《中国风》的理想与实践 交响音乐系列《中国风》十年思考 鲍元恺 中央音乐学院学报2000年第一期 从1991年10月我的《中国风》交响音乐系列第一篇《炎黄风情》首演至今已整整十年。在这十年里，《中国风》不仅在海峡两岸听众中间引起了强烈的共鸣，同时受到了西方音乐界的瞩目。 通过《中国风》的创作实践，我认为：产生在封闭社会的中国原生状态的古老传统音乐，要通过同世界各民族的音乐文化相互交流，通过与外来音乐形式的融合，才能获得再生机能而存活于现实文化生活并进而跨入世界乐坛，才能以主流文化的姿容展示中国传统音乐的艺术魅力和独特神韵，表现中国文化的丰富形态和深刻智慧。这种融合，不是割断和否定传统，而是发展和丰富传统。 中国传统音乐必须走出封闭，才能获得开放性发展 “中国风”的主旨是中国传统音乐同西方交响音乐的结合。 交响音乐（这里指的是用交响乐队演奏的各种形式和体裁的器乐音乐）是伴随欧洲工业革命产生和发展的西方现代文明的精华。经过历代艺术家的伟大创造，它已经成为西方音乐中表现力最丰富，适应性最广泛的音乐艺术形式。在同世界各民族独特的传统音乐相融合的过程中，又产生了一大批反映不同民族社会生活，表现不同民族心理素质的风格多样的交响音乐作品，并成为各民族音乐文化的组成部分。但是，我们所说的包括交响音乐在内的欧洲专业音乐，是在特定历史时期和特定地理疆域产生的人类音乐文化的一部分，它不可能涵盖地球上不同地区、不同民族在几千年的历史长河中形成的极其丰富的音乐遗产。欧洲专业音乐是从西方宗教音乐发端而以严格的节拍记谱法和统一的和声理论为基础的，它一方面拓展了音乐的多声部张力，完善了音乐的逻辑性结构，另一方面却使旋律、音色和节奏的发展以及音乐的个体表现力受到了制约。而这些方面，我们中国的传统音乐则有着西方专业音乐难以望其项背的独特神韵和丰富积淀。这些未被现代文明异化的，古老而具有永恒生命力的灿烂音乐遗产向我们展示了无比广阔的艺术创造天地。“中国风”的宗旨，就是以交响音乐这种开放的艺术形式，作为联结东方同西方不同文化背景空间差的桥梁，作为联结古代与现代不同时代审美需求时间差的桥梁，使中国传统音乐打开同世界文化隔绝，同现实生活隔绝的封闭状态，从而在去粗取精，消化融会和新陈代谢的过程中获得新的生命，取得开放性发展。 从1990年起，我开始重新学习中国汉族民歌、少数民族民歌和歌舞曲、曲艺音乐、戏曲音乐以及各类传统器乐曲。我希望以此为基础，分门别类地择其精华，进行同西方音乐形式相结合的再创造。 1991年，我的《中国民歌主题二十四首管弦乐曲》由天津交响乐团在天津首演。全曲分为《燕赵故事》《云岭素描》《黄土悲欢》《巴蜀山歌》《江南雨丝》和《太行春秋》六章，分别以河北、云南、陕西、四川、江苏和山西六省流传久远，脍炙人口的民歌旋律为基础，以管弦乐的丰富色彩构成一幅幅汉族人民生活的音乐画卷。1994年，我以《中国风》之名冠于整套创作计划，而将这一套取材于汉族民歌的六章组曲命名为《炎黄风情》，列为《中国风》首篇。至今，这部作品已由国内外许多交响乐团先后在许多世界名城演出全曲或选曲四百余场，并由国内外乐团录制了多套唱片。许多中外指挥家以他们的忠于传统又富于个性的艺术诠释在世界各地演奏这些以中国民歌为基础的管弦乐曲。2001年，这部组曲获得中国首届音乐创作金钟奖。 《炎黄风情》之后的《中国风》各个篇章，是在《炎黄风情》取得初步成功的基础上，在海内外各界朋友的鼓励和帮助下完成创作和演出的。这些篇章，在风格和技法方面各有特点：有的使用16世纪欧洲音乐中古老的“固定低音”，有的采用17、18世纪常用的“卡农”和“赋格”，有的则吸收20世纪不同流派的和声手段和节奏手段。它们在同中国传统音乐的旋律、音调或节奏相结合的过程中，表现出浓郁的中国韵味，深化了传统音乐的意境，增强了艺术感染力，得到了听众的理解和支持。 我们拥有广阔而丰厚的未开垦的处女地 《中国风》的创作有一个相当长的酝酿过程：一方面，它贯穿于我学习音乐和创作音乐的全过程，另一方面，也同整个中国音乐发展的大背景密切相关。 中国音乐与西方音乐的发展并不是同步的。中国没有经历过西方的大工业时代，也没有一个文艺复兴时期，因而中国的音乐一直非常完整地保留着农业时代的原始形态。这恰恰是我们这一代中国作曲家与同代西方作曲家相比得天独厚的优势——我们拥有广阔而丰厚的未开垦的处女地。 因此，前辈作曲家几乎无一例外地重视对中国民间音乐的开掘和研究，尽管各自的途径和方式大不相同。萧友梅、黄自等前辈，就曾倡导用民歌的素材来创作外来形式的器乐音乐。肖友梅先生所说的“从旧乐及民乐中搜集素材，作为创造新国乐的基础”，就是这个意思。在四十年代，贺绿汀根据一首蒙古族民歌改编成同名管弦乐《森吉德玛》，马可根据一组陕北民歌创作了《陕北组曲》，冼星海以五首中国民歌为素材在苏联完成了管弦乐《中国狂想曲》。与此同时，另一些从欧洲、日本回国的作曲家，如马思聪、丁善德、谭小麟、郑志声、江文也等，也在创作实践中探索民歌旋律同西方作曲技法的结合。马思聪的《思乡曲》就直接引用了《城墙上跑马》这首内蒙民歌，他的《回旋曲》主题用的是另一首内蒙民歌《你走那天刮了一阵风》。江文也的《台湾舞曲》不仅在和声方面，同时也在节奏组织和管弦乐配器方面进行了有益的尝试。这些探索，为后来中国民族交响音乐的发展提供了直接的经验。 从1949年到1966年，我们不仅在有组织有计划地搜集整理包括民歌在内的民族音乐遗产方面进行了卓有成效的工作，同时，在运用民间音乐素材创作交响音乐作品方面，也取得了长足的发展。李焕之的《春节序曲》、辛沪光的《嘎达梅林》、何占豪、陈钢的《梁祝》、刘铁山、茅源的《瑶族舞曲》等等，成为这一时期管弦乐创作的突出成果。同时，还出现以某一地区或某一少数民族民歌为主题的大量小型管弦乐组曲。我是在这个时期开始学习音乐创作的，当然首先得益于这些同时代的作品。 我是在远离民间音乐沃土的大都市出生和成长的，又是从学习西洋乐器步入音乐殿堂的。我能够如醉如痴地热爱中国传统音乐，能够始终不懈地研究中国传统音乐，并且决心通过中西融会的道路把中国传统音乐展现到世界乐坛，除了得益于前辈音乐家和他们的作品，得益于当时高度重视民族传统音乐的教育环境外，还要归功于我的两位恩师——何振京老师和苏夏老师。 1957年，我作为长笛学生进入中央音乐学院附中。中国人民恰恰从这一年开始，走过了一长段艰辛苦难的历程，在我们心里留下了永久的伤痕。然而，在北京鲍家街的音乐学院校园里，我们的老师以他们热爱生活，热爱艺术的美好追求把我们引向了远离喧嚣尘世的一片艺术净土。在何振京老师的民歌欣赏课上，我们听到的是从粗犷豪放，真情奔泻的陕北“信天游”到“小桥、流水、人家”的江南小调；从委婉细腻，含情脉脉的云南花灯到高亢辽阔的青海“花儿”；从朴拙火热的东北秧歌到率真凄美的爬山调......我们随着何老师的歌声把美好的遐想带到那山间河畔，带到那草原雪岭，我们好像看到了我们的先辈在诉说着他们的苦难与欢乐，讲述着他们的生活与历史。何老师以他对民间音乐的深切热爱和深入研究感染了我们。 苏夏教授是我在大学的第一位主科老师，他反对刻板的模仿西欧古典音乐，提倡民族韵味，提倡雅俗共赏。当时，我和苏夏教授的另两位弟子都醉心于为民歌配和声，尽管有时耽误了主科作业，他还是积极地支持我们用这种方式探索民族风格的和声语言。我们把从何老师那里学来的和间接收集到的民歌都编成了短小的钢琴曲，而苏教授则把格里格、巴托克、哈恰图良以及其它一些民族乐派作曲家的作品提供给我们，以丰富我们的和声技法。当时主要的学习方向是探索为民歌旋律配置具有民族特色和声的问题。那时候，黎英海教授出版了一本《汉族调式及其和声》和一本《民歌小曲五十首》，前者是他的理论，后者是他的实践——钢琴小曲，非常简单，但很有趣。这给当时作曲学生很大启发。当我从苏夏教授班转到江定仙教授班的时候，我的书桌里已经积存了十几大本为民歌配和声的练习了。1973年以后，我在天津音乐学院教作曲，索性把为民歌配置和声列入学生必修的课程。 努力开掘本地传统音乐宝库 1980年，我随天津音协去云南德宏地区搜集民歌，回来以后创作了一系列以云南少数民族民歌为素材的音乐作品。 那一年全国音乐界是“云南热”。一九八零年全国交响乐音乐作品评奖，几部主要获奖作品，像王西麟的《云南音诗》、刘敦南的《山林》钢琴协奏曲、李忠勇的《云岭写生》都是云南少数民族题材。当然这些作品都是一九八零年以前创作的。云南确实民族众多，民歌丰富，而且未经开发，所以全国各地的作曲家都到那里去采风。五十年代马思聪根据一位云南人寄给他的几首少数民族民歌曲谱创作的管弦乐组曲《山林之歌》，对后人的影响是不可低估的。那确是一组奇妙的音画，引人入胜。但是我想，中国其他地方的民歌也并不逊色，汉族民歌更有着自己的悠久传统，而我们自己总觉得司空见惯，不以为奇，反倒被忽略了。所以，后来，我下决心还是努力开掘自己民族的民歌宝库。 在外国音乐史上，也有类似的情况。欧洲一些作曲家曾经对西班牙语系包括一些南美洲国家独特的民间音乐发生兴趣，并以那些地区的民间音乐为素材创作过一些作品，如格林卡的《马德里之夜》、拉威尔的《西班牙狂想曲》、里姆斯基一科萨科夫的《西班牙随想曲》等等。后来，西班牙语系的作曲家登上乐坛，如西班牙的德一—法亚、阿尔贝尼兹、格拉纳多斯、巴西的维拉—罗勃斯、墨西哥的恰维斯，他们创作了韵味纯正的西班牙和南美洲的拉丁民族专业音乐，这就使其他民族的作曲家在这一方面望尘莫及。对西亚音乐也是如此。十九世纪末，俄国作曲家曾经一窝蜂地注视使他们感到神奇的东方音乐——实际上是西亚阿拉伯风格的音乐。里姆斯基——科萨科夫、鲍罗丁、莫索尔斯基、居伊，甚至柴科夫斯基、拉赫玛尼诺夫都写过类似风格的音乐。后来，外高加索地区的三个原苏联加盟共和国成长起来一批优秀作曲家，如亚美尼亚的哈恰图良、阿鲁秋年、巴巴扎年，格鲁吉亚的塔克塔基什维里、秦差泽，阿塞拜疆的阿米罗夫、卡拉耶夫。其中，哈恰图良以其特有的西亚风韵和绚丽的管弦乐技巧在世界乐坛独树一帜，成了西亚风格专业音乐开宗立派的大师。其他地区的作曲家如无特殊需要，再也不必光顾这块人家自己民族的领地了。 地域辽阔的中国，一些拥有少数民族独特音乐传统的地区，如云南、新疆、台湾，这些年正在成长起来一批自己的作曲家。对这些地区传统音乐的开发和再创造，最终还要靠他们。 从1994年起，我每年到台湾访问。除了参加规定的会议、教学、评奖和演出活动外，则尽一切可能接触台湾的传统音乐。在台湾朋友们的帮助下，我上至层峦叠嶂飞瀑流泉的阿里山，下至善男信女汇聚如云的鹿港镇，北至沙鸥翔集怪石嶙峋的野柳滩，南至浪影浮沉水天相连的鹅銮鼻，心旷神怡地领略了美丽宝岛的山风海韵，同时也粗略地了解了台湾不同族群的传统音乐和与此有关的背景资料。其中，台湾原住民的生活和音乐引起了我极大兴趣。台湾原住民文化是台湾地域文化中最具特色的部分。由于两岸长期隔绝，我对台湾原住民音乐的情况几乎一无所知。在赴台访问期间，在台湾朋友的帮助下，我在阿里山和台东做了实地考察，并且从许常惠、明立国和吴荣顺三位专家那里获得了关于台湾原住民音乐的系统资料和与此相关的语言学、人类学、民族学方面的知识。台湾的音乐家为搜集和整理台湾原住民音乐做了大量深入细致和卓有成效的工作。我以我亲自搜集的素材和这些台湾音乐家的工作成果为基础，在2000年创作了交响组曲《台湾音画》（由《玉山日出》《安平怀古》《宜兰童谣》《恒春乡愁》《泰雅情歌》《鹿港庙会》《龙山晚钟》和《达邦节日》八个乐章组成），2000年2月由美国著名指挥家梅哲指挥台北爱乐乐团首演。其后，这部作品多次在欧洲演出。我想，台湾的作曲家也一定能够以台湾原住民的丰富音乐为基础，用自己的艺术创造将这独特音乐文化的艺术魅力展现到世界乐坛。 “一首农民歌曲就是一个完美的艺术典范” 关于民族传统音乐的艺术价值，许多大师有极其精辟的论述。在《炎黄风情》首演节目单的前言里，我引用了两句话：一是郭沫若的名言“风的价值高于雅，雅高于颂”。另一句是匈牙利作曲家巴托克说的：“一首农民歌曲就是一个完美的艺术典范，它足以同巴赫的赋格曲或莫扎特的奏鸣曲乐章相媲美。”巴托克在这里充分肯定了民歌的艺术价值。 这里谈谈我对巴托克的研究。那是从一九七九年开始在天津音乐学院许勇三教授指导的研究班上进行的。在研究过程中，我发现我的理想同当年巴托克的作法十分相近。巴托克把自己创作的基础概括为这样一句话：“以过去和当代西方艺术音乐的普通知识作为创作的技巧，以新近发掘出来的乡村音乐——一种无可比拟的完美材料，作为作品的灵魂。”巴托克毕生的艺术实践，正是以民间音乐作为音乐作品的灵魂，通过他的天才创造，为世界音乐宝库增添了独特的精神财富, 从而实现了他自己的理想——“用一种新鲜的，未受几世纪创作影响的农民音乐的因素，去使专业创作的音乐获得新的生命。”我在节目单上自己书写了一个隶书条幅：“植根民族音乐之土，跻身世界艺术之林。”正是这个意思。 从那时起，我花了很长时间研究巴托克，从《献给孩子们》《小宇宙》《八首即兴曲》《舞蹈组曲》《管弦乐协奏曲》《为钢片琴、打击乐和弦乐而作的音乐》到他的四重奏和钢琴协奏曲。我的研究越深入，就越感到巴托克的道路与中国作曲家面临的实际情况相当接近。匈牙利的主体民族叫做马加尔族，它原来是亚洲黄种人，据史料记载，是在公元九世纪迁往欧洲的。马加尔族的语言直到现在还残留着突厥语族例如匈奴语的明显痕迹。在民歌当中，这种痕迹就更明显了，民歌旋律的积淀性很强，它可以不受几个世纪以来的欧洲音乐包括后来的专业音乐的影响，完整地保留在农民的口头当中，一代一代传下来。大量材料表明，马加尔族的民歌与亚洲许多民族的民歌很接近，譬如蒙古族、裕固族、藏族，也包括汉族。这就造成了一个十分奇特的“音乐岛”现象。欧洲专业音乐是吸收古代欧洲民间音乐的营养而从宗教音乐发端的，在历史的发展中走过了单声部——平行多声部的奥加农——以不同声部相互对比与模仿为特征的复调音乐——自然大调与和声小调的功能和声体系——以在所有音级上建立导音为特征的变音体系这样一条特殊的发展道路。可是位居欧洲中部的匈牙利自身的农民音乐在调式、结构和表演方式上却始终没有根本性的变化。匈牙利十九世纪一些生活在大城市的专业作曲家并没有真正去了解匈牙利乡村的农民音乐，如李斯特。虽然他在他的几部狂想曲中用了一些匈牙利民歌，但多数不是马加尔族的农民歌曲，而是在匈牙利城市市民中流行了很长时间，并且已经异化了的吉普赛民间音乐。因此李斯特的作品并没有真正表现出匈牙利农民音乐的特征。为了同以前人们知道的这些民歌相区别，巴托克在研究它们时没有笼统地称其为民歌，而是专门标明为农民歌曲。巴托克的创作时间大体上是一九零三年到一九四五年。这个阶段，由印象派发端的欧洲各种新音乐流派和反印象派的序列音乐体系正相继产生。他却在这个时候深入到匈牙利、罗马尼亚和北非农村，记录、整理、研究农民歌曲，并且把农民歌曲的音调和节奏作为他专业创作的出发点。顿时，巴托克以全新的艺术风格在欧洲乐坛异军突起，用另一位匈牙利作曲家柯达伊的话说，就是“成功地联合起两个分裂的半球”。 将民间音乐改编为欧洲形式的器乐曲，或者在器乐曲中引用民间音乐，或者以民间音乐作为器乐作品的主题或素材，并非始于巴托克。从海顿、贝多芬、李斯特、德沃夏克、格里格、拉威尔、斯特拉文斯基到别尔格、艾夫斯，科普兰，都以各自的方式将民歌使用在自己的创作中。但是，应该说，只有巴托克是真正把民歌当作专业音乐创作的出发点的。他的经验，对于中国作曲家是十分宝贵的。当然，当今的中国的音乐不可能以任何一种现有模式替代自己的创造，包括半个世纪前产生在欧洲的巴托克模式。 走向人民，才能走向世界 西方音乐进入中国不足百年，我们必须面对西方音乐形式并不深入了解的听众考虑自己的创作。我们希望我们的音乐作品走向世界，但是，如果它不能走向自己的人民，所谓“走向世界”也就成了一句空话。我在《炎黄风情》研讨会上曾经说过这样一段话：“我的《中国风》，是为了让中国听众通过自己熟悉的旋律了解西方音乐形式；同时，也让西方听众通过自己熟悉的音乐形式了解中国音乐的艺术魅力和深刻内涵。” 以原生传统音乐为基础的《中国风》系列音乐，在艺术形式上必须追求雅俗共赏。 雅俗共赏，指的是个体的艺术创作审美需求同群体的艺术传播社会功能的结合。 20世纪西方艺术出现了雅俗分裂并各走极端的文化现象。这是由延绵不断的大小战争和现代工业超速发展导致的物我分离的异化心理所造成的精神后果。一方面，部分艺术家在反叛传统，对立于资本主义社会现实的过激思潮影响下，在超越社会的自我封闭的个体艺术世界寻求精神平衡。于是，便出现了萌生于二十世纪初，发展于大战后的各种与过激思潮社会实践相对应的无调性音乐。而另一方面，社会群体对共性文化模式的普遍淡漠和对个性情感宣泄的普遍需求，加上传播技术的不断更新和商品市场的推波助澜，使产生在同一时期的流行音乐在全世界迅速蔓延。封闭的中国大陆对于西方的这些文化现象本来是视如洪水猛兽的。但在八十年代，出于对文化专制的反抗和对文化饥渴的补偿，这两种音乐随着经济开放从完全不同的渠道奔涌而来。尽管无调性音乐已经随着过激思潮在世纪末的没落而走向穷途，尽管它的发展只局限在部分音乐学府，但其影响－－无论正面的，负面的，都不能低估。在整个八十年代，我们竟拿不出一部雅俗共赏的交响音乐作品作为音乐会保留曲目。 无论在西方还是在中国，无论在古代还是在现代，任何经典艺术作品都必定是雅俗共赏的。中国交响音乐无论在三四十年代蹒跚学步阶段，还是在五六十年代最初发展阶段，也都在探索中西融会的同时，把雅俗共赏当作共同的艺术标准。曾长期成为音乐会保留曲目的《思乡曲》《春节序曲》《嘎达梅林》《山林之歌》《二泉映月》和《梁祝》，都是以中国民间音乐为素材的雅俗共赏的作品。 今天重提雅俗共赏，是要在商品经济的社会条件和雅俗分裂的文化背景下，为我们的传统音乐探索一条既不孤芳自赏，脱离社会现实，也不迎合市场, 降低审美标准的坦途。我并不想在艺术创作中刻意追求与众不同的“个人独特风格”，相反，我要努力表现的，倒是所有常人都具备的真情实感。无论是民间音乐，还是专业音乐，其艺术价值的高低，最终取决于其表现人类共同精神世界的深度和使艺术接受者产生共鸣的广度。 从“洋为中用”到“中为洋用” 实施《中国风》计划，是从上个世纪九十年代初开始的。 这时，随着全球政治两极体系的瓦解和冷战的结束，随着亚洲经济的崛起和中国的改革开放，东西方在物质文明方面的差别急剧缩小。同时, 西方文化由高度生产力而形成的世界中心地位，受到了随经济发展而日渐复兴的东方文化的猛烈冲击。中国古老的精神文明，正以浴火再生之势，酝酿着下个世纪的蓬勃发展。 这时，中国同西方的文化交流不仅再是单向从西方吸收，中国需要世界文化，要“洋为中用”，世界也需要中国文化，需要“中为洋用”。 然而，这时，我们却发现，西方对中国文化的尊重和了解，远不及我们对西方文化的尊重和了解。即使是在号称“世界民族大熔炉”的美国，我所看到的事实是，不要说音乐会和广播、电视这些公众媒介，就是在专门搜集非欧音乐的资料馆和研究所里，中国传统音乐的比重甚至不如日本、非洲、印度和南太平洋地区。 同时, 我们还发现，我们的交响音乐创作虽然已经从最简单的结构方式跨入了最复杂的序列体系，但我们却未曾系统地把我们中国原生音乐精华通过艺术音乐的形式介绍给当今世界。这一方面是由于历史上战争、政治运动和各种思潮的影响而被耽搁。一方面也由于在此之前，我们自身的思想，艺术条件尚未成熟。 我就是在这样的背景下，开始了《中国风》的构思和创作。 《中国风》迅速走上国际乐坛，是随着东方文明的复兴而成为现实的。但是，我们丰富的传统音乐遗产还远远未被世界所认识。这首先需要我们的专业作曲家正视这个现实，以自己的创造性劳动向世界展示我们中华民族传统音乐的独特魅力。而我们现在对这件工作的意义的认识还不够充分。 从1996年到1999年，在台湾的音乐刊物《乐览》上，展开了一场围绕我的《炎黄风情》艺术思想的讨论。这件事是由旅居挪威的华人廖燃的一篇文章引起的，由于这篇文章已经从否定《炎黄风情》进而否定中华民族传统文化，否定中国传统音乐同西方音乐形式的融合，因此引起了华人音乐界的普遍关注。台湾、香港和海外华人音乐家连续在发表文章，开展了历时三年的大讨论。其中，定居香港的原天津音乐学院音乐史教授、乐评家王东路先后写了三篇论述《炎黄风情》的论文。其中在香港和台湾发表，后选入《世界学术文库》的《关于跨世纪音乐工程的联想》一文中，有这样一段话，值得我们深思： “中国民间音乐的发掘、整理、研究、出版，已具有相当的规模，称得上成绩斐然。但是，在它的基础上进行创作的成果却显得相形见绰了。在世界音乐会舞台上，由现代管弦乐演奏的中国民族音乐的声音还暗淡得很。我们是民歌丰盈的国度，但在世界上广泛流行的中国民歌却较为稀少。而一国的民歌在世界上流行的程度，同其专业音乐在世界乐坛的地位是成正比的。在此情势下，当我们听到《炎黄风情》这样的佳作，自然是格外兴奋了！” 世界文化史上任何一次文艺复兴运动，都是以不同民族、不同形式、不同风格的艺术相互融合为基础的。中国艺术家为重构自己民族的新音乐文化，在洋为中用的路上已经苦苦探索了整整一个世纪。这个世纪，该是我们沿着中为洋用的回程走向世界的时代了。 （原载中央音乐学院学报2000年第一期，2001年5月修订） IDEAL AND PRACTICE — Composer’s Notes on the Symphonic Series Rhapsody of China by Bao Yuankai Abstract: Since 1990 Chinese composer Bao Yuankai began his composition of the symphonic series Rhapsody of China. Musical pieces included in this series have been performed in the world over 400 times. In the notes the composer states his ideal and practice of composing modern orchestral pieces on the themes selected from Chinese folk or traditional music in order to suit both refined and popular tastes of the present world. Keywords: Symphony, Rhapsody of China, Chinese Music, Chinese composer It was in 1990 when I began to re-study various Chinese folksongs, dance music, ballad music, traditional operas, and instrumental music. My plan was to compose orchestral works based on the best tunes selected from our musical tradition in order to make the colorful and charming Chinese folk or traditional music to be enjoyable for all people in the present world. I supposed that the new works should be both “symphonic” in form. and “Chinese” in essence and, later, I realized the plan in about ten years with the resultant symphonic series Rhapsody of China (Zhongguo feng) . Breaking up the Isolation To combine Chinese folk or traditional music with western modern symphonic forms is a practical way to break up the isolation of Chinese music and bring it up to the world’s stage. Symphonic music is one of the most expressive and capable musical types developed by European musicians in pace with the Europe iIndustrial Rrevolution. With the blending of different musical traditions, a large number of symphonic works, which reflect varied social life and aesthetic demands in varied styles, have been produced in the past by composers from countries outside Europe. Originated in religious music, European professional music is highly developed with strict notation, systematized harmony, dynamic part writing, and logical structure. Chinese traditional music, on the contrary, implies verve in the facets of simple events. The difference provides us a good opportunity to show our creativity. In 1991, my orchestral suite 24 Orchestral Pieces on the Themes Selected from Chinese Folksongs was premiered in Tianjin. The work consists of six chapters, entitled Stories on the Lands of Ancient Yan and Zhao (Yan Zhao gu shi), Sketches of the Highland of Yuannan (Yun ling su miao), Sadness and Happiness on the Yellow Soil Highland (Huang tu bei huan), Mountain Songs of the Ancient States Ba and Shu (Ba Shu shan ge), Drizzle in the South (Jiang nan yu si), and Seasons in Taihang Mountains (Taihang chun qiu) , each of which has four pieces composed on popular themes respectively selected from the Han folksongs in the provinces of Hebei, Yuannan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanxi. In 1994, I renamed the suit as Chinese Sights and Sounds (Yan Huang feng qing) to be the initial part of my enlarged plan Rhapsody of China. In 1995, I added the seventh chapter, Charming Tunes of Taiwan (Tai xiang qing yun) , to the suit after the suggestion given by Maestro Chen Chengxiong of Taiwan. So far, the suit has been performed wholly or partially by many symphonic orchestras in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Xi’an, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Paris, Berlin, London, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Budapest, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, and Sydney for almost four hundred times. Recordings under several labels have been published. In 2001, the suite won Gold Bell Prize in the First Music Composition Competition of China. Since then, I have finished the series’ following parts Beijing Symphony (Jing du feng hua) in 1995, Chinese Children’s Songs (Hua xia tong yao) in 1997, Symphonic Sketches of Taiwan (Taiwan yin hua) in 1999, and Melody of the Qin for Strings in 2001 . Styles and techniques applied in this series are not necessarily unified; for developing the folksong themes I may use basso ostinato , canon, fugue, or any new techniques from the 20th-century. We Have Rich and Broad Virgin Fields Having not been reformed by industrialization or renaissance, Chinese traditional music has kept its prototype of the agricultural society all along; this is indeed an advantage that could be taken by Chinese composers. In this sense, we have a rich and broad virgin soil. Therefore, early Chinese modern composers attached great importance to the discovery from Chinese folk music. As the founding figures of Chinese new music education, both Xiao Youmei (1884-1940) and Huang Zi (1904-1938) advocated using folk music as material to compose new music when they started their teaching in the 1920s and 1930s. Meanwhile, Jiang Wenye (1910-1983) in Japan composed Taiwan Dance (Taiwan wu qu) in 1934 and Ma Sicong (1912-1987) used Suiyuan folksong themes for his Inner Mongolian Suite (Neimeng zu qu) and First Rondo Suiyuan for violin in 1937. In the early 1940s, Xian Xinghai (1905-45) composed Capriccio of China (Zhongguo kuang xiang qu) for orchestra in Russia based on five Chinese folksongs. In 1945, He Luting (1903-99) composed an orchestral piece Senji Dema on the theme of a Mongolian folksong. Late, Ma Ke (1918-76) composed Shaanbei Suite (Shaanbei zu qu) in 1949. All these experiences made significant efforts towards the establishment of Chinese symphonic music, which was flourished in the 1950s and early 1960s with the representative works of the Symphonic Suite Spring Festival (Chun jie) by Li Huanzhi (1919-99), the Symphonic Poem Gada Meilin by Xin Huguang (1933-), and the Violin Concerto Butterfly Lovers (Liang Shanbo yu Zhu Yingtai) by He Zhanhao (1933-) and Chen Gang (1935-). It was during this period I studied composition at the Central Conservatory of Music under the influences of these famous works. I was born and brought up in Tianjin, a metropolitan city far from folk music. I began my early musical education in playing flute, a western musical instrument, in 1957 at the Affiliated Middle School of the Central Conservatory of Music, and then turned to composition. Among my advisors, two professors, He Zhenjing and Su Xia, gave me the lifetime influence in recognizing Chinese folk music. Professor He taught us the course of folksong appreciation, in which we learned Xin tian you of the northern Shannxi, Hua deng of Yunnan, Hua er of Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia, Yang ge of northeast China, Pa shan diao of the Great Bend of the Yellow River, and etc. We were so lost in reverie following the singing to the mountains, rivers, plaints, and grasslands where the folksongs emerged. Every student in the class was greatly touched by He’s hearted commitment and deep knowledge of folksong study. Professor He put a seed of Chinese folk arts in our young hearts. Professor Su was the first composition advisor of mine in the Conservatory. He strongly disagree the direct imitation of western music style. Instead, he encouraged us to discover the verve and charm of Chinese traditional music. Under his instruction, I and his other two pupils profoundly did many exercises to arrange the folksongs we had learned into piano pieces with harmony. In order to inspire us, he introduced the piano works by Grieg, Bartok, Khachaturian, and other nationalist composers. At that time, the mean research of ours was how to set proper harmony to Chinese melodies. For this purpose, Li Yinghai, a professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, published his monograph on Chinese stylization of harmony ( Hanzu diaoshi jiqi hesheng 《汉族调式及其和声》 , Shanghai: Shanghai Yinyue Chubanshe, 1957) and a piano book ( Zhongguo minge xiaoqu 50 shou 《中国民歌小曲50首》 , Shanghai: Shanghai Yinyue Chunanshe, 1957). Both of the two books inspired us greatly with theory as well as practical models. So, when I switched from Professor Su’s class to Professor Jiang Dingxian’s, I had accumulated dozens of arranged folksongs. I enjoyed this kind of study so much through my whole life. When I began my teaching at Tianjin Conservatory in 1973, I even opened a new curriculum of Harmonic Arrangement of Folksongs for my students. To Dig in the Treasure of Local Music In 1980, I followed a field trip organized by the Musicians’ Association of Tianjin to the Dehong prefecture of Yunnan to collect folksongs. After home returning, I composed a number of works based on the collected folksongs. Yunnan is indeed a province with multiple nationality and rich folk music. Composers from the whole country therefore like to go to there for seeking inspiration. The year of 1980 was a “Yunnan craze” to Chinese musical circles: Three symphonic works related to Yunnan music won prizes in the national competition for symphonic composition, including the Symphonic Poem Yunnan by Wang Xilin, the Piano Concerto Mountain Forest (Shan lin) by Liu Dunnan, and the Sketches of Mountains in Yuannan (Yun ling xie sheng) by Li Zhongyong. Of course, these pieces were completed prior to 1980. Back to the 1950s, Ma Sicong composed his orchestral suite The Songs of Mountain Forest (Shan lin zhi ge) based on several Yunnan folksongs mailed to him by a Yunnan resident. The work is a group of fantastic tone-pictures and strongly influenced the followers. But I considered that other places have rich folk music also, and the folksongs of Han people have long tradition. The only problem is that we have ignored our own tradition as seeing it daily. Therefore, I decided to effort my best to dig in my own nationality’s folksongs. Similar situations happened in the world’s musical history. Some European composers were interested in Spanish folk music and Latin American folksongs as well. They composed some works with the musical ideas drew from these areas, including the Souvenir d’une nuit d’été à Madrid by Mikhail Glinka (1804-57), the Spanish capriccio by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), and the Rapsodie espagnole by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Later, when Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), Enrique Granados (1867-1916), Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) were recognized by the world, the purity of Spanish or Latin American flavor reflected in their professional works is incompatible by composers of other nationalities. Likewise, in the late nineteenth century, many Russian composers were attracted by the charm of oriental music – actually the Arabic music in Middle Asia. N. Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin (1833-87), Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), César Cui (1835-1918), and even Peter Tchaikowsky (1840-1893) and Sergey Rakhmaninov (1873-1943) composed music in such style. Later, a group of excellent composers from the three member countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Aram Khachaturian (1903-78), Alexander Arutyunyan (1920-), and Arno Babadzhanyan (1921-1983) in Armenia, Otar Taktakishvili (1924-1987) and Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-1992) in Georgia, and Fikret Amirov (1922-1984) and Kara Karayev (1918-1982) in Azerbaijan, were growing up. Among them, Khachaturian became the leading master of the western Asian school of professional music, distinguished by his unique western Asian melodic style. and brilliant orchestration skills. Composers from other areas rarely intended to seek for inspiration in this style. then. I have been visiting Taiwan every year since 1994 for conference, teaching, competition, or performance. Whenever possible, I tried to get as closer as I could to the traditional music there. I was attracted by the distinct life and music of the original Taiwanese when I did my field trips in Ali Mountains and Taidong. With the folksongs I learned there I composed the eight-movement suite Symphonic sketches of Taiwan (Taiwan yin hua) in 2000. It was premiered in February of the same year by Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Henry Mazer and, thereafter, performed many times in Europe. A Folksong is a Perfect Artistic Paragon Among European composers, Béla Bartók was the one who profoundly understood and highly evaluated the value of folksongs. Although other composers may sometimes use folksongs in their music, it was Bartók who regarded folk music as the soul of a composition. Perhaps since Chinese and Hungarian share the similar musical tradition, Chinese composers highly recognize and appreciate Bartók. Both his folksong collection practice and his penetrating comments on Hungarian peasant’s songs were highly recognized by Chinese composers as a brilliant model. I started to systematically study Bartók in 1979 in Tianjin Conservatory when I became the graduate student of Professor Xu Yongsan. I spent a lot of time in study of Bartókian music, including For Children , Mikrokosmos , Eight Impromptus , Dance Suite , Concerto for Orchestra , Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Six String Quartets, and Piano Concerto . The deeper I studied, the more I realized that my ideal is similar to the thoughts of Bartók, i.e., using the classical and contemporary compositional techniques to interpret the spirits of folk music. In my words, we should root our new music in the soil of our own tradition and popularize it to the world. Closing to the People and then Go to the World The history of using western techniques in Chinese new music creation is not over a century. In this situation, we must consider the acceptability of our works to the common Chinese audience when we compose. We hope our music can be accepted by the world. But, if it is not acceptable even by Chinese people, the efforts towards the world would not come true. I then proposed that my Rhapsody of China should make Chinese to know more about the western music form. through the music familiar to them and make the foreigners to know more about the charming connotation of Chinese music with the form. familiar to them. A Chinese proverb describes this principle as ya su gong shang (“to suit both refined and popular tastes”). It means that an individual demand of artistic creation must suit the social needs of artistic dissemination to the In twentieth century, however, a phenomenon that the fine arts and popular arts were departing from each other and being developed respectively to their extreme occurred in the west. This was a dissimilated result of the separation of outside and inside worlds caused by constant warfare and excessively rapid modernization. Hence, on one hand, some artists, such as the avant-garde, turned to the artistic circles isolated from the society to seek for individual balance in order to revolt the tradition and the reality as well; on the other hand, popular music was spread quickly in the world due to common people’s faint regard of the classical culture and profound pursuit of giving vent to one’s pent-up feelings and, in addition, due to the constant development of musical industry and market. Before the 1980s, the door-closed China resisted the western cultural phenomena as fierce floods and savage beasts. Yet in pace of the open economy, avant-garde music and popular music were introduced in China quickly. Their influences, no matter positive or negative, are not to be ignored. In my opinion, a classical work must be both refined and popular, no matter it is western or eastern, ancient or modern. Chinese symphonic repertoires are all works with this feature. Today, when we review the principle, what we want to do is to build up a way, which is neither self-admired nor self-vulgarized, to continue the tradition under the market-economy society and refine-popular split cultural background. I am not interested in showing my distinct personal style. in my composition. On the contrary, what I am devotedly pursuing is to express the true feelings of common people. I believe that the aesthetic value of both folk music and professional music is eventually determined by the depth and broadness of the music’s expression of human being’s spirits but nothing else. As China’s door had been opened, we found that not only China needs the world but the world also needs China. And, further, we found that westerners’ understanding of Chinese culture is comparatively poorer than Chinese’s recognition of theirs. Meanwhile, we realized that we have not systematically introduced our prototype music to the world yet. So I attempted to make my effort with the Rhapsody series. 美国《音乐中国》MUSIC INCHINA 2004年1-2合刊
标签: 中央音乐
