in the Academy, is a former student of Tang Liang-de. There was also a Chinese instrumental group at the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong which was supervised by J. Lawrence Witzleben ( 韋 慈 朋 ) who studied in Shanghai. Witzleben retired from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2007.
Witzleben (1951- ) is a renowned ethnomusicologist with a focus on Chinese music. In the late 1970s, he studied for his Master’s degree in ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii, and the area of his thesis is the gaohu (高胡) used in Cantonese music. He came to Hong Kong to learn the gaohu with the maestro Loo Kah-chi (盧家熾). Subsequently he learned jiangnan sizhu in Shanghai for writing his doctoral dissertation. He learned the erhu (二胡), dizi (笛子), zheng (箏), etc., as well as the performance practice and style of jiangnan sizhu at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 1995, he published the book “Silk and Bamboo” Music in Shanghai: The Jiangnan Sizhu Instrumental Ensemble Tradition (江南絲竹音樂在上海). This book has become an essential reading for students doing research on Chinese music both in China and abroad.
to live in Shanghai. The inventor of gaohu (高胡), Lü Wen-cheng (呂文成), always traveled between Shanghai and Hong Kong. We can discover traits of jiangnan sizhu in the compositions written by him. For example, Stepping High (步步高) and Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake (平湖秋月) are developed from Song of Joy (歡樂歌). Moreover, some sizhu music is used in Cantonese music and Cantonese opera. For instance, “Sacrifice of the Princess” is developed from Autumn Thoughts by the Dressing Table, whereas “Reunion”
(劍合釵圓) from the Cantonese opera A Story of the Purple Hairpin (紫釵記) is developed from Moonlight over the River in Spring (春江花月夜).
The Cantonese opera Princess Chang Ping performed by Yam Kim-fai (任劍輝, 1912-1989) and Pak Suet-sin (白雪仙, 1926- ) has become a cultural artefact of collective memory of Hong Kong people. This opera was premiered by the Sin Fung Ming Opera Company (仙鳳鳴劇團) in 1957 and has been very popular since then. The most famous tune of this opera, “Sacrifice of the Princess,” is well known to Hong Kong people. This tune originates from the pipa civil piece (琵琶文曲) Autumn Thoughts by the Dressing Table and was arranged as a duet in this opera by the maestro Wong Jyt-seng (王粵生, 1919-1989). This arrangement perfectly exhibits the characteristics of Cantonese music.
The first sentence of this duet, “The falling flowers fully hide the moon.” (落花滿 天蔽月光), has been re-texted as “I have no money for buying a bun, and am afraid that my wife would scold me if I borrow money from someone else.” (落街無錢買 麵飽，借錢又怕老婆鬧), and has become very popular. Autumn Thoughts by the Dressing Table has thus become an essential piece to be learned by all performers of Cantonese music.
The narrow definition of “Cantonese music” refers to an instrumental genre popular in the area of the Pearl River Delta, including Guangzhou (廣州), Taishan (台山), Hong Kong, Macau, etc., since the mid-nineteenth century. There are other instrumental genres in the Guangdong province, such as Chaozhou xianshi (潮州弦詩) and Kejia hanyue (客家漢樂). However, the “Cantonese music” that this chapter refers to is limited to the genre popular in the Cantonese speaking area, and Chaozhou xianshi and Kejia hanyue are excluded from the following
discussion.
Cantonese music has a history of some one hundred years. It is comparatively new when comparing to some old genres. Nevertheless, it has flourished liberally in China and abroad. During the Chinese New Year, the piece Stepping High composed by Lü Wen-cheng (1898-1981) is frequently heard in Hong Kong and the Chinatown of San Francisco. The piece Dragon Boat Race (賽龍奪錦) by He Liu-tang (何柳堂, 1872-1933) is played in the Dragon Boat Festival (端午節) every year. Cantonese music is heard regularly in TV shows, radio programmes and films.
To a certain extent, Cantonese music is a symbol of Chinese music to Chinese people in China and abroad. It has been popular in the coastal areas of China. Quite a number of maestros in Cantonese music lived in Hong Kong and Shanghai. They performed this genre in entertainment clubs, and made recordings that contributed to the popularity of Cantonese music. The following sections introduce the instruments used in Cantonese music, its temperament, modes, and the way of “adding flowers” (加花). Finally, another section is devoted to the relationship between Cantonese music and minyue ( 民 樂 ), and the development of Cantonese music in Hong Kong.
1. Instruments Used in Cantonese Music
Cantonese music and jiangnan sizhu are instrumental genres for ensembles, and their main instruments are sizhu instruments ( 絲 竹 , i.e. string and wind instruments).10 The main string instruments used in Cantonese music are the gaohu (高胡), erxian (二弦) and yehu (椰胡), whereas that used in jiangnan sizhu is the erhu (二胡). There are differences in the musical style of these two genres due to their different disseminated areas and the languages spoken in these areas.
The instrumental ensembles used in Cantonese music are divided into “hard bowed” (硬弓) and “soft bowed” (軟弓). They are differentiated by their timbres.
10 “Si” (絲, silk) refers to bowed string and plucked string instruments, like the erhu (二胡) and pipa (琵琶) respectively, as the strings were made of silk in early times. Nowadays, the strings used are mostly made of steel. “Zhu” (竹, bamboo) refers to wind instruments, like dizi (笛子) and sheng (笙).
The “hard bowed” ensemble has a brighter and harsher sound, whereas the “soft bowed” ensemble has a softer and mellower sound. The instruments used in the former are the erxian (二弦), tiqin (提琴), yueqin (月琴), sanxian (三弦) , dizi (笛子) and houguan (喉管), while those used in the latter are the gaohu, erhu, yehu, yangqin (揚琴) , qinqin (秦琴) and dongxiao (洞簫).
The “hard bowed” ensemble appeared before the “soft bowed” ensemble.
The early “hard bowed” ensemble is also called “wujiatou” (五架頭, i.e. “five instruments”). In the 1920s, the tiqin of wujiatou was replaced by the gaohu, and other instruments were reduced to the qinqin and yangqin only. The ensemble formed in this way is called sanjiatou (三架頭, i.e., “three instruments”). Later, the yehu and dongxiao were added and thus the “soft bowed” ensemble was formed.
2. Modes and Texture of Cantonese Music
The temperament used in Cantonese music is called “seven-tone equal temperament” (七平均律), which is different from that used in Western classical music. In the “seven-tone equal temperament,” an octave is divided into seven tones. Figure 3.2 compares the “seven-tone equal temperament” with the
“twelve-tone equal temperament” (十二平均律) used in Western classical music.
Figure 3.2
A Comparison of the “Seven-tone Equal Temperament” and the
“Twelve-tone Equal Temperament”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 #1 2 #2 3 4 #4 5 #5 6 #6 7
In Figure 3.2, an octave is divided into seven portions and twelve portions in the upper row and the lower row respectively. The fa note used in the seven-tone equal temperament is a little bit higher than that used in the twelve-seven-tone equal temperament, whereas the ti note is a little bit lower. The discrepancy in frequency between the corresponding notes of these two systems is not fixed.
It depends on the experience and mood of the performer. In reality, the notes in the seven-tone equal temperament are not absolutely “equal”.
In Cantonese music, the “mode” (調式) being used is referred to as “xian”
(線, literally meaning “string”). What we mean by the “mode” of a passage of music refers to the scale being used and its central note. In Cantonese music, there are three kinds of mode, namely the “zhengxian” (正線), “fanxian” (反線) and “yifanxian” (乙反線).
There are two strings in the gaohu (高胡). The inner and outer strings are tuned to G and D respectively, and thus the interval of the two open strings is a perfect fifth. When a passage of music is in the zhengxian, the notes of the two open strings are sung as “sol” and “re” respectively. For easy understanding, we may consider it to be in C major. When a passage of music is in the fanxian, the notes of the two open strings are sung as “do” and “sol” respectively. We may consider it to be in G major. In yifanxian, the notes are sung as those in zhengxian, but the scale being used emphasises “ti” and “fa” while deemphasising “la” and
“mi”. This mode gives the audience a sorrowful feeling.
Figure 3.3 shows the fingering positions of the gaohu in the zhengxian and fanxian.
Figure 3.3 Fingering Positions of the Gaohu.
Fanxian
G D
1 5
2 --- --- 6
3 --- --- 7 4 --- --- 1
．
5 --- --- 2
．
6 --- --- 3
．
--- 4
．
7 ---
1 --- --- 5
．
inner string outer string
Zhengxian G D
5 2
6 --- --- 3 --- 4 7 ---
1 --- --- 5 2 --- --- 6 3 --- --- 7 4 --- --- 1
．
5 --- --- 2
．
inner string outer string
Like jiangnan sizhu, the texture of traditional Cantonese music is in heterophony. Every performer of the ensemble is playing the same skeletal melody, but is “adding flowers” in its own way. The practice of “adding flowers” is a major difference between traditional and modern instrumental ensemble playing.
There is flexibility to the performance of a piece in traditional ensemble playing due to different ways of “adding flowers” by different performers.
For example, in an ensemble of the “soft bowed five instruments” (i.e., gaohu, yehu, yangqin, qinqin and dongxiao), every performer is ornamenting the same skeletal melody. If the gaohu is playing a highly ornamented melody, the yehu will play a less ornamented one, and other instrumentalists also adjust their ornamentation according to the situation. An instrumental group develops a kind of coordination by working together for a long time, but there still will be an element of improvisation in the way of “adding flowers” in each performance.
3. Cantonese Music in Hong Kong
Among the various instrumental genres in the Guangdong province, Cantonese music and Chaozhou xianshi are the most popular ones in Hong Kong. Cantonese music has a close relationship with Cantonese opera. In fact, the former originates from the instrumental pieces performed in the latter.
These pieces are called guochang xiaoqu (過場小曲, literally “short pieces played as interludes”). In a broader sense, Cantonese music also includes vocal genres, but nowadays it mainly refers to instrumental pieces. In the past, Cantonese music was mainly played in temporary operatic stages, restaurants and tea houses. In the early twentieth century, due to the popularity of recordings, Cantonese music disseminated quickly to the whole Guangdong province, including Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Shanghai.
To present day listeners, Cantonese music seems to be “music of the previous generation.” In the 1970s, there was a TV programme Below the Lion Rock (獅子山下) produced by the Radio Television Hong Kong (香港電台) which used the famous piece Stepping High (步步高) composed by Lü
Wen-cheng (呂文成) as the theme music.11 (Its theme music was later replaced by the song Below the Lion Rock (獅子山下) sung by Roman Tam (羅文)). Stepping High is nowadays occasionally played in banquets or performed live in shopping malls.
4. The Transmission and Development of Cantonese Music
Since the Communist Party came to power in China in 1949, many traditional music genres have been put on the stage of concert hall in the format of instrumental solos, ensembles or orchestral performances. There have also been many newly composed orchestral pieces in the Western style.12 During the Cultural Revolution (文化大革命, 1966-1976), the development of all traditional genres came to a halt due to the violent political fights. The flourishing of the “model opera” (樣板戲) inhibited the development of other kinds of musical art. Cantonese music was “orchestralised” ( 民 樂 化 ) and
“revolutionised” (革命化) in this period. It was politicised and used as the propaganda of the Communist Party. Pieces created in this period include A Welcome Rain in a Forest of Banana Trees (蕉林喜雨, developed from Rain Falls on Banana Leaves 雨打芭蕉), Weaving Out Miles of Rainbow (織出彩虹萬里長) composed by Yang Shao-bin (楊紹斌), The Joy of Using the Sickle (喜開鐮) composed by Liao Gui-hong (廖桂雄). These pieces are orchestral pieces promoting the ideology of Communism. There were very few pieces in the format of traditional Cantonese music. After the Cultural Revolution, the pieces of Cantonese music played in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau were mostly pre-existing pieces or “orchestralised” pieces.
In 1999, Hong Kong composers Law Wing-fai (羅永暉, 1949- ), Richard Tsang (曾葉發, 1952- ), Joshua Chan (陳錦標, 1962- ) and the late art critic Lai Kin (黎鍵) inaugurated a movement called “A Legacy of Cantonese Music” (「粵 樂薪傳」運動). In this programme, a series of concerts and lectures were held,
11 This information is provided by Wong Chi-wah (黃志華).
12 Since 1949, all types of traditional instrumental solo and ensemble performances have been called
“minyue” (民樂).
aiming at tracing the development of Cantonese music and forward-looking to its future development. The three composers wrote new pieces of Cantonese music in different styles. These pieces are Autumn Vista on the River (秋水連天), A Spring Walk in the Mountains (山徑春行) and Desolate Petals on the Guileless Water (花自飄零水自流) by Law Wing-fai, Yearning for a Clear Sky (晴空何處), Song of Leisure (施然曲) and Dai-Lok-Tin (大樂天, “Song of Great Happiness”) by Richard Tsang, and Sunset in Mount West Firewood (夕照西樵山), Speeding Across the Sky (騰雲) and The Joy of Celestial Descent (仙遊樂) by Joshua Chan (all composed in 1999). We are looking forward to successors to this movement.
Listening Guide
3.1 Dance of a Golden Snake (金蛇狂舞) (CD 1-13) and Fan Obliterates Gong (凡忘工) (CD 2-1)
Information of the Recordings
1. Dance of a Golden Snake (CD 1-13)
Orchestra: The Traditional Orchestra of the Music and Dance Troupe of Jiangsu Province (江蘇省歌舞劇院民族樂團)
Conductor: Zhu Chang-yao (朱昌耀)
Title of the Record: Moods of the Seasons (春花秋月) (ROI, 1999) 2. Fan Obliterates Gong (CD 2-1)
Performed by: Shanghai Traditional Music Society (上海國樂研究會):
Zhou Hui (周惠, yangqin 揚琴), Zhou Hao (周皓, erhu 二胡), Tu Bing-rong ( 屠 炳 榮 , pipa 琵 琶 ), Shen Ji-sun ( 沈 繼 蓀 , zhongruan 中阮), Shen Ri-xin (沈日新, dongxiao 洞簫), Dai Shu-hong (戴樹紅, dongxiao, 洞簫)
Title of the Record: Jiangnan Sizhu (江南絲竹) (HUGO, 1998) Recorded in 1989
Listening Guide
After listening to Dance of a Golden Snake and Fan Obliterates Gong, you will find that they resemble each other very much. They are in fact closely related.
Recordings of the former piece are frequently played in shopping malls in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year.
Dance of a Golden Snake was arranged by Nie Er (聶耳, 1912-1935), who also wrote March of the Volunteers (義勇軍進行曲), the national anthem of the People’s Republic of China. This piece is based on a jiangnan sizhu piece called Fan Obliterates Gong, which in turn originates from another jiangnan sizhu piece called Old Six Beats (老六板). Old Six Beats also gives rise to the pipa (琵琶) piece Bright Spring, White Snow (陽春白雪) (CD 1-10) (see Chapter 2), and was used as the theme piece of an advertisement many years ago.
The Main Theme of Dance of a Golden Snake:
3.2 Song of Joy (歡樂歌) (CD 2-2) Information of the Recording
Version: a field recording recorded by J. Lawrence Witzleben (韋慈朋) in the Mid-Lake Pavilion of Shanghai (上海湖心亭)
Recorded in the early 1980s Listening Guide
Song of Joy is one of the “Eight Famous Pieces of Jiangnan Sizhu” (江南 絲竹八大名曲) . It is developed from its “mother piece” (母曲, the original piece) by a process called “fangman jiahua” (放慢加花, slowing down and adding ornamentation).
0:00 The bojigu (荸薺鼓) establishes the tempo by a stroke, and then other instruments play the first slow section with an accelerando.
0:54 The second section.
1:35 The second section is repeated with slight changes.
2:13 The third section, in which some materials from the first section reappear.
3:05 The fourth section, in which some materials from the second and third sections reappear.
3:54 The fourth section is repeated.
4:43 Repetition of Sections 1-4 with an accelerando and an ornamentation (加 花, jiahua) of the melody.
7:45 A fast section, a reduced ornamentation (減花, jianhua) of the slow section.
3.3 New Sound of Sizhu (絲竹新韻) (CD 2-3) Information of the Recording
Composer: Yang Chun-lin (楊春林, 1953- )
Performed by: Ladies’ Ensemble of Chinese Music (華韻九芳小民樂團) Title of the Record: Special Edition for the Founding of “Ladies’ Ensemble of
Chinese Music” (華韻九芳小民樂團成立專輯) (ROI, 1996) Recorded in 1996
Listening Guide
0:00 With the accompaniment of the percussion (打擊樂) , sheng (笙) and guzheng (古箏) , the dongxiao (洞簫) plays the slow first theme.
1:04 A restatement of the first theme is played by the guzheng, while the dongxiao plays a countermelody.
1:40 The erhu (二胡) plays a variation of the first theme.
2:10 The music is played alternately by the plucked string instruments, the erhu, sheng and dongxiao.
2:42 The second theme is stated.
3:11 The dizi (笛子) plays the second theme.
3:37 The erhu and dizi play a transition passage between the slow section and the fast section.
3:57 Begins in a slow tempo, and then accelerates gradually to a fast tempo.
4:57 A fast section, with the erhu and dizi playing an ornamented version of the folk song Jasmine (茉莉花).
5:23 The piece ends with a restatement of the slow first theme.
Discussion
Although this piece imitates the style of jiangnan sizhu (江南絲竹), it is in fact written in a modern minyue (民樂) style. Try to compare this piece with Song of Joy (歡樂歌) in terms of texture, form, melody, dynamics and timbre.
3.4 Autumn Thoughts by the Dressing Table (妝台秋思) (CD 2-4)
Information of the Recording
Performed by: Chan Pik-sum (陳璧沁, gaohu 高胡), Ng Wai-yin (吳煒然, yehu 椰胡), Lung Man-wai (龍文慧, yangqin 揚琴), Wong Ling-yan (黃翎 欣, qinqin 秦琴), Yeung Wai-kit (楊偉傑, dizi 笛子)
Live recording provided by Windpipe Chinese Ensemble (竹韻小集) Recorded in 2008
Listening Guide
Autumn Thoughts by the Dressing Table comes from a section of the pipa (琵 琶) piece On the Frontiers (塞上曲). In the 1950s, Wong Jyt-seng (王粵生) arranged this piece as the duet “Sacrifice of the Princess” (香夭) of the Cantonese opera Princess Chang Ping (帝女花) sung by the Princess (長平公主) and her husband Zhou Shi-xian ( 周 世 顯 ) in zihou ( 子 喉 ) and pinghou ( 平 喉 ) respectively. This recording is an instrumental version of this piece.
0:00 An introduction played by the pipa (琵琶) and the yangqin (揚琴).
0:15 A zihou passage played by the dizi (笛子) and gaohu (高胡), with the accompaniment of the yehu (椰胡), yangqin and pipa.
1:00 A pinghou passage played by the whole ensemble.
1:19 A zihou passage played by the whole ensemble.
1:37 A restatement of the previous pinghou passage played by the whole ensemble.
1:50 A zihou passage, followed by a restatement of the introduction.
2:29 Begins with the phrase at 1:00, and then a new section begins.
2:51 A zihou passage, followed by a restatement of the introduction.
3:16 The main theme reappears, and then the piece ends with a ritard.
3.5 In Celebration of the Good Times (娛樂昇平) (CD 2-5) and Birds Roosting in the Woods (鳥投林) (CD 2-6)
The recordings of In Celebration of the Good Times and Birds Roosting in the Woods in the CD accompanying this book are performed by the “hard bowed” (硬 弓) and “soft bowed” (軟弓) ensembles respectively. Listen to both pieces and distinguish their differences in timbre.
Information of the Recordings 1. In Celebration of the Good Times
Performed by: Chan Pik-sum (陳璧沁, erxian 二弦), Ng Wai-yin (吳煒然, tiqin 提琴), Wong Ling-yan (黃翎欣, sanxian 三弦), Hui Chun-wai (許俊 偉, yueqin 月琴), Chan Chiu-yin (陳照延, large size houguan 長筒喉管), Lo Wai-leung (盧偉良, small size houguan 短筒喉管), Yeung Wai-kit (楊偉 傑, dizi 笛子)
2. Birds Roosting in the Woods
Performed by: Yu Qi-wei (余其偉, gaohu 高胡), Yeung Yeuk-chai (楊若齊, yehu 椰胡), Peng Yen-zhen (彭燕珍, yangqin 揚琴), Lo Wai-leung (盧偉良, qinqin 秦琴), Wong Ka-wai (王嘉偉, dongxiao 洞簫)
Live recordings provided by Windpipe Chinese Ensemble (竹韻小集) Recorded in 2008
3.6 Shuangsheng Hen (雙聲恨) (CD 2-7)
Information of the Recording
Performed by: Yu Qi-wei (余其偉, gaohu 高胡), Yeung Yeuk-chai (楊若齊, yehu 椰胡) , Peng Yen-zhen (彭燕珍, yangqin 揚琴), Lo Wai-leung (盧偉 良, qinqin 秦琴), Wong Ka-wai (王嘉偉, dongxiao 洞簫)
Live recording provided by Windpipe Chinese Ensemble (竹韻小集) Recorded in 2008
Listening Guide
It is uncertain in which year that Shuangsheng Hen (雙聲 恨 , Double Sorrow), also entitled Shuangxing Hen (雙星恨, Sorrow of the Two Stars), was composed. The content of the piece may be about the legend of the stars of cowherd (牛郎) and the weaving girl (織女), lovers who could meet only once a year. This piece is made up of a slow section and a fast section. The mode of the slow section is a mixture of the yifan xian (乙反線) and the zheng xian (正線).
There is a sorrowful feeling in the yifan xian, while in the passage in the zheng xian, the sorrowful feeling is diminished. The fast section is in the yifan xian.
0:00 The first passage, in the yifan xian, is played by the “soft bowed five-instrument ensemble” (軟弓五架頭) led by the gaohu (高胡).
This passage ends with a ritard.
0:32 The second passage. There are more rests in this passage, and at 1:07, there is a small climax, which leads to the third passage.
1:26 The third passage, in the zheng xian, begins with the lead of the dongxiao (洞簫). The tempo is slower than that of the previous passage. At first the gaohu takes an accompanying role, while beginning at 1:41, it takes the leading role.
1:59 There are repetitions of phrases performed by the whole ensemble, and another small climax follows.
2:30 The gaohu plays two symmetrical phrases, first softly, and then with a crescendo, preparing for the coming phrase in slow tempo.
3:01 The gaohu plays the last phrase of the slow section with some agitation, and this section ends with a ritard.
3:27 The fast section begins. It is played three times, the first time beginning with the yangqin (揚琴) and qinqin (秦琴) performing in a slow tempo. The gaohu joins in later, and there is an accelerando and an increase of ornamentation.
4:07 The second statement of the fast section. The tempo becomes steady.
All the instruments play short phrases, and then there is an accelerando and an increase of ornamentation led by the gaohu.
4:22 The third statement of the fast section. This is the biggest climax of the whole piece, with the gaohu playing very fast notes. The tempo is getting faster and faster.
4:38 After a sudden stop, the whole ensemble plays the last note of the piece in a slow tempo.
3.7 Two Versions of Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake (平湖秋月) (CD 2-8) (CD 2-9)
Information of the Recordings
Performed by: Chan Pik-sum (陳璧沁, gaohu 高胡) Live recording provided by Yeung Wai-kit (楊偉傑) Recorded in 2008
Listening Guide
The following score is a notation of the first seven bars of a piece of Cantonese music entitled Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake. It is the skeletal melody. Listen to and compare the two performance versions recorded in the accompanying CD.
An Excerpt from Autumn Moon over a Calm Lake
3.8 Spring in the Field (春到田間) (CD 2-10)
Information of the Recording
Composer: Lin Yun (林韻, 1920-2005) Performer: Liu Tian-yi (劉天一, 1910-1990)
Title of the Record: Commemoration of the Renowned Musician LIU Tian-yi (劉天一粵樂藝術) (ROI, 1999)
Listening Guide
Spring in the Field was composed by Lin Yun in 1956. It is the first solo piece written for the gaohu (高胡) after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and is accompanied by a small Chinese orchestra.
Listen to and compare this piece with the traditional piece Shuangsheng Hen (雙聲恨) in terms of form and instrumentation.
3.9 Singing Koels in the Mount Parker (柏架鵑鳴) (CD 2-11) Information of the Recording
Composer: Clarence Mak (麥偉鑄, 1959- )
Performed by: Chan Pik-sum (陳璧沁, gaohu 高胡) , Ng Wai-yin (吳煒然, yehu 椰胡), Lung Man-wai (龍文慧, yangqin 揚琴), Wong Ling-yan (黃翎 欣, qinqin 秦琴), Yeung Wai-kit (楊偉傑, dizi 笛子)
Live recording provided by Windpipe Chinese Ensemble (竹韻小集) Recorded in 2008
Listening Guide
Besides Law Wing-fai (羅永暉), Richard Tsang (曾葉發) and Joshua Chan (陳錦標), Hong Kong composer Clarence Mak (麥偉鑄) is also enthusiastic in composing Cantonese music. He has composed A Leaf Heralding the Autumn (一葉知秋) and Singing Koels in the Mount Parker (柏架鵑鳴) (both in 2006) in this category. Singing Koels in the Mount Parker depicts the mood of the composer in hearing the singing of koels in the Mount Parker (柏架山), Quarry Bay (鰂魚涌) of Hong Kong when he was hiking there.
0:00 An introduction played by the dizi (笛子), imitating birds’ singing.
0:36 The first section with the successive entries of the yangqin (揚琴), qinqin (秦琴), yehu (椰胡), gaohu (高胡) and dizi (笛子).
1:00 The second section. Some motives from this section will reappear in the third section.
1:41 The third section. There is a call and answer between the dizi and the gaohu.
2:14 The fourth section. A transitional passage.
2:37 The fifth section, performed first by the solo gaohu, and then the whole ensemble performs a transitional passage.
3:00 A repetition of Sections 1-5.
5:02 The piece ends with a ritard. in the last phrase of the fifth section.
Extended Knowledge
3.1 Erhu (二胡) and Dizi (笛子): “Solo Instruments” Used in Jiangnan Sizhu (江南絲竹)
The erhu and dizi are important instruments used in jiangnan sizhu.
Usually the erhu takes the leading role and shapes the atmosphere of the ensemble.
The inner and outer strings of the erhu used in jiangnan sizhu are tuned in D and A respectively, with the outer string in a perfect fifth higher than the inner string. The strings of the fanhu (反胡) are tuned in A and E, that is, a perfect fourth lower than those of the erhu.
The dizi has the brightest timbre among the instruments used in the jiangnan sizhu ensemble. It has a penetrating tone colour and occasionally takes the leading role. The dizi generally used in jiangnan sizhu is the qudi (曲笛) in the key of D.
Since 1949, the Chinese government has paid much effort in “improving”
Chinese instruments and “perfecting” the way of performing Chinese music.
Performing solo pieces has become a norm for those learning Chinese instruments (see Chapter 2). Many performers of jiangnan sizhu have thus become “solo performers” of Chinese music, and many pieces of jiangnan sizhu have been arranged as “solo pieces.” The most renowned “solo performer” of jiangnan sizhu, Lu Chun-ling (陸春齡, 1921- ), who has been praised as “the devil dizi player” (魔笛), has arranged many jiangnan sizhu pieces as dizi solo pieces, including Song of Joy (歡樂歌), Street Procession (行街), Medium Ornamented Six Beats (中花六板), Cloud Celebration (雲慶), etc.
When Lu Chun-ling performed traditional jiangnan sizhu pieces with his group (including Zhou Hao (周皓, 1929- ), Zhou Hui (周惠, 1925- ), and Ma Sheng-long (馬聖龍, 1933-2003)), he is very prominent. This is due to his long-term established role as a solo performer.
Many jiangnan sizhu pieces have similarly been arranged as erhu solo pieces. In the Fourth Shanghai Spring Festival ( 上 海 之 春 ), a national erhu competition taking place in 1963, there were three solo erhu pieces which are
arrangements of jiangnan sizhu pieces, namely Slow Three Six (慢三六), Fragrant Wind Tune (薰風曲), and Medium Ornamented Six Beats (中花六板).
3.2 New Compositions of Jiangnan Sizhu (江南絲竹)
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, various traditional genres of Chinese ensemble music have been “academicised” and changed in the direction of minyue (民樂). There has been music training in performing traditional ensemble genres in music conservatories, including jiangnan sichu and Cantonese music. Quite a number of maestros of jiangnan sizhu taught in various conservatories, like Lin Shi-cheng (林石城, 1922-2005) of the Central Conservatory of Music (中央音樂學院), Chen Zhong (陳重) of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music (天津音樂學院), Lu Chun-ling (陸春齡) and Wang Yi (王乙, 1919-2002) of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (上海音樂學 院).
The First Jiangnan Sizhu Competition was held in Beijing in 1987. The First Prize was awarded to the jiangnan sizhu ensemble of the Central Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Lin Shi-cheng. The piece performed by this group was A Tribute to the Land in the South (咏南) composed by Zhu Yi (朱毅).
A Tribute to the Land in the South and New Sound of Sizhu (絲竹新韻) (CD 2-3), a piece composed by Yang Chun-lin ( 楊 春 林 ) in the 1990s, are new compositions written in imitation of the style of jiangnan sizhu. They have a flavour of jiangnan sizhu in the aspects of instrumentation, melody, and performing style. However, there is an injection of the style of minyue (民樂), like the use of Western harmony and form. The performers have to perform according to the notation and are not expected to ornament (加花, jiahua) the melody improvisatorily in the way that is commonly found in traditional performance.
3.3 The Performance Venue of Jiangnan Sizhu (江南絲竹)
Traditionally, jiangnan sizhu was performed in venues like restaurants, tea houses and private residences. Nowadays, it is most commonly performed in concert halls and theatres. It has evolved from a genre for self entertainment and for a small circle of listeners to a genre for the public audience in the concert hall.
The change of the performance venue of jiangnan sizhu has led to a change of performance practice. In traditional venues, the performance was more casual, and improvisation was an important feature. In the concert hall, the performance is more formal and serious with some prescribed rules.
Is it a preservation or an abolition of a traditional genre when we perform it in the concert hall? Is it necessary to change the performance practice and musical style when there is such a change of performance venue? These issues are worth our reflection.
3.4 A Family Tradition of Jiangnan Sizhu ( 江南絲 竹 ): Huqin ( 胡琴 ) Maestro Tang Liang-de (湯良德) and Tang’s Family
Tang Liang-de ( 湯 良 德 , 1938-2010) was born in a family of several generations’ maestros of jiangnan sizhu. He joined the Beijing Xinying Orchestra (北京新影樂團) in 1949, and then became a famous erhu (二胡) performer throughout the country. He moved to Hong Kong with his family after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). In 1978, he began to work in the newly-established Hong Kong Music Office (音樂事務統籌處, presently called 音樂 事務處), responsible for the training of Chinese music. He made a great contribution in the promotion and development of Chinese music in Hong Kong by teaching various kinds of huqins (胡琴) in the Music Office, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (香港演藝學院) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (香港中文大學), as well as conducting the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra (香港青年中樂團). He arranged quite a number of jiangnan sizhu pieces as solo, ensemble and orchestral pieces, and composed some new pieces in the jiangnan sizhu style, so that students of Chinese instruments and Chinese music lovers in Hong Kong have had a chance to be in contact with and