A Hushed Hallelujah Chorus?

There are many types of music that someone might expect to be on a list of music banned by Chinese authorities, like gangsta rap, or songs advocating Tibetan independence.  Musical classics like Handel's "Messiah" or Mozart's "Requiem" probably wouldn't come to mind, but these two works could be, in fact, the most recent targets of Chinese censorship./span>

As the Daily Telegraph reports, The Academy of Ancient Music, a prominent British choral and orchestral group, received an invitation to sing "the Messiah" at the Beijing International Music Festival, but now it's just performing for an "invitation-only" group of high level government officials. 

In earthquake-hit SichuanProvince/st1 :place>, the Italian Sinfonica Orchestra di Roma, had to alter its plans to play Mozart's "Requiem," and will instead play non-religious music.  Other similar bans of other similar pieces have also been reported nationwide. /span>/span>

China Daily tells a slightly different story.  Though the article doesn't elaborate on the "Messiah" performance, Wang Jiyan, secretary-general from the artistic committee, says the performance "is a rare chance for Beijing's opera fans to see such 'antiquated' works performed by an 'ancient' orchestra."  

Chances are, if the Chinese government wanted to ban "The Messiah" from public consumption, China Daily wouldn't be printing details about the concert in the state-supervised paper.  Furthermore, in a country where Western religious holidays, like Christmas, and even traditional Western weddings are becoming increasingly popular and celebrated, this type of music ban doesn't seem to fit.  

Censoring key pieces like the Messiah would also limit classical music education, which has been growing tremendously in China.  Even the China Philharmonic Orchestra played Mozart's "Requiem" when playing for the Pope last year, indicating the strong influence    

Despite the growth of Western music throughout China, after Icelandic singer Bjork's Tibetan outburst during her Shanghai concert last spring, officials are probably a little bit more uptight about musical censorship than they have been in the past.  Furthermore, many signs, like the reinstitution of journalist restrictions, indicate additional intervention in the media and arts.

As international influences become increasingly popular in China, however, this friction between state control and artistic freedom will probably continue.  Ironically, limiting some of these performances will probably increase the interest of the general public.