Create in performance, perform in creation:
The unique way of creating and performing Chinese traditional music
Author: Zhang Yi (Professor of the School of Music of Hainan Normal University, Chief Expert of Hainan National Art Inheritance and Innovation Research Base)
In recent years, domestic folk music The performance market continues to prosper. From the "Chinese Feelings·Folk Music Famous" folk music series performances to the "Spring of Chinese Music" concert that sounded the first Chinese music gathering call, and then to the Chinese style music live "Folk Music on the Sea" that started its fifth round of performances this summer, Traditional Chinese music presented in different forms has attracted more and more people's attention and love. The charming charm of traditional music cannot be separated from the performers' re-creation of the original works.
Actors perform folk music at Xiangyu Castle in Qinshui County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. Xinhua News Agency published
"An art form integrating creation and performance
" In traditional Chinese music, performers and singers not only perform the works of the composer, but also bear the responsibility of creation. Different from the heptatonic scale of Western music, traditional Chinese music mostly uses the pentatonic scale, namely Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng, and Yu. The notation is simple and the functionality of the notes themselves is not strong. When playing the music, more emphasis is placed on the smoothness of the melody and emotional expression, with few complex harmonies, leaving room for creativity for the performer. For example, the famous flute player Lu Chunling, suona player Ren Tongxiang, and pipa player Liu Dehai are also famous arrangers and re-creators of traditional music.
Traditional Chinese music is "accented", that is, in addition to straight and progressive sounds, there are also a large number of sounds that change in pitch. Just like a stroke in Chinese calligraphy contains the rapidity, relaxation, beginning and end of time, and the intensity, depth, and return of space, each note in traditional Chinese music also has its own pitch, intensity, timbre, and direction. Variety. Taking guqin playing as an example, the left hand needs to use more than 20 techniques such as chanting, 猱, Chuo, and Zhu to rhyme the single notes of the right hand. Different playing methods will bring different sound effects and artistic conceptions. Performers can perform variations according to their own understanding and mood, forming a unique musical style and expression. This is the unique wisdom and art of the Chinese nation in music creation and performance. Pursue.
The oral-based creation and inheritance method makes Chinese traditional music constantly changing in the second creation. Chinese classical music is a product of oral culture in the agricultural era. Its creation and inheritance are mainly oral. Even if music scores are used, they are "composed in simple and traditional styles". Traditional Chinese notation methods such as subtractive notation and Gongchipu are characterized by qualitative and non-quantitative characteristics, that is, only the backbone sounds of the melody outline are recorded, and the details of the melody are not recorded. In the past, some folk musicians did not know music and mainly relied on oral teaching and their own understanding to know the melody by heart. However, the performance is full of flexibility and changes, making the performance an instant, full of improvisation and frequent interaction. creation. Therefore, not only performers will re-create musical works in one way or another, but even the original author himself will not be able to completely restore the "original work" due to "unfounded claims" when performing, but will make more or less changes to the work. Less reprocessing.
Traditional Chinese music should not be limited to "auditory art", but should be a comprehensive art that integrates nature and man, creation and performance. When playing traditional Chinese music, emphasis should not be placed on reproduction but on expression. Singers and performers must have the ability to create tunes and music.
The China National Traditional Orchestra broke through the conventional performance mode of traditional Chinese music and created my country's first national musical drama "Impression·National Music". The picture shows a still from "Impression·Chinese Music". Bright picture
The same work with different interpretations
Traditional Chinese music has formed different genres due to different interpretations by famous artists. For example, Suzhou Pingtan has dozens of major genres such as Jiang Diao, Ma Diao and Yu Diao. Even if these genres use The same music brand will also have different tunes and lyrics. This is the result of secondary creation, and this is the unique charm of traditional Chinese music.
Traditional Chinese notation only provides the basic framework of music, which requires the performer to recreate the notation and adapt the various possible symbols on the notation to the vivid presentation of this person, this time, this feeling, and this scene. .
Taking the Chinese guqin music "Three Plum Blossoms" as an example, the theme part lasts about 35 seconds, the reduced notation is 55 characters, and the simplified notation or five-line notation is 57 notes. Although the theme part of the piano music "Three Plum Blossom Lanes" adapted by composer Wang Jianzhong is similar in duration, the score is recorded as 271 notes. The number of notes between the two is very different. Therefore, guqin players must use playing techniques such as adding flowers, embellishment, and rhyme to make the fewer notes more vivid and lively, and avoid being thin and straightforward. With the interpretations of different qin players, the guqin song "Three Plum Blossom Lanes" has also derived various versions. In the "Collection of Guqin Music" compiled by the Music Research Institute of the China Academy of Arts and the Beijing Guqin Research Association, three versions are included - Wu Jinglue's 1939 qin and flute score based on the "Harmony of the Qin Score", with additional techniques. There are many children, the style is free and easy, and the rhythm is regular; "Plum Blossom Three Lanes" in "Jiao'an Qinpu" (published in 1868), played by Zhang Ziqian of Guangling School, has a free and ups and downs rhythm, and is known as "Old Plum Blossom"; "Plum Blossom" played by Fu Xuezhai "Three Alleys", with its regular rhythm and clear style, is called the "New Plum Blossom".
There are many versions of the well-known folk song "Jasmine" - the smooth, fresh and beautiful Jiangsu folk song "Jasmine", the simple, hearty, smooth and interesting Hebei folk song "Jasmine", the simple, rough, full of enthusiasm and vitality the northwest folk song "Jasmine", The Northeastern folk song "Jasmine" has a bit of a duet flavor. Their melody and lyrics are similar but different. This is because during the circulation of "Jasmine Flower", performers from different regions have recreated the work to varying degrees.
The performers’ re-creation of traditional Chinese music not only changed the lyrics and melody, but also gave the work vitality and a sense of the times. For example, "Xiao Hu Jia" composed by guqin master Xu Junyue, based on in-depth collation and analysis of the ancient music score, made variations on the core tones that rarely changed, and further enriched the performance techniques while retaining the original fingerings, making it The musical form structure is tighter and the musical range of the work is expanded. As a result, this guqin piece has regained its splendor in contemporary times.
It can be seen that the secret of traditional Chinese music does not lie in the score itself, but in the performer's secondary creation during the interpretation.
How to perform secondary creation now
Secondary creation is an important way for the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese music. In the second creation, the performer must handle the relationship with the original work well. Chinese music is composed in a simple way and the tune is complex. If you perform it directly according to the score, you will lose the basic musicality of the "accent" of Chinese music. The "traditional tune" does not mean adding arbitrary flourishes, but you must first study the style, genre and personality of the work.
Performers cannot be arrogant and believe that the audience should unconditionally accept their interpretation of the original work; nor can they be "childish" and believe that the original music author is the master of the music, or completely transfer the rights of secondary creation to the band conductor.
The Chinese opera proverb "return first and then jump" can be used as a specific method for the second creation of traditional Chinese music. Performers need to understand the author's "meaning", grasp the various possibilities of musical works, and study the character, emotion, motivation, etc. of the role they play. This is called "returning"; it is both reasonable and reasonable to perform according to the actual situation. Unexpected innovation is called "jump". The second creation of traditional Chinese music requires a solid "return" and a superb "dance".
The second creation of traditional Chinese music works must adapt to the current new performance environment and communication methods. The original square-style performance environment often required "big doors and loud voices." With the emergence of electronic sound reinforcement systems, performers do not need to spend more energy on the transmission of sound, but should express the emotion and connotation contained in the work through the presentation of sound details, such as using more weak sounds. The original performance environment required performers to play and sing in fixed positions. With the application of movable microphones, performers can "change scenery" during the performance, use richer stage scheduling, increase the stage expressiveness of the work, and bring a richer viewing experience to the audience.
More and more traditional Chinese music works are disseminated with the help of new media platforms. New media communication is obviously interactive.The performers build a bridge for the audience to understand and appreciate the original work through their own secondary creations. Audiences can not only see traditional music performances on the new media platform, but also interact with the performers.
In short, every interpretation of traditional Chinese music is a creative process. The performers perform again and again and create again and again. It is in this secondary creation that the tree of Chinese music and art continues to gain the power to grow upward.
"Guangming Daily" (August 07, 2024, Page 13)
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