David Simon, a Polish Jew, became a photojournalist in 1933. From the Spanish Civil War to the end of World War II, he documented the war throughout Europe and was one of the most influential war correspondents during World War II.

Last year, David Simon followed Spanish refugees across the ocean to Mexico, documenting the hardships of the entire journey. He came to New York some time ago and was invited by his friend Paul Robertson to perform in the Chinese - the two met on the battlefield in Spain.

Fifteen years later, David Simon, who has become the chairman of the photo news agency, recalled in the article:

"I was 29 years old, and President Roosevelt had just won the election, and Mr. Paul Robertson said to me: Chinese there's a big show in New York, maybe you should take your camera and see it...... China is a very foreign country to me. But I am no stranger to Chinese, and when I was studying in Paris, I met many Chinese students. They gave me the impression that they were always hardworking, intelligent and withdrawn......"

"The host of that performance was Mr. Zhou Hexuan's lover - it should be like this - Ms. Yu Peichen. But at the beginning of the performance, the host did not appear, and the stage lights shone on the 32 Chinese chorus. Eight of the chorists were children, and I liked to photograph the children the most and immediately raised my camera to them. ”

"It was a melodic Chinese song, and I had no idea what they were singing. But I was surprised to find that the Chinese audience was singing along, and before the song was finished, the gentleman not far from me was already in tears. ”

"After singing the Chinese song, the choir sang the English version of the song, and I finally understood the lyrics: a big river with wide waves, and the wind blows the rice flowers on both sides. My family lives on the shore, and I am used to hearing the captain's horn and seeing the white sails on the ship. This is the beautiful motherland, where I grew up, and in this vast land, there are bright scenery everywhere......"

"At that moment, it was as if a lightning bolt struck my soul. I think of my homeland of Poland when I was 31 years old, of the beautiful Vistula River, of my family under German rule...... Good music is always fascinating, it transcends borders, she transcends race, and allows strangers to understand each other. ”

"Some people say that the Jews have no homeland, and I don't agree with that. At least until I became a U.S. citizen at the age of 31, Poland was my homeland, where I grew up, and I loved that land. Damn the First World War, which made my parents flee Poland with me as a 3-year-old; Damn the Second World War, I couldn't return to my homeland from a foreign background, and my family died in the Nazi concentration camps. ”

"In that sad and beautiful melody, I empathize with what happened to the Chinese." Friends come with good wine, jackals come with shotguns'...... The Chinese are resisting aggression, and I thought I should go and see and record their stubborn resistance on camera. So in the next year and a half, I came to the battlefield in China and met many lovely Chinese friends......"

……

Hearing the collective chorus of more than 2,000 Chinese present, Zhou Hexuan was very surprised.

Except for a small number of international students, businessmen, officials stationed in the United States, and visiting scholars, most of the others are overseas Chinese in New York and the surrounding areas. Everyone of them can sing "My Motherland", when did this song become popular in the Chinese circle in the United States?

The kind of patriotic chorus in a foreign country, listening to Zhou Hexuan's hairs standing on end all over his body, his eyes moistened with indescribable emotional stimulation.

The next two hours were full of patriotic anti-Japanese war songs, and a group of "Yellow River Cantata" made Zhou Hexuan's blood boil.

I have to say that Liu Liangmo is really a talent, he translated all the recitations of the "Yellow River Cantata" into English, and then sang the original Chinese lyrics, and also moved the three strings and other national instruments.

The momentum is agitated and majestic, and it is vividly expressed in the multi-part chorus of "Defending the Yellow River". Although the American audience could not understand the lyrics, they could understand the recitation, and they could roughly guess what they were singing, and they were stunned one by one in their seats.

"The wind is howling, the horses are barking! The Yellow River is roaring, the Yellow River is roaring! The hills in Hexi are thousands of feet high, and the sorghum in Hedong and Hebei is ripe. In the mountains, there are really many anti-Japanese heroes...... He picked up a native spear and a foreign spear, and waved a broadsword and spear. Defend your hometown! Defend the Yellow River! Defend North China! Defend all of China! ”

Louis, the king of black jazz, was so startled that he almost jumped up, and said again and again: "This song ...... The song ...... It's unimaginable, it's wonderful, it's grandiose! ”

Paul Robertson laughed: "The first time I heard it, it was your reaction. ”

Luis lamented: "Unfortunately, there are some flaws in the coordination between the band and the choir, and there are some problems with the professional level of the choir. ”

Paul Robertson said, "Choirs aren't professional, and they don't rehearse for long. ”

When the two black buddies were discussing, Hu Shi and Zhang Pengchun were also surprised.

"I haven't been back for two years, when did China create such an exciting piece of music?" Zhang Pengchun exclaimed.

Hu Shi said: "Listening to the content of the lyrics, it should be created by someone like the Communist Party." ”

Zhang Pengchun said: "It doesn't matter which party he is!" This "Yellow River Cantata" sings the momentum of China's War of Resistance and the determination of the Chinese to resist the war. As he spoke, he shouted in a low voice to Zhou Hexuan next to him, "Mr. Zhou, who is the songwriter of this song?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "Mr. Xian Xinghai composed the music, and Mr. Guang Weiran wrote the lyrics. ”

Zhang Pengchun said expectantly: "When I return to China, I must visit them in person." ”

U.S. Secretary of the Army Stimson exclaimed, "Oh, oh, oh, this is a war song, and just listening to the song reminds me of the battlefield." ”

Zhou Hexuan said: "This is the roar of a nation. ”

"Papa

At the end of the chorus, the applause in the open-air concert hall was unprecedentedly enthusiastic, and many American audience members spontaneously gave a standing ovation.

Aside from the national character and anti-war significance of "Yellow River Cantata", its artistic value is enough to amaze American audiences.

In order to prepare for this large-scale performance, Yu Peichen invested all the living expenses that Zhou Hexuan gave her, which was several thousand dollars, and the food at home last month was still from Vivien Lihui. Among them, "The Yellow River Cantata" was rehearsed for two months, and a professional orchestra was invited, which is difficult to think of.

Of course, compared to the influence of "March of the Volunteers" in the United States, this "Yellow River Cantata" is still difficult to match. Because the former is catchy, short and concise, it is more conducive to communication.

Long before the outbreak of the all-out Anti-Japanese War, Tao Xingzhi listened to the "March of the Volunteers" under the Egyptian pyramids on the way back from a visit to Europe. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Liang Sicheng went to the United States to give lectures, and he also heard people singing this song on the streets of the United States, he thought he was Chinese, but when he looked back, he was an American teenager in his teens.

No, when Paul Robertson took the stage to sing "March of the Volunteers", it suddenly pushed today's performance to the climax.

After the singing, Paul Robertson did not leave the stage directly, but said: "Next is the last song tonight, which is a new English song written and composed by Mr. Zhou Hexuan." It was performed by Mr. Zhou, Louis and me, and I hope you enjoy it. ”

"Oh oh oh!"

The audience screamed and cheered, looking forward to the performance of the three.

One is a black singer, the other is a jazz singer, and the other is a Chinese celebrity who wrote "My Heart Is Eternal", and their cooperation has excited the reporters on the scene.