Early this April, an album entitled “Canaan Classic 3D” was released officially.
The praise CD is actually very familiar, but it is very new as it reintroduces 10 original anthems from the Canaan collection of hymns that Chinese Christians are very familiar with. Some of the notable songs included in the album are: ‘I bless you today’, ‘At 5’o clock in the morning of China’, ‘We are happy to come’, ‘The Intimate friend’, ‘Fellow traveler’ , ‘We go together on this road’ and many others.
These classics are given new renditions with the use of various modern and classic instruments such as cello, violin, harp, Chinese lute, erhu, Chinese zither and others. These instruments gave a new perspective over these classics. In the poem/anthem ‘At 5’oclock in morning of China’, for example, the Chinese lute added a soothing tone to the poem that makes it smooth to the ears. In the piece ‘The intimate friend’, the erhu also helps in allowing people sooth their minds as they listen to the song in the new rendition.
The new CD is the latest offering of Christian singer Shu Fang. Shu Fang is quite known for in China as a culture supporter, music producer and star maker of Chinese pop music artists. In the 1990s, he made Li Chun Bo and the songs ‘Xiao Fang, ‘A letter home’ and ‘A kind of love is waiting’ famous. When he converted to Christianity, he devoted himself in producing Chinese Christian music.
When it comes to music, Shu is well-known for blending several musical elements into poetry as seen in the pieces included in the album written by Xiao Min. Shu Fang also adds more flavor to the pieces with his magnetic voice which helps the audience feel the familiarity of these pieces and still experience something new.
Shu Fang stated that it is his and Xiao Min’s wish that they release a new recording of the Collection of Canaan. They wanted to reintroduce the classic melodies of Canaan poetry again to the people and give the best praises to Father because the gifts He gave us is the best. With this fact, people should pay Him back with our best creations. They also hope that the melody they place in the music would reach to the people and move their souls with the blessings of Emmanuel.
China Christian Daily invited Shu Fang to share his new album and talk more about his perceptions regarding music.
CCD: You introduced many popular poetry pieces through Canaan Classic. Could you introduce to use the style you used for this album?
Shu Fang: The philosophy of producing music entails the retention of the essence of a piece and then add features with technology and modern techniques to give it its own identity. For this album, I introduced Canaan poetry in a way how a Chinese would introduce the music the best. I utilized the music of a large symphony band playing balanced melody with the use of Chinese instruments.
CCD: You selected 10 pieces from the Canaan poetry collection. Out of these ten pieces, which did you like the best? Did you have any unforgettable or moving experiences that made you select this piece?
Shu Fang: What moved me greatly is the piece ‘True God Love You’. For all the times that I wanted to stop made me felt that God’s love and salvation allowed me to persevere. If not for God’s love and salvation, I hardly live today.
CCD: You started from making original music and now you are promoting the creation of original music that discusses past experiences. In comparison to other countries and religion, what is China’s advantages and disadvantages when making original music about religion? What could we learn from foreign music?
Shu Fang: The indigenous creation of anthems allows people to develop. Otherwise, it does not move the words of the gospel nor fight with the world pop music.
While I was working in another field 10 years ago, I’ve heard the Canaan poetry being sung by many brothers and sisters in many places. For me, I thought that even though it is the same song, the version varies extensively as if it is influenced by how it is transferred per person. Songs from the internet are also very bad in quality and there are even instances when the lyrics are sung with errors. Xiao Min finds this instance confusing. We've been praying that Canaan poetry would be created using professional recording technology. Finally, God answered our prayers and guided us to finish the album without problems.
CCD: For you, what is worth discussing: classical or pop music? So many Christians have different opinions when it comes to what type of music they should listen to. In your opinion, how do Chinese Christians choose and regard the arguments regarding classical and popular music?
Shu Fang: I regard both classical and pop music as a kind of element. So long as we use these elements to express these anthems perfectly, it would allow us to reach our goal in making anthems perfectly in various aspects.
Anthems need to be spread widely. In this case, it should be able to adapt itself to modern styles and adapt modern methods to enhance its classical elements. The music should be both appealing to both classical music lovers but also to the younger generation who follow the latest trends. This is why my music often mixes both classical and popular elements in order to encompass a larger age group. That is often an objective every professional producer has to take into consideration.
