在那玫瑰盛开的地方

The place where roses blossom

“玫瑰花很美，但是我们觉得它比美还美，因为它吐出一缕甜蜜的芳香”。（莎士比亚） 上海是玫瑰之乡。80年前，这座中国第一的现代化大都会所催生的海派文化，是中国最早的城市文化；而作为城市文化重要分支的流行音乐，则是城市风貌的声音回响。上海老歌的特征是海纳百川、中西交融、雅俗共享和城市印象。它不仅纯为歌曲，而且还影响了电影、话剧和歌剧，如作为中国最早的“雏形歌剧”，陈歌辛创作的《西施》，就是以歌与剧相间构成的；而歌在其中则是剧的主体与灵魂。

“What＇s in a name？That which we call a rose/By any other word would smell as sweet”（Shakespeare）Shanghai is the hometown for the rose.Eight decades ago,this first Chinese modern city pioneered China＇s first urban culture.As popular music is an important part of urban culture,it is also an indicator of how a city“sounds like”.Old Shanghai pop songs absorb influences from all sources,balances an interesting mix of East and West,and reflect andimpression of a city that caters for tastes across the board.Popular music also extended to film.stage drama,even opera and musicals.If we trace history,Chen Gexin＇s“Xi Shi”（West Beauty）is a nascent genre that combined song and drama,where songs carry the dramatic soul and structure.Old Shanghai pop songs（especially those written in the 1930s and 1940s）also have poetic lyrics and beautiful melodies.We could even term them“popular art songs”or “artistic popular songs”.Ive selected a few of Chen Gexin＇s songs and added piano accompaniment to them.Perhaps it＇s a way of combining old songs with new elements!