Composed in Hong Kong, and thus free from mainland propaganda influences, these songs describe scenes from lives of everyday Chinese in a fun and light-hearted manner while keeping the beauty of traditional Chinese music alive. Patriotism, romance, and beauty of nature are among those feelings expressed in this collection. Praise of the Red Flag Composed at the height of Chinese Communism in 1955, Praise of the Red Flag embodies the musical propaganda used to spur the mainland Chinese toward nationalist views and actions. Written for political reasons, Praise is a composition for a small circle of concentrated politicians with a narrow outlook, not for the widely liberal, musically trained ear. This is direct art not for beauty, not for the sake of art, not for intellectual appreciation, but for the instant message projection.
Praise represents a short-lived historical phase of China.
Nevertheless, the music is rather beautiful due to its pentatonic melodic structure. Soloists Chin-Hyok Lee is delighted to participate in this program and anticipates great contributions from many creative musicians to humanity in the 21st century. Born in Korea, Lee studied vocal music at Southern Oregon University and the City University of New York. He also studied English in the American Language Program at Columbia University. While working as a Special Services Librarian for the U.S. army for eleven years, Lee sang with the Chamber Music Society, which included military and diplomatic personnel.