"What a beautiful jasmine flower!  
Sweet-smelling, beautiful, stems full of buds.  
Fragrant and white, everyone praises."

These are some of the lyrics to the widely known Chinese folk song "Jasmine Flower" or "Mo Li Hua" in Chinese. Polish musician Teresa Frączkiewicz Kirkov composed "Fantasia Mo Li Hua," which is adapted from this Chinese folk song.  

Kirkov's student Jia Lu, a Chinese musician, played "Fantasia Mo Li Hua" at Dong Jiao Min Xiang St. Michael's church on September 1, which was its premiere in China.

Chinese music

The history of the folk song "Jasmine Flower" dates back to the Qing dynasty (1636-1912). Qing Chinese officials used the song as a temporary national anthem in 1896, and it later became well known among Europeans. Many variations were created over time, and the song gained popularity outside China. 

Jia Lu played "Fantasia Mo Li Hua" twice at the organ recital to express her love and gratitude. She was born in Beijing and went to Poland for her master's degree. 

"This year is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Poland, and also the tenth year since I studied in Poland. This recital has special meanings for me. My teacher composed this song for me, and it's my honor to play this fantasia today," said Jia before the recital.

Her teacher, Kirkov, is a polish composer, musician and a professor at the Academy of Music in Kraków. 

"Fantasia Mo Li Hua" is a combination of Chinese pentatonic melody with Western chord, explained Kirkov, who said she hoped that everyone would enjoy the blending of Eastern and Western music.

China and Poland

Jia recital is one of several commemorations to celebrate the 70th anniversary of China-Poland relations and is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland.  

A member country of the Belt and Road Initiative, Poland enjoys bilateral cooperation with China in finance, technological innovation, culture and other fields, and music is a common language that brings people from the two countries together.

The next performance of "Fantasia Mo Li Hua" will be on September 8 at St Joseph's Church. 

(Cover image via Qu Bo)