scholarly journals The Integration of Chinese Opera Traditions into New Musical Compositions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nalin Shen
Keyword(s):  
Original Compositions ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Global Village ◽  
Chinese Opera ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
Cultural Roots ◽  
Generic Term ◽  
Musical Traditions

<p>Almost fifty years ago Chinese composer Chou Wen-chung proposed a musical “re-merger” of East and West. For many Chinese composers of today a sense of historical continuity and an awareness of inherited musical traditions are important contributor to cultural identity, and a basis on which to build the future. The generation that emerged after the Cultural Revolution found new freedoms, and has become, at the beginning of the twentyfirst century, a significant presence on the international musical stage, as the paradigm shifts away from being European-centered, to a culture belonging to the “global village”. As with many other Chinese composers of my generation, the creation of new compositions is both a personal expression and a manifestation of cultural roots. Techniques of “integration” and “translation” of musical elements derived from traditional Chinese music and music-theatre are a part of my musical practice. The use of traditional Chinese instruments, often in combination with Western instruments, is a no longer a novelty. The written exegesis examines some of the characteristic elements of xìqǜ (the generic term for all provincial Chinese operas), including dǎ (percussion - an enlarged interpretation of dǎ, as found in chuānjù gāoqiāng Sichuan gāoqiān opera), bǎnqiāng (The musical style that characterizes Chinese xìqǚ), and niànbái  (recitation and dialogue), as well as the kuàibǎnshū (storytelling with percussion) of qǚyì (a term to use to include all folk genres), and shāngē (mountain song). The techniques employed in integrating and translating these elements into original compositions are then analyzed. In the second volume of the thesis the scores of five compositions are presented, four of the five works are set in Chinese, exploring the dramatic aspects of language, and may be considered music-theatre, one being an opera scene intended for stage production.</p>

scholarly journals The Integration of Chinese Opera Traditions into New Musical Compositions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nalin Shen
Keyword(s):  
Original Compositions ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Global Village ◽  
Chinese Opera ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Historical Continuity ◽  
Cultural Roots ◽  
Generic Term ◽  
Musical Traditions

<p>Almost fifty years ago Chinese composer Chou Wen-chung proposed a musical “re-merger” of East and West. For many Chinese composers of today a sense of historical continuity and an awareness of inherited musical traditions are important contributor to cultural identity, and a basis on which to build the future. The generation that emerged after the Cultural Revolution found new freedoms, and has become, at the beginning of the twentyfirst century, a significant presence on the international musical stage, as the paradigm shifts away from being European-centered, to a culture belonging to the “global village”. As with many other Chinese composers of my generation, the creation of new compositions is both a personal expression and a manifestation of cultural roots. Techniques of “integration” and “translation” of musical elements derived from traditional Chinese music and music-theatre are a part of my musical practice. The use of traditional Chinese instruments, often in combination with Western instruments, is a no longer a novelty. The written exegesis examines some of the characteristic elements of xìqǜ (the generic term for all provincial Chinese operas), including dǎ (percussion - an enlarged interpretation of dǎ, as found in chuānjù gāoqiāng Sichuan gāoqiān opera), bǎnqiāng (The musical style that characterizes Chinese xìqǚ), and niànbái  (recitation and dialogue), as well as the kuàibǎnshū (storytelling with percussion) of qǚyì (a term to use to include all folk genres), and shāngē (mountain song). The techniques employed in integrating and translating these elements into original compositions are then analyzed. In the second volume of the thesis the scores of five compositions are presented, four of the five works are set in Chinese, exploring the dramatic aspects of language, and may be considered music-theatre, one being an opera scene intended for stage production.</p>

Israeli Art Music

Music ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronit Seter
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Western Art ◽  
Jewish Diaspora ◽  
Jewish Music ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
And Gender

Writings about music in Israel illuminate a wide range of topics, often exploring the politics of social identities: nationalism, folklorism, Orientalism, ethnicity, multiculturalism, East-West cultural borrowings and appropriations, representation, religion, and gender. Complementing the Oxford Bibliographies articles on “Jewish Music” and “Jews and Music” (by Edwin Seroussi and Judah Cohen, respectively, both of which focus mostly on ethnomusicological research into ethnic, liturgical, and popular musics in the Diaspora), this bibliography focuses primarily on Western art music by Israeli composers, yet it also examines selected writings on ethnic and popular musics that inform it. Most of the approximately forty notable immigrant composers who fled fascist Europe to British Palestine during the 1930s and 1940s—the founders of Israeli art music—aspired both to create local music and to continue their original styles from their native countries, mostly Germany, Russia, and Poland, or those they studied in France and elsewhere. As participants in the evolving Hebraic and Zionist culture, they believed that they should partake in the creation of a native, Hebrew musical style, informed by local Jewish ethnic sources that had arrived in Israel from the Mizraḥi Jewish Diaspora, often from Yemen, Iraq, or Morocco, or from those of the Palestinian Arabs. This ideology was passionately disseminated, argued, contested, and ultimately stamped as narrowly nationalistic. Beyond general and themed overviews, as well as reference works and other research tools, this bibliography focuses on the writings by and about the founders. It emphasizes those founders whose works were most widely performed and discussed, namely the Israeli Five: Paul Ben-Haim (b. 1897–d. 1984), Alexander Uriah Boskovich (b. 1907–d. 1964), Oedoen Partos (b. 1907– d. 1977), Josef Tal (b. 1910–d. 2008), and Mordecai Seter (b. 1916–d. 1994). It also examines composers who studied with the them and therefore considered themselves “second generation,” such as Yehezkel Braun (b. 1922–d. 2014) and Tzvi Avni (b. 1927); selected peers of the second cohort who immigrated to Israel in the late 1960s and the 1970s, notably Mark Kopytman (b. 1929–d. 2011) and André Hajdu (b. 1932–d. 2016); and a number of younger composers, including Betty Olivero (b. 1954). For the founders and many of their successors, the desire to create “Israeli” rather than “Jewish” music—either following common, essentialist stereotypes and signifiers, or creating neonationalist, Bartókian-, or Stravinskian-influenced local art—was paramount, whether or not they spoke or wrote about it explicitly. Yet others—and often the same composers at later stages in their lives—attempted to follow European and, more recently, American trends. While for many the word “Jewish” has often denoted Ashkenazi characteristics, “Israeli” entailed the use of Mizraḥi melodic and rhythmic elements; that is, elements from the musical traditions of the Jewish communities who fled to Israel from Arab countries and of the indigenous Palestinians. These formative, defining ideologies characterize the music of the founders but less so younger composers, who feel free to defy it. Still, Israeli compositions often receive local prizes and wider reception when they refer to local culture, folklore, identities, ethnicities, and politics. Acknowledgments: I am deeply grateful to my friends and colleagues who helped with their comments, most notably Yosef Goldenberg, Uri Golomb, and Ralph Locke, whose eagle-eyed comments over multiple iterations transformed this article. I am also indebted to Judith Cohen (Israel), Judit Frigyesi, Yoel Greenberg, Jehoash Hirshberg, Bonny Miller, Marina Ritzarev, Edwin Seroussi, Assaf Shelleg, and Laura Yust, who all took the time to read, encourage, and provide content and editing comments that helped polish this article. This large-scale project could not have been what it is without all of your contributions. Finally, this work was partly supported by an NEH Fellowship.

Making a Living, Making a Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Klemperer
Keyword(s):  
Computer Software ◽  
Copyright Law ◽  
First Century ◽  
Artistic Development ◽  
Technological Changes ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Career Trajectory ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Professional Musician ◽  
Musical Traditions

To be a professional musician in today’s marketplace, regardless of musical style or tradition, is largely a balancing act. Time allocated to artistic development or career development all too often involves sacrificing one for the other. Faced with major economic, demographic, and technological changes in the twenty-first century, it falls to the musician to develop a multifaceted career trajectory. This includes a diverse skill set including not only fluency in various musical traditions but expertise in business, computer software, sound engineering, and copyright law as well. The musician’s balancing act thus involves choosing which educational programs will be of most help within realistic time constraints. Professional musicians who return to academia often bring a creative and practical approach to curriculum change based on their real world experiences.

scholarly journals The study of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryna Antoshko
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Living Organism ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Chinese Opera ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
Musical Tradition ◽  
Original Culture ◽  
Comprehensive Development ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
The Individual

The purpose of the article is to study the problem of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette. The methodology is to use the historical method in the study of this topic. It is thanks to this method that genre genres of Chinese opera are revealed in the work. Information on roles and make-up is provided, based on the historical method. The scientific novelty of the article is to study the feasibility of the issue of Chinese opera culture, drawing on the country's musical traditions. The historical names of the philosophers who influenced the development of the musical arts and education system, which affected the cultural traditions of China, were highlighted. The scientific novelty of the article is the study and study of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette. Based on the country's musical traditions, we single out important factors of opera genres, including Tibetan opera, Shaoxing, Sichuan, Henan, Guangdong, etc. Conclusions are based on the study of the problem of Chinese opera culture on the example of the genre palette, revealed the original culture of the country, its worldview system. The problem of the genre palette of Chinese opera culture has interested many scholars, among which we single out scientific works: L.S. Vasiliev, Hou Jiang, U Gen-Ir, and others. This question highlighted the philosophical trends that underpin China's traditions. The problem of studying the worldview system of ancient China as the basis for the emergence of the musical tradition has interested many scholars because it influenced the cultural life of the countries of the East. Based on the study of the problem of opera culture, they discovered the original art of China. Philosophical views influenced both theatrical life and the country's musical art. Special attention was paid to the issue of education, in particular aesthetics, in China. Music education has played an important role in China's culture. Confucius emphasizes the comprehensive development of humans while emphasizing the morality of the individual. The opera culture of the country is peculiar. Musical load played a big role. The Chinese worldview is based on a vision of nature as a living organism. The first sprouts of musical and theatrical art emerge. XII-XIII centuries marked the birth of Chinese opera. The Chinese theater was in full understanding of the people. The article highlights the types of opera genres. The musical side of classical theater is characterized by an unbroken unity of sound, words, and dance. The circle of images, moods, techniques of acting is characterized by a certain type of melody, rhythm, composition of the orchestra. The study of this issue regarding the opera culture of China is interesting and not fully understood, which necessitates further development in the study of this issue.

scholarly journals INTEGRATED APPROACH TO AESTHETIC EDUCATION OF SCHOOLCHILDREN IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

2020 ◽  
pp. 143-154
Author(s):  
Olena Ionova ◽  
Svetlana Luparenko ◽  
Yuliia Lakhmotova
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Aesthetic Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
Regional Music ◽  
Characteristic Features

The article is dedicated to revelation of the peculiarities of integrated approach in the process of schoolchildren's aesthetic education in the People's Republic of China. The possibilities of using art while teaching different subjects (Mathematics, different languages, Literature, History etc.) have been outlined. The Chinese pedagogues underline the close connection of Mathematics and Music. It provides opportunities to learn fractional nature of the notes, feel the rhythm of the music, relate harmony, intervals, melody and notes to whole numbers, proportions, arithmetic operations, logarithms, Geometry and Trigonometry. The authors have pointed out that aesthetic subjects (music, art, theatre) are also closely connected in educational process of schools. The characteristic feature of schoolchildren's aesthetic education in the People's Republic of China is taking into account the regionality (differences in development of art depending on the region of the country). It is due to different historical, socio-economic and cultural factors of development of different regions in China. The regionality strengthens the connection of arts with History, Economics and Geography and helps schoolchildren to understand the significance and differences of regional music in China, to learn various Chinese musical instruments, folk lullabies and to investigate the important characteristic features of the Chinese music. So, schoolchildren's aesthetic education in China has a strong national basis: art is connected with national expression, development of musical traditions, nature and mental aesthetic ideas.

Huju: Traditional Opera in Modern Shanghai. By Jonathan P. J. Stock. [Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 279 pp. £45.00. ISBN 0-19-726273-2.]

2004 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 239-241
Author(s):  
Nancy Guy
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
World Music ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Chinese Opera ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Peking Opera ◽  
Modern Shanghai ◽  
Oxford University Press

This book is a welcome addition to the relatively small number of monograph-length studies dedicated to living Chinese opera traditions. Its focus on one of the hundreds of regional opera forms, Shanghai huju, as opposed to the better-known Peking opera (jingju), makes this book even more exceptional. Stock has designed his tome with the admirable goal of situating his study within the disciplinary frame of ethnomusicology. Broadly speaking, Chinese music has not achieved the same prominence in the general ethnomusicological discourse or the emerging “world music canon” as music of other regions, such as Bali or India. The reasons for this are many, and Stock should be commended for recognizing and aiming to tackle the problem. In his opening pages, Stock lays out the conundrum and questions where to position his study on a plane ranging from dry description to theoretical introspection. The book achieves a middle ground between these two extremes with most chapters organized around specific themes or theoretical concerns.

Recent technology and the hybridisation of Western and Chinese musics

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER J. KEYES
Keyword(s):  
Essential Elements ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
Other World

Although the hybridisation of Western and Chinese musics has been progressing for over a century, many early attempts tended to treat Chinese material in a rather superficial manner. This resulted in mere ‘Orientalist’ Western pieces and rather bland pentatonic/romantic ‘Chinese’ music that simply harmonised the basic outline of popular Chinese melodies with Western chord progressions. The use of recent technologies has greatly accelerated the pace and depth of this hybridisation and solved many of its artistic problems. Technological advances now make it possible and practical to incorporate the subtle but essential elements of traditional Chinese music, and of course other world musics, in works that seem satisfying for Western and non-Western audiences. This paper presents a brief historical overview of the hybridisation of Western and Chinese musical traditions, examines common pitfalls of many early attempts, and reviews how these issues are addressed compositionally and technically in the author's recent electroacoustic pieces, Li Jiang Etudes No. 1, 2 & 3.

Rekindling Ancient Values: The Influence of Chinese Music and Aesthetics on Harry Partch

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. ANDREW GRANADE
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Word ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Li Po ◽  
Cantonese Opera ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
Theoretical Thinking ◽  
Unpublished Manuscripts ◽  
Scale Composition

AbstractScholarship on American composer Harry Partch (1901–74) has long focused on the composer's use of Greek musical ideals as the basis of his aesthetic, but little attention has been paid to China, a nation with which Partch had familial ties and with which he claimed an affinity. Using Partch's published writings, along with unpublished manuscripts, letters, and interviews, this article repositions China's role in the development of Harry Partch's music and aesthetic. By surveying his early experiences with Cantonese opera, his early expositions of his theoretical thinking, and his first full-scale composition, a setting of seventeen poems by Li Po, it demonstrates that China symbolized an alternative path. China's musical traditions were tied directly to the spoken word and featured integration of the arts through ritual, and thus for Partch presented a way to renew Western music. Through the Chinese musical quotations that reside in several of his works, the article also shows that, despite his later protests to the contrary, Chinese music both informed and shaped his music. Finally, it suggests that only by exploring the implications of China in his music can we fully understand Partch's compositional aesthetic.

Piercing the Structure of Tradition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko Anno
Keyword(s):  
Performance Practice ◽  
English Language ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Musical Structure ◽  
Musical Style ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
Noh Drama ◽  
Musical Traditions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

What does freedom sound like in the context of traditional Japanese theater? Where is the space for innovation, and where can this kind of innovation be located in the rigid instrumentation of the Noh drama? This book investigates flute performance as a space to explore the relationship between tradition and innovation. This first English-language monograph traces the characteristics of the Noh flute (nohkan), its music, and transmission methods and considers the instrument's potential for development in the modern world. The book examines the musical structure and nohkan melodic patterns of five traditional Noh plays and assesses the degree to which Issō School nohkan players maintain to this day the continuity of their musical traditions in three contemporary Noh plays influenced by William Butler Yeats. The book's ethnographic approach draws on interviews with performers and case studies, as well as the author's personal reflection as a nohkan performer and disciple under the tutelage of Noh masters. The book argues that traditions of musical style and usage remain influential in shaping contemporary Noh composition and performance practice, and the existing freedom within fixed patterns can be understood through a firm foundation in Noh tradition.

Huju

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. J. Stock
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Emotional Expressivity ◽  
Live Performance ◽  
Chinese Opera ◽  
Music Drama ◽  
Chinese Music ◽  
Communist Revolution ◽  
New Social Order

China has over three hundred distinct styles of music drama, from exorcism theatre to farce, historical romance, and shadow puppetry. This study considers one of the newer operatic forms. Established just two centuries ago, huju (Shanghai opera), is renowned for its portrayal of ordinary people, not the emperors, courtesans, and heroes of older forms. Acting and make-up aim for realism rather than symbolism, and stories deal with contemporaneous themes: the struggles of lovers to marry, women's rights after the Communist revolution (1949), and life under the new social order established by Deng Xiaoping's reforms in the 1980s. Music ranges from local folksong to syncretic adoptions of Western popular music. Adding to his extensive research on Chinese music, the author's eighteen months of fieldwork in Shanghai have allowed him to interweave material from historical reports, sound recordings, live performance, and first-hand accounts of three generations of singers into a study of a unique Chinese opera form seen equally as historical tradition, venue for social action, and forum for musical creativity. Assessing first the roots of huju in local folksong and ballad, he looks at the enduring role of emotional expressivity. The text then focuses on the rise of actresses, laying out a ‘musical’ reading of gendered performance.

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