Revolutionaries are always the source of youth.

Revolutionaries are always young is a aria in the opera A Spark. Opera 1950 12 was premiered in Harbin by Lu Xun College of Literature in Northeast China. Gieke is the screenwriter and director, the robber composes the music, and Su Yang and Liu Zhu conduct it. Based on the arduous revolutionary struggle of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Forces, the play praises the revolutionary spirit of a guerrilla and the broad masses of the people who are not afraid of violence and sacrifice, and the great spirit of being brave in fighting and starting a prairie fire. Revolutionaries are always young from the first act and the second act of the play. Li Tou, an old guerrilla traffic policeman, and Xiaofeng, the heroine, met in the mountains and agreed to send Xiaofeng to the guerrillas. This is a duet for two people. In the process of spreading, it gradually appeared in the form of solo and many duets.

Li is a famous composer and music educator in China. 1913165438+10/7 was born in Nong 'an, Jilin, and197665438+February 17 died in Shenyang. During the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he participated in the musical activities in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region in Yan 'an, and wrote songs such as Singing Two Little Cowboys. During the War of Liberation, he was the head of the Cultural and Art Troupe of the Chale Liao Military Region in Hebei Province, and wrote songs such as "Resolutely Beat Him without mercy". 65438-0948 Deputy Director of Music Department of Northeast Lu Xun Art Institute. 65438-0953 Dean of Northeast Conservatory of Music, and later Dean of Shenyang Conservatory of Music. Elected as director of China Musicians Association and chairman of Liaoning Branch of Music Association. His works include "We are Walking on the Road", composing for Mao Zedong's poems, "Butterfly Lovers Answering Li Shuyi", "Four Musts, Inscription for Women Militia", and a large number of quotations from Chairman Mao. He also composed the opera Spark and several operas. 1964, Selected Songs of Hijacking Husband was published.

The birth of this song can be traced back to 1948, when robbers moved from Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei to Harbin in the northeast, left the old rural base and entered the metropolis. One day, he discussed with the famous playwright gieke, "Since we are in the Northeast, we should use our works to express the heroic deeds in the Northeast". Their first thought was the Northeast Anti-Union Movement. 1949, robbers and other comrades-in-arms went to Baishan Heishui to go deep into life and look for the footprints of anti-United heroes. During the visit, they also realized how difficult the environment of the anti-United fighters was at that time-the lack of a solid base area was a fatal weakness, and there were often only a few families in the woodland area of 180, and the way of struggle could only be guerrilla warfare; Without a fixed residence, it is impossible to achieve a stable food supply. Anti-Union fighters often have no food and clothes, which is very difficult. When they lack food, they often have to eat grass bark and drink snow water. The robber went deep into the forest, where he has been fighting a guerrilla war. In the mountains, he saw a black bear carrying a tree. It was originally trapped in the tree by the lasso laid by the hunter, but after the tree was finally uprooted by the black bear, the rope could not break free and it could only be carried away. Although this incident was told to everyone as an "anecdote", it is conceivable how dangerous the environment experienced by the robbers at that time was. In such a dangerous environment, the Northeast Anti-Union Movement climbed the ice and paved the snow in winter, "the fire warmed the chest, and the wind blew the cold behind", and in summer, mosquitoes and ticks bitten and persisted tenaciously 14 years.

During the visit, the robber's greatest gain was that he came into contact with many veterans of the anti-United War. One of them left a deep impression on the robbers. He is "Old Doctor Li Tou", an old traffic policeman of the Northeast Anti-Union. Dr. Li, 1867 was born in Dezhou, Shandong Province, to a poor porter family at the Canal Pier. At the age of 28, he made a living by crossing the Kanto and driving a big carriage. After the "9. 18" incident, the Japanese puppet troops captured founder county, burned down half the street, burned down the doctor's house, and killed his wife and two sons. 1932 Dr. joined Tangyuan Anti-Japanese Guerrilla led by Tangyuan Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, 1933 joined the Party under the introduction of Feng Zhongyun. Because the doctor has rich life experience, quick wit and quick legs and feet, although he is old, it is easier to hide. The party organization decided to let him specialize in traffic work and complete the task of delivering documents and news countless times. Dr. Li also worked as a guard for leading cadres such as Yang Jingyu, Li, Li, Zhao Yiman and Zhou Bao. And under the cover of the relationship between "father and son", "father and daughter" and "daughter-in-law", Dr. Li was escorted, and he was able to complete the task well every time. Dr. Li is also affectionately known as "Father of Anti-Union" and "Grandpa of Anti-Union". Dr. Li Ran has left his footprints in Xiaoxing 'anling, Wandashan, Songhua River, Mudanjiang, the southern foot of Changbai Mountain and the Yalu River. He often runs around alone, from east to west, from north to south, regardless of rain or snow; Use your spare time to do short-term jobs, odd jobs and earn money to travel. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/938, the provisional provincial party Committee of Beiman and the provincial party Committee of Jidong sent Dr. Li to look for the First Route Army of the South Yang Jingyu Anti-United Movement and the Weinan Provincial Party Committee that had lost contact. Without saying anything, Dr. 7 1 year-old braved the cold of MINUS 40 degrees and walked into the inaccessible virgin forest of Changbai Mountain with knee-deep snow. He walked from Mudanjiang to Mengjiang for more than a month, and finally found a team of anti-United First Route Army in a forest. In the summer of the same year, when the doctor returned to Yilan, he was recognized and arrested by a traitor who surrendered to the Japanese puppet government. The gendarmes of the Japanese Kwantung Army tortured Dr. Li with tiger stools, kerosene and soldering irons, and stood in the iron cage for more than a dozen times, still unyielding. Finally, he was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment by the puppet Manchukuo military court 10 years. 1945 after the Japanese defeat and surrender, Dr. Li walked out of xin jing prison. 1946 August 16, Dr. Li returned to Harbin, found the then chairman of Songjiang provincial people's government, and returned to the embrace of the party organization. Dr. Feng Zhongyun arranged for him to stay in the Northeast Martyrs Memorial Hall and assigned someone to take care of the elderly, because he was 79 years old, overweight and in poor health in prison. 195 1 national day, Dr. Li was elected as the representative of the northeast anti-Japanese Coalition forces and went to Beijing to attend the national day celebration ceremony, which was received by the chairman. After learning about Dr. Li's deeds, Chairman Mao entrusted him with a crutch and engraved the words "Father of the Revolution" on it. Subsequently, Dr. Li was invited to become the standing Committee member of CPPCC in Heilongjiang Province. Elected as the representative of the First People's Congress of Heilongjiang Province. 1962 65438+1October 12 died at the age of 95. As an indomitable representative of the anti-Japanese war veterans, Dr. Li's deeds began to stand out from 1946. The Biography of Dr. Li, written by, was published in Harbin Daily, which had a great social impact. According to Dr. Li's deeds in Harbin, playwrights and composers created a series of novels "Li Laotou", the hero of which is an old traffic policeman of the Anti-Union Movement. In the robber's notebook, there is a sketch portrait he drew for old Li Tou himself. It is because I have seen old Li Tou with my own eyes and know his optimism, positivity and alertness that the robber decided to use a cheerful tune with revolutionary romanticism in the song "Revolutionaries are always young".

In 1930s, the underground party organizations in Northeast China sent many revolutionary youths into the mountains to join the Northeast Anti-Union Forces, which was also brought by Li Sheng. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/937, Dr. Li came out of the secret camp where the 6th Army of the Anti-Union Army was located and met with the families of the Anti-Union Army in Banchangtun, Tangyuan County. At that time (female, Korean, real name, former vice chairman of Heilongjiang Provincial Political Consultative Conference in 1980s), the director of Xiajiang Special Committee Women's Federation said to Dr. Li: "Xiaofeng is going to join the army, I think so. You can take her this time. Dr. and Li Xiaofeng walked all day and met Li Guilan, director of the Women's Federation who was being pursued by the enemy, in the depression of Tangyuan County. 19 years old, he took Li Guilan to the mountains to find troops. Li Xiaofeng and Li Guilan have no luggage; The doctor is armed to the teeth, and the big cloth pocket is full, which contains humulus scandens, foot cloth, tobacco and soil salt particles; There are also tools such as flint, knife, saw, file, sickle and axe, as well as food such as tortillas and corn cakes. He still has a hip flask slung over his body. The hip flask is made of dried cow bladder and has corncob in his mouth. In winter, the days are very short. Before you know it, the sun sets and night falls. Dr. Li said, "The guerrillas are on the other side of the mountain. We can't go today. Let's spend the night here. "In the lee of the forest, sweep the snow on the ground to one side, and then cut off the dead branches with an axe to make a firewood pile for sleeping. The bonfire was lit, and after a while, the flame rose and there was light all around. The doctor picked up many pine cones and threw them into the fire. Later, he pulled out the pine cone with a branch and stepped on it with his foot. The ground is covered with roasted pine nuts. This hot pine nut is delicious and fragrant. Li Sheng used the basin he brought to melt snow and boil water. He baked the tortillas he brought. Pine nuts are used as vegetables, snow water is used as soup, and he eats tortillas very well. After walking for two days, the three of them arrived at the camp of the Fourth Division of the Sixth Army of the Anti-Union Movement, which is located in Maoer Mountain on the north side of Sikuaishi Mountain in Xiaoxing 'anling. Li Xiaofeng (CoCo Lee) and Li Guilan were assigned to work in the clothing factory of the Sixth Army of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces.

1947 is extremely cold in winter. On a snowy day, gieke from Lu Yi College in Yan 'an came to Bei 'an County, where the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee is located. Gieke is in his twenties, a native of Hunan, with a thin figure. He has a letter of introduction from Comrade Feng Zhongyun in his hand. The letter of introduction reads: "This is a writer from Lu Yi College in Yan 'an, who has come to interview the history of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Please cooperate. "It turned out that at that time, our party needed to vigorously publicize the history of the anti-Japanese struggle in Northeast China 14, and Dr. Li's deeds were outstanding. As an old leader who is familiar with the deeds of the Anti-Union Movement and the situation of cadres, Feng Zhongyun thought of arranging writers to go to Bei 'an to interview the witness CoCo Lee. Gieke and CoCo Lee (Li Xiaofeng) talked for seven days. After returning to Harbin, gieke collaborated with composers Fu Jie and Amber to create an opera "A Spark" praising the Northeast Anti-Union Movement. There are two protagonists in the play: one is an old man, Dr. Li, an anti-Union traffic policeman, and the other is an anti-Union female warrior. The theme song of the play "Revolutionaries are always young" has been passed down to this day.

After discussing the structure of the script and the outline of the story with gieke, the hijacker and several others began to write separately. The script of the second act was written by19491/the hijacker alone, and the song "Revolutionaries are always young" came from the first act of this scene. The plot section is as follows: After the Japanese soldiers caught Xiaofeng's father (the father of CoCo Lee, the prototype of the character, who was sacrificed as the logistics director of the First Division of the Sixth Army of the Anti-United Front), her mother asked her to go up the mountain to find guerrillas. When climbing the snowy mountain, Xiaofeng accidentally fell into the cave. She couldn't climb up and had to wait. Later, she heard someone coming from a distance. It was Lao Li Tou. After Lao Li rescued her, the two began to talk. Xiaofeng said that she wanted to take part in the revolution. Lao Li asked her what her name was. After Xiaofeng signed up, Lao Li said to her, "Oh, you can't ask the dragon to ask Feng to take part in the revolution. I'll name you Li Qingyang. " Then Lao Li explained to Xiaofeng why there is a "green" word, because revolutionaries are like pine trees. At this moment, the music started, and the two of them sang this song "Revolutionaries are always young". In the original play, Luo Zhang, the actor of Xiaofeng (who was 20 years old at the premiere), recalled: "Think about it, there were two people on the stage at that time-an old man with a white beard and a little girl with a pigtail, and their bodies were still shaking gently. How interesting it is to sing this song happily. " At the beginning of creation, the robber imagined that there should be an aria in this piece, but he thought that Lao Li was facing a girl of 16 years old. In what way should he publicize the revolutionary truth to such a big child? You must have a clear image. Thinking about it, the evergreen image of pine trees came out. Moreover, this song has a feature, that is, most of the lyrics sing a word with one note, and the whole song is very cheerful when it jumps out of the notes.

After the whole opera script was written, Luo Zhang and other actors began to rehearse until1950 65438+February, and finally began to premiere in Harbin, from Harbin to Shenyang, and then to Dalian. At that time, the public responded well and the venue was full. Up to 1953, there were hundreds of performances. Luo Zhang remembers that at that time, they had to go home to take off their makeup after the performance and come out with the masses. Others hummed, "A revolutionary is always young, he is like a big pine tree evergreen in winter and summer ..." Because this song has only six sentences, the melody is easy to remember, and the masses will remember it when they listen. What's more, when someone came to see it more than once, it spread from the theater and was repeatedly sung as a solo or chorus song. "A Spark" was the only large-scale opera that praised the heroes of the Anti-Japanese League at that time. Referring to the artistic achievements of White-haired Girl and Revenge of Blood and Tears, which have great influence in China, we have also made some explorations and innovations. We really want to explore how to express the revolution by opera through this little spark, instead of using the method of "drama plus singing", we should try our best to be operatic. In particular, the second act of the robber's song writing has almost no lines, all of which are arias.

The song of robbing my husband does have such a feature that it is easy to remember and sing. Because every time a robber finishes writing a song, he always asks a child to teach him to sing first, and if there is anything awkward, he will correct it immediately. He thinks that as long as teenagers can sing, all people in China can sing. Teacher Luo Zhang said there was another reason for the spread of this song. At that time, there were few dance music in triple time and few foreign songs were introduced, so people used the melody of "revolutionary people are always young" as dance music. Many veteran comrades in their seventies and eighties, hearing the melody of this song, will definitely think of the dances they danced when they were young and the jubilant scenes when they sang this song together.

Although the opera had some unsatisfactory links, it was stopped before it could be revised, and even Luo Zhang didn't know why. Only songs such as "Revolutionaries are always young", "I am a poor little girl" and "Through the dense pine forest" have been handed down and used as teaching materials by some conservatories. After the performance stopped, the robbers moved to Shenyang with Lu Xun Art College, and stayed in Shenyang ever since.

Many people who don't know that the song "Revolutionaries are always young" is related to the Northeast Anti-United Movement often regard it as a song written in the early days of the founding of New China to express the lofty sentiments of the people as masters of their own country. This understanding is correct. "As long as people can benefit from this song and get pleasure from it, it means that this song is successful. A good work has many themes, and at some point, a theme will be revived on it, "Luo Zhang said. Up to now, almost all middle-aged and elderly choirs in China can sing this song.