Think of China’s culture and a show reel of images flickers through your mind’s eye. The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Three Gorges and even Shanghai’s Pudong skyline, all flash up, one after the other in glorious Technicolor splendour. All very impressive. But every show needs a soundtrack and, needless to say, China’s is worthy of an Oscar. Boasting a musical heritage stretching back thousands of years with an evolution largely independent from that of Western music, some great sounds have developed on some rather special instruments.
History
Nothing attests to the famed longevity of Chinese civilisation than its tradition of making music, with the oldest excavated instrument, a flute, dated at 7000 years old. By the start of the Zhou dynasty in 1046 B.C.E, music was highly revered and was one of the four arts upright young men were required to study if they wanted to call themselves a true gentleman. During the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 B.C.E) music, along with philosophy and engineering, flourished in one of China’s golden periods of creativity. Musicians flocked to courts to enjoy the patronage of the rich and powerful- certainly preferable to joining one of the many armies of the period! But the age of playing guzhengs under the cherry blossom was not to last as the destruction of music scores by the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty heralded the decline of classical music. Under his rule much of the musical heritage of China was lost and only echoes of the music enjoyed for centuries before can be heard today. Much of our modern Chinese traditional music descends from that developed in the Tang period, (618-907), a time when music again flourished under the patronage of the emperors and many instruments we recognise today had taken shape in huge orchestras scattered throughout the imperial palaces. The rise of Chinese opera can be accredited with boosting the study and development of music, along with the instruments, and a great variety of forms and styles developed across China. Indeed today the most likely place to hear great classical music is in the opera theatre and many distinguished artists continue the popularity of this music style. The other feature of Chinese traditional music today is the influence of Western musical styles. The Occident has long effected the development of Chinese instruments and music through the Silk Road, with instruments influenced by the designs of Central Asia, but today western orchestras now getting in on the act by incorporating Chinese instruments as either soloists or in groups. Western musical technology has also left its mark, most notably on the erhu. And as China has adopted modern forms such as pop and rock, so they have experimented using traditional instruments on their tracks. And through all this, traditional ensembles continue to play a sound hardly unchanged for centuries. Confucius would be proud.
China’s sound owes much of its uniqueness to its musical instruments, which were traditionally classified in 8 categories according to the material used to make the instrument (stone, bamboo, wood, metal, silk, clay, gourd and hide). Our tastes have changed somewhat, banging on stone drums is no longer in vogue for instance, but the traditional favourites, and some exotic interlopers, are as popular as ever.
Guzheng
It is 206BC and you are a nobleman, or woman, at the court of the First Emperor of China. Mingling with the most powerful people in the land, lords dressed in expensive robes and ladies dripping in jewels, you would be able to hear through the courtly intrigues and buzzing gossip the melodious strains of a guzheng. Fast-forward over 2000 years and the descendants of this instrument can still be heard, albeit at concerts rather than court! Back then the guzheng had only 5 strings but has now evolved into many different forms-from 14 strings up to 26. It belongs not only to China but is played from Vietnam in the south to Korea in the east. Today it remains one of the most popular traditional Chinese instruments to learn with its stately appearance and impressive tones. The playing style is fairly unique, with plectra worn on the fingers to pluck the strings, which are cut in half by several bridges. Playing either side of these bridges results in slightly different tones to the note and whilst traditionally both hands played the full range of notes, more and more the guzheng has been influenced by the piano so that the left hand is mainly reserved for low bass notes and the right for the melody. This gives a greater melodic range but then loses the delicate ornamentations in older music that only the left hand can provide so students today often learn both techniques. The music of the guzheng was originally classified into two schools, one centring around our very own Shandong, the other around Guangdong. Gao Shan Liu Shui (Water Flowing from High Mountains) and Han Gong Qiu Yue (Han Palace under the Autumn Moon) are popular pieces from the Shandong school and Han Ya Xi Shui (Winter Crows Playing in the Water) and Chu Shui Lian (Lotus Blossoms Emerging from the Water) originate from the Guangdong school. Guzhengs are also popular in fusion music with the artist Zhang Yan using it in Jazz music as well as the band Gorillaz in the song Hong Kong. The guzheng is great to learn if you are a very busy person as even a complete beginner can make it sound good with a simple sweep of the hand over the strings. With a little time and dedication you too will be fit to play for an Emperor!
Guqin
The granddaddy of Chinese musical instruments, the guqin has a long and illustrious pedigree. Mythology holds that just about every legendary figure in Chinese pre-history was involved in inventing the guqin and whilst we can’t agree for sure, there is no doubt this instrument has been around for a long time. It was played at least 2500 years ago by Confucius himself, who is believed to have said “a gentleman does not part with his Qin without good reason”. Indeed the oldest piece of Chinese music known today was played by him on the guqin. Similar to a guzheng, but without bridges, the 7 stringed guqin is renowned for its mellow and deep voice, rather like that of a western cello. This famously difficult instrument is played by plucking the strings with your hands using one of three techniques, San Yin, Fan Yin and An Yin. San Yin, “scattered sounds” is the basic pluck of the string while Fan Yin, “floating sounds” are harmonics and An Yin, “stopped sounds” is a deep pluck of the string followed by moving the hand to alter the pitch. There are over 1000 different finger techniques with the guqin although prospective students can breathe a sigh of relief as modern players require only around 50. Famous pieces include Meihua San Nong (Three Variations on the Plum Blossom Theme) and Xiao Xiang Shui Yun (Mist and Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang Rivers). In modern times the guqin is still on top as one of the most revered Chinese instruments and was recently made a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO- quite an honour. The guqin has even gone intergalactic as a recording of Liu Shui, (Flowing water), played by the guqin maestro Guan Pinghu, was included on a record of world music sent into space on Voyager spacecrafts. Perhaps we are not alone in enjoying the rich melodic sound of the guqin…
Pipa
Perhaps one of the most famous and widely played Chinese instruments is the pipa. Originally it was a popular solo instrument invented during the Qin dynasty and these days has found a new lease of life in fusion music, namely in concerto pieces supported by a western orchestra, as well as continuing in traditional ensembles. The four-stringed lute was originally possessed of a rounder figure and fewer frets but the design was altered during the Tang dynasty as a lute from the Persian kingdom along the Silk Road became more popular. This lute, more streamlined in shape, was played more like a guitar and thus usurped the pipa’s position at court. The original pipa survives today as the type of lute called a ruan, but the instrument we now know as the pipa gradually adopted the more pear shaped body and began to be played vertically, supported on the player’s lap. Pipa combines the word for strumming with fingers with that of plucking with the thumb and, unsurprisingly, the mixture of finger and thumb work is how it is played. The pipa is also know for its show-off flourishes as virtuoso techniques such as harmonics, rolls, slaps and pizzicato are enthusiastically added to even the simplest of pieces. This instrument is certainly designed for those who like a bit of pizzazz in their music! The twanging sound of the many strings being plucked produces something instantly recognisable as Chinese and it is very easy to be lost in the complicated maelstrom of notes and the mesmerising speed of a pipa player’s fingers. More traditional works include Shi Mian Mai Fu (Ambushed from Ten Sides) and Long Chuan (Dragonboat). For those into fusion music the pipa provides ample material with composers such as Phillip Glass and Tan Dun using the instrument in their work. And, purists look away now, there are even electric pipas…
Erhu
The erhu can definitely be considered the presumptuous upstart of Chinese musical instruments. It only has two strings for heaven’s sake! Not for it centuries of gracing imperial palaces, rather this simple instrument originated from nomadic peoples in Mongolia and is first mentioned in the Tang dynasty. It plied its trade at weddings and banquets, as well as accompanying local operas, before hitting the big time when Liu Tianhua (1895-1932) began writing solo pieces, starting with “The Sound of Agony” in 1915. Liu was also a violin player and used this experience to refine the erhu’s design, swapping silk strings for nylon, and realise its potential as a solo instrument. The erhu was soon showcasing its distinctively haunting sound in refined concert halls and conservatories, up there among the manicured guzhengs and pipas. Despite this success, however, it never quite left its humble roots behind. Hua Yanjun, also know as Abing, (1893-1950) was a blind street musician from Wuxi and is still considered one of the greatest erhu players ever despite the fact that only a handful of recordings of him playing were ever made- and even these were from the last months of his life when he was very sick. Nowadays the erhu often appears in orchestras playing a similar role to that of the violin with groups playing a melody. But to appreciate the true beauty of the instrument you need to hear it sing out alone. From low, resonating growls to high, haunting notes, the erhu has a richness and depth of sound that is due to the lack of a fingerboard, which allows flexibility in finger placing that a violinist can only dream of. The unique addition of python skin to the soundboard also helps to give that otherness sound that makes an erhu so instantly identifiable. Learning to the play the erhu can be a love-hate relationship. You’ll love it but your nearest and dearest will not… At least when you begin. But amongst the creaking yowls and torturous squeals there will be the occasional note of rich, silvery pureness, echoing the wind across the steppe…
No comments:
Post a Comment