The Force Choir was joining 12 other choirs from Hong Kong in a concert tour undertaken between June 2 to 7 under the aegis of the Hong Kong Society of Choral Societies, which was set up by the well-known singer and impresario, Barbara Fei Ming-yee. The 13 choirs comprised some 160 singers and 40 family members and supporters. Two planes were needed on both outward and inward legs to transport this sizable contingent.

The performance took place on the evening of June 5, a notable day also for the fact that there was a thunderstorm that afternoon and early evening, heavy rain being relatively rare in our capital. The performance followed a hard weekend's rehearsals and of course many rehearsals in Hong Kong.

The highlight of the evening's performance was a rendition of the famous Yellow River Cantata and for this the Hong Kong choirs were joined by the Broadcaster Choir from Beijing and the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yang Li, again the same performers as in Sha Tin in 2004.

Regarded as one of the greatest pieces of music of the 20th century, Yellow River was composed by Xian Xinghai (1905-1945), a native of Panyu, Guangdong. Xian's father died before he was born, and the impoverished boy drifted from place to place with his mother. He began learning to play the violin when he was over 20 years old. In 1934 he was the first Chinese student to enrol at the senior composition class of the Paris Music Academy and won an award as the outstanding student of his class.

Yellow River was reportedly written in a cave in just six days, in 1939. This stunning seven movement cantata (texts by Guang Weiran) uses traditional folk-melodies and the image of the mighty Huang He (Yellow River) as a symbol of Chinese defiance against the Japanese invaders; and its potent mix of recitatives and thundering choral set-pieces is enough to lift the most disinterested of audiences out of their chairs. At the opposite extreme, the gorgeous Ode to the Yellow River is the kind of soulful anthem song for solo male voice and orchestra, which has you humming it for days afterwards.

Xian never recovered from his earlier privations and died, tragically early, of pulmonary disease on October 30, 1945 at the age 40.

Vincent Cheng, the Force Choir delegation leader and John Bicknell, Choir Chairman, agree that the trip was an outstanding success.

"We have been widening our repertoire and, in a modest way, our standing on the world choral stage," said John, "and this trip added much to the Choir's confidence."

From Vincent: "The backing of the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra raised our performance quite markedly, not to mention singing with some of the best choirs in Hong Kong."

The Beijing trip was also headed by Peter Halliday, the ex-chairman of the Police Choir, who has maintained keen interest in the Force since his retirement in early 2004.

A DVD capturing memorable vignettes and all performances on this itinerary is available for Force music aficionados. Contact phone numbers are: 9775-9191 (Jacky) or 9327-3210 (Irene).

The Force Choir's Beijing trip is an outstanding success