dong singers 121 The a cappella festival has already managed to acquaint leipzig with asia s fascinating vocal traditions on several occasions But there are still some traditional enthralling styles of singing just waiting to be discovered and this year the festival will for the first time be showcasing a special vari ety from china The Dong one of the fifty five ethnic minori ties in china inhabit the south western provinces of the country They are known for their impressive covered wind and rain bridges as well as for their fondness for music and their musical talent apart from their love of opera they are also possessed of a unique highly artistic style of polyphonic singing The fact that the Dong have no written language of their own reinforces the role of their songs as am bassadors and guardians of their culture and iden tity all the different aspects of their lives feelings knowledge and stories are still passed on orally in song from one generation to the next Singing with their families and neighbours sometimes over a hundred people come together when the Dong strike up their Grand Song at the Drum Tower at the centre of each village This unique chinese poly phonic singing heritage first came to the attention of musicologists in the second half of the twentieth century and in 2009 the Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group was classified by unEScO as part of the world s intangible cultural heritage The DONg SINgERS from liping in Guizhou Province are one of the first groups to present this ocal heritage at recitals as well as on radio and tel evision in china and abroad In 2013 for instance they performed at the Shanghai World Music Festival and in 2011 Wu Jinyan the ensemble s foundress and director won the gold medal at the Gala of Traditional chinese Folk Songs We hope you re just as excited as we are about discovering this important example of asian vocal culture echos From the valleys oF Western china polyphonic singing oF the dong people

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