Inspiration

We wanted to find a way to celebrate and give space to the voice of the Chinese community living in the UK through the creation of a special composition which drew together the text found on an ancient Chinese stone or stele, and the beautiful sounds, rhythms and harmonies of traditional Chinese music. All performed in a church in central Manchester, UK!

Commission

This hymn was commissioned by Multitude of Voyces for the choristers of Salford Cathedral Choirs and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford’s Schools Singing Programme which was established in October 2021. 

The Salford Schools Singing Programme aims to embed a high-quality singing programme in each school, through whole-class singing every week and a network of after-school choirs. The scheme reaches over 1,850 children in primary schools across Northwest England and is part of the National Schools Singing Programme. Salford Cathedral’s Choirs and the Salford Schools Singing Programme are led by the cathedral’s Director of Music, Alex Patterson, who is supported by a team of specialist music teachers. 

Salford Cathedral Choirs’ youngest singers form the Children’s Choir which is open to all, the Junior Boys’ Choir, Senior Boys’ Choir (changing voices) and Girls’ Choir. The choirs include children who have benefitted from the Salford Schools Singing Programme. All children learn to read standard (Western) notation and to sing and experience a wide range of liturgical (church) music, from simple hymns through to complex multi-part works by historical and current composers. On occasion the children and teenagers join together with the cathedral’s young adults (choral scholars) and older professional adult singers (lay vicars) giving even the youngest children a very special opportunity to enjoy all-age music-making. 

Salford has a culturally-diverse demographic and the commission provided an opportunity to give space to the voice of those of Chinese heritage.

Following guidance from The Tea House, a network which supports Chinese-heritage clergy in the Church of England, Kenson Li (a priest in training) wrote the words for the hymn, basing them on the English translation by the theologian and sinologist Martin Palmer of an ancient Chinese monument, the Xi’an Stele, first erected in 781 CE, which chronicles 150 years of early Christianity in China. Kenson drew inspiration for his hymn from the vivid imagery and key concepts in the text of the Stele, in particular ‘the notion of humans as pilgrims on a raft or boat, a metaphor that resonates in both Western Christian mysticism and traditional Chinese thought.’

Kiko’s music incorporates the pentatonic scale as its primary pitch material, bringing a distinctly Chinese flavour to the music. One of the highlighted instrumental features of the piece is the use of the guzheng, a traditional Chinese plucked string instrument with over 2,500 years of history. Kiko explains that ‘the instrument’s resonant timbre, expressive glissandi and delicate ornamentations add unique characters to the choral texture, intertwining the voices with the rich sonorities of Chinese classical and folk traditions.’ 

Financial support for the commission was provided by the Postlethwaite Music Foundation which has a particular focus on children’s music education and music in community.’

How the project developed

Following the première Kiko Shao and another of our featured composers, Anita Datta, presented a workshop on cultural inclusion through Music to postgraduate students at the Southampton Centre for Music Education and Social Justice – part of Southampton University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, on 7th May 2025.

MoV’s Associate Andrew Stewart represented the charity and enjoyed discussing different aspects of equality and inclusion with the students. Learning from the next generation of teachers about what is important to them is a huge part of our work at MoV. 

The students learned Kiko’s and Anita’s compositions and explored ideas and tips for drawing ideas from different cultures into their commissions and composing for young voices.