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Archive for the ‘Chinese Classical Music’ Category

The set of bells, set of chimes and other instruments excavated from the tomb of Zeng Houyi, who was a Warring States duke in Suixian County (now Suizhou City in Hubei Province), are the largest-scale ancient percussion instruments found so far. The musical instruments were discovered in the central chamber, which was the biggest, and the second biggest, the eastern chamber.

Among the musical instruments found was a bell used for tuning other instruments, a ten-stringed plucked instrument, five Se (a zither-like instrument) with 25 strings each, two Yu (or Sheng) and one hanging drum. The other instruments found were three Xiao (a reed instrument consisting of a bundle of 13 flutes, each of different thickness), two Chi (a flute with a closed tube, blown transversely, with the air exit on top, and the five finger holes open “forward”– toward the player. The method of playing the Chi, by opening and closing holes, bespeaks a close relationship with the ocarina), seven 35-stringed Se and a small drum. The most distinguished among them were Zeng Houyi bells — the gem of ancient Chinese Art:

The Zeng Houyi Bells (big photo)

The Zeng Houyi bells are a three-tiered set which has 65 refined bronze bells, including a large Jian drum (90cm in diameter, the drum was suspended from a framework in such a way that the drum head faced the striker), one set of bells and one set of chimes. They formed the three sides of a rectangle.

The musical range of the Zeng Houyi bells, which can carry the main melody as well as the harmony, was more than five octaves, and of these three distinct groups have 12 complete notes each.

All the musical instruments excavated from the Zeng Houyi tomb show superb craftsmanship and function surprisingly well. Indeed, some could not be surpassed even today.

Bells Music list:

The Chime of Bells Music: A Chu Air
[audio:A_Chu_Air.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Ode To The Orange
[audio:Ode_to_the_Orange.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Melody of Chu
[audio:Melody_of_Chu.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Clouds
[audio:Clouds.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Mourning For Ying
[audio:Mourning_for_Ying.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Oracle
[audio:Oricle.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Heroic Air of Chu
[audio:Heroic_Air_of_Chu.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music (Chinese Song): The Osprey
[audio:The_Osprey.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music (Chinese Song): The Song of The Yue People
[audio:Song_of_the_Yue_People.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music (Chinese Song): Song to Righteousness
[audio:Song_to_Righteousness.mp3]

The Chime of Bells Music: Schu Palace Banquet Music
[audio:Schu_Palace_Banquet_Music.mp3]

Spring Moonlight on the Flowers by the River is one of the most famous Chinese traditional music works. It had been popular among ordinary people before the year 1875, and has become one of the masterpieces in the treasury of Chinese classical music.

It was originally named as Pipa tune Flutes and Drums at Dusk, and was adapted by Liu Yaozhang, a member of Shanghai’s Datong Music Conservatory and renamed as Spring Moonlight on the Flowers by the River by Zheng Jinwen in 1930.

Since 1949, it has undergone many revisions, until now it is a highly polished piece. The intro has a background of musical harmony, and then a Pipa is plunked faster and faster, giving out drumbeat-like notes. At the same time, deft fingering on a vertical bamboo flute produces the melody. The contrast between the two instruments — one producing pellet-like short notes by twanging, and the other producing long-drawn-out notes — conjures up a picture of a river in springtime. The technique, often used in folk music, of phrases repeated over and over, and seemingly chasing one another, gives a vivid impression of ripples on water.

The understated melody, the fluid rhythmical meter, the ingenious subtlety, together with random orchestration, combine to paint a tranquil scene of a river on a moonlit night in spring, and is paean of praise to the countryside south of the Yangtze River.

The whole work is divided into ten sections, each having a different title.

Spring Moonlight on the Flowers by the River (Chun-Jiang-Hua-Yue-Ye):

If you want to listen the music online, it will take your some minutes to begin.

The best-known piece of Suona is One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix, which is especially popular in Shandong, Anhui, Henan and Hebei provinces.

Aftera spirited introduction, the orchestra settles down to a fixed accompaniment mode. With this background, the Suona section plays a vigorous, piping tune in imitation of the chirping of birds in flight. The closeness of the mimicry expresses the people’s love for nature and the intense scrutiny of ordinary life by folk artists, as well as their virtuosity in performance. Such beautiful  and auspicious tunes help to account for the popularity of this instrument.

The Suona horn is the most widespread and popular folk musical instrument in China. It is commonly called a trumpet. In shape, the Suona horn is conical, with eight holes (seven forward and one at the back). The body is made of wood. At one end there is a thin brass tube with a reed attachment, and at the other end, flares like a trumpet.

One Hundred Birds Serenade the Phoenix (Bai-Niao-Chao-Feng):

If you want to listen the music online, it will take your some minutes to begin.

Henan and Hebei provinces. After a spirited introduction, the orchestra settles down to a fixed accompaniment mode. With this background, the Suona section plays a vigorous, piping tune in imitation of the chirping of birds in flight. The closeness of the mimicry expresses the people’s love for nature and the intense scrutiny of ordinary life by folk artists, as well as their virtuosity in performance. Such beautiful and auspicious tunes help to account for the popularity of this instrument.

Erhu, also called Huqin, was known as Xiqin during the Song Dynasty. Huqin described in Yuan Dynasty records was the real forerunner of the modern Erhu, having its stem, sound box and pegs made of wood. The sound box can be round, hexagonal or octagonal, with one end covered with snakeskin, sometimes from a python, and the other end, an  ornamentally carved sound vent. There are two strings, played with a bamboo bow with horsetail hairs passing behind the strings. The range is normally five octaves, and sometimes four in special cases. In modern times, many people have made innovations to improve the tone color of Erhu.

The most widespread piece of Erhu music in China is Two Springs Reflect the Moon, composed by the Wuxi folk artist Ah Bing, whose original name was Hua Yanjun, in the mid 20th century. This work has two themes, which complement and intertwine, and finally melt into each other subtly and smoothly. Step by step and variation upon variation, the two themes rise and fall effortlessly. The crescendos especially show the composer’s steely and unyielding spirit.

There is a profound range of feeling in this piece, which incorporates a majestic spirit within a tightly knit composition. Vigorous variations in bowing technique make full use of the five hand positions, and the result is a fiercely emotional coloring expressing of the composer’s suppressed grief at having tasted to the full the bitterness of life in the old society. Two Springs Reflect the Moon is an exquisite example of Chinese instrumental folk music stemming from the heart of a small-town folk artist.

Two Springs Reflect the Moon (Er-Quan-Ying-Yue) :

[audio:erquanyingyue.mp3]

If you want to listen the music online, it will take your some minutes to begin.