijing on Thursday, which will see her perform Homeland Love again.

今年是中国改革开放40周年，这位资深歌手将于周四在北京举行一场音乐会，届时她将再次表演家园之恋。

Li's students, over 20 professional Chinese singers, including Fu Disheng, Wang Lida and Zhang Ye, will join Li, performing over 30 songs written by Chinese songwriters since the reform and opening-up process began in 1978.

1978年改革开放以来，李谷一的学生，包括付笛声，王丽达，张也在内的20多位中国专业歌手将加入李谷一的团队来，演唱中国作曲家创作的30多首歌曲。

"China's reform and opening-up not only brought economic opportunity for the country, but also offered a change for musicians," says Li.

“中国的改革开放不仅为国家带来了经济机遇，也为音乐家带来了变革”，李说。

↑Li (center) performs the song Unforgettable Night at CCTV's Spring Festival Gala on Feb 18, 2015. [Photo provided to China Daily]

↑李谷一(中)于2015年2月18日在中央电视台春节联欢晚会上演唱难忘之夜。[图片来自中国日报]

"Before the reform and opening-up, songs performed on TV were similar-grand performances dealing with big topics. But after that, a diversity of music styles started to emerge and songwriters tended to depict personal emotions."

“在改革开放之前，在电视上播放的歌曲都比较类似，都是围绕一些主旋律的表演。但在此之后，各种各样的音乐风格开始出现，歌曲作者倾向于描绘个人情感。”

During the concert, Li will perform her best-known hits, including Homeland Love, My Motherland and Me and Unforgettable Tonight, a song which has been used as the closing song for the annual Spring Festival Gala for 32 years.

在演唱会期间，李将演出她最着名的热门歌曲，包括《乡恋》，《我和我的祖国》和《难忘今宵》，《难忘今宵》这首歌曾被用作每年的春节联欢晚会闭幕曲长达32年。

Speaking about Unforgettable Tonight, Song Guanlin, the general manager of the China Oriental Performing Arts Group, the organizer of Li's upcoming concert, says: "It is a slow, smooth song, which is like a happy ending to the gala. For Chinese audiences, the gala is not over until it is performed. It has become a tradition."

谈起《难忘今宵》，即将举行的音乐会的组织者，中国东方表演艺术集团总经理宋冠林表示：“这是一首缓慢，流畅的歌曲，就像是一个圆满的结局。对于中国观众来说，这已经成为一种传统，这首歌表演完后晚会才结束。“

Li, who was born in Kunming, Yunnan province, began her music and theater career at the age of 15, when she started studying huaguxi opera, a folk music and dance art form in Hunan, at the Hunan Art Institute.

李谷一出生于云南省昆明市，她15岁开始从事音乐和戏剧事业，当时她开始在湖南艺术学院学习湖南民间音乐和花鼓戏。

She then worked with the Hunan Huaguxi Opera Theater from 1961 to 1974 as an actress.

1961年至1974年，她在湖南省花鼓戏剧院当演员。

↑Li takes an interview at a news conference in Beijing, announcing her upcoming concert along with her students on Thursday. [Photo provided to China Daily]

↑李在北京的新闻发布会上接受采访，宣布她周四即将与她的学生一起举办音乐会。 [照片来自中国日报]

And after becoming a solo singer with the Central Symphony Orchestra in 1974, Li has toured with the orchestra to perform in China and abroad, including in France, the United States and Japan.

在1974年成为中央交响乐团的独唱歌手之后，李与乐团一起巡回演出，在中国和国外演出，包括法国，美国和日本。

She also received training in Western vocal performance and combined it with Chinese singing techniques. Besides, she promotes original Chinese songs featuring musical elements from Chinese folk operas and ethnic groups.

她还接受了西方声乐表演的训练，并将其与中国歌唱技巧相结合。此外，她还推广中国民谣和民族音乐元素的中国原创歌曲。

"It's an approach I use when I teach young Chinese singers-to learn and sing Chinese folk operas first," says Li.

“首先学习和演唱中国民歌，这是我教中国年轻歌手时使用的一种方法 ”，李说。

"There are over 300 forms of Chinese operas and different techniques of singing used by Chinese ethnic groups. Those art forms are unique treasures, which deserve further study and promotion.

“中国民族有超过300种形式的中国歌剧和不同的歌唱技巧。这些艺术形式是独特的珍品，值得进一步研究和推广。

"When you look back on Chinese songs written during the 1980s, you feel that the lyrics are poetic and the melodies are inspired by Chinese tradition," says Li.

“当你回顾20世纪80年代写的中国歌曲时，你会觉得歌词充满诗意，旋律受中国传统的启发，”李说。

"During the past 40 years, the Chinese music scene has blossomed. I hope that the new generation of musicians, who are often influenced by the West, base their music on their Chinese roots."

“在过去的40年里，中国音乐界蓬勃发展。我希望那些经常受到西方影响的新一代音乐家将他们的音乐建立在他们的中国根基上。”

责编：王姚冰

来源：中国日报