East Meets West: A Musical Analysis of Chinese Sights and Sounds, by Yuankai Bao

In the wake of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and with China’s new “Open Door” policy toward Western culture and Western music, Chinese composers have adapted Western compositional techniques. The new generation of Chinese composers have expressed in various ways of their research to the heritage of Western composers. Yuankai Bao is one of the new generations of Chinese composers. The topic of this paper is the integration of Chinese and Western compositional techniques in Chinese folk songs. The purpose of this research is to find out how Yuankai Bao connects Chinese pentatonic scale to Western harmony, and how he helps develop Chinese new music and applies some characteristics of Western music to his composition, Chinese Sights and Sounds-24 Pieces by Themes on Chinese Folk Tunes. This research will facilitate a better understanding to Western performers of Chinese folk songs and piano music and assist in the achievement of a more authentic performance

Understanding of Authentic Performance Practice in Bright Sheng\u27s Seven Tunes Heard in China for Solo Cello

This document will attempt to put Bright Sheng\u27s Seven Tunes Heard in China in a context of solo works for the cello that follows a universal tradition of concert works based on folk music and dance style. In this case, these seven works emanate from seven diverse regions of China, and all represent a different style and character which Sheng has translated to a single work for solo cello. Based on preexisting models of folk song tradition, I am seeking parallels between the work of Mr. Sheng and the original traditions behind this composition. I will discuss the various regional influences and the methods in which Sheng exploits the cello to produce the sounds, character and general feeling of these different folk idioms. There are many performance practice issues in this demanding work, which I will address throughout the paper, occasionally offering suggestions for the facilitation of these ideas. Mr. Sheng is obviously using the cello to portray and imitate a range of Chinese indigenous instruments, and has created a codification of such sounds as they occur throughout the work. Although these seven movements are based on actual folk material, the bulk of the writing is Sheng\u27s personal elaboration and representation of music in the style of the folk songs, and he writes freely around the various tunes even observing a prescribed form from the folk song genres. I will also present formal analysis of each individual song to help the performer delineate the various sections and various tempi and character relationships that are presented in this collection. In my communication with Mr. Bright Sheng, he related to me that he only has 3 recordings of this work and perhaps six other dissertations about this music in general. I felt compelled to study his work more deeply and learn more about his unique compositional style, integrating the eastern folk tradition with a western instrumental genre, specifically the solo cello, in this Seven Tunes Heard in China

Blurring the Boundaries of Chinese and Western Musical Language: A Harmonic and Form Analysis of Chen Qigang's "La joie de la souffrance" (2017) in Reference to the Compositional Influence of Olivier Messiaen

Chen Qigang (b. 1951) is one of today's most representative and prolific Chinese composers. His works are regarded as setting a standard of excellence among Chinese composers in the twenty-first century. Like many Chinese composers of his generation, Chen combines in his works the traits of both Chinese traditional music and Western musical language. La joie de la souffrance (The Joy of Suffering) for violin and orchestra, composed for the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in 2016–17, is one of his mature works that not only represents one of the great achievements of fusing Chinese and Western musical languages, but is also a major addition to the venerable tradition of Chinese concertos. By analyzing La joie de la souffrance as the nexus of old and new, East and West, I hope to provide not only insight into a valuable work of the twentieth-century violin concerto repertoire, but also a glimpse into some of the musical influences of a Chinese composer working in France in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. By extension, I hope to shed light on some of the factors, trends, and developments that have influenced Chinese composers in the early twenty-first century

A study of Ningwu Du’s 24 Piano Preludes

The piano started to become an important instrument in China at the beginning of the 20th century. Chinese piano music started to flourish immensely since then. Chinese composers developed their own musical styles for the piano by mixing Western compositional techniques and forms with Chinese elements and approaches. Ningwu Du (1967--), one of the most distinguished Chinese composers and pianists of the new generation, has had a significant impact on the recent evolution of Chinese piano music. Although Ningwu Du is well-known in his native nation, he is relatively obscure outside of China. The set of 24 Piano Preludes is one of Ningwu Du's most representative and remarkable compositions in Chinese style. The 24 Piano Preludes are based on traditional Chinese music and poetic culture and incorporate Western musical forms, harmonic language, and compositional techniques. Ningwu Du composed the 24 Piano Preludes utilizing 24 major and minor keys, and each prelude is accompanied by a poem written by the composer himself. This dissertation will focus on how Ningwu Du integrates his own compositional technique with poetry and the prelude genre. The first chapter introduces Ningwu Du and his 24 Piano Preludes, while the second chapter discusses the historical background of preludes and Chinese piano and outlines the Composer’s career journey. Chapter Three summarizes the Chinese cultural and social background that Ningwu Du inherited. The fourth chapter provides musical elements of Ningwu Du’s 24 Piano Preludes; the fifth chapter includes a comprehensive analysis of each prelude in this set, while the final chapter brings everything together by restating the objective of this dissertation. Ningwu Du’s distinctive approach to composition sets him apart from other Chinese composers. It is the author’s hope that this dissertation will allow for greater understanding and hopefully, worldwide promotion of these works

Piano Transcriptions of Chinese Traditional Music from the Cultural Revolution Period: Political Constraints, Artistic Freedom and Implications for Performance

The Cultural Revolution of 1966-76 was a period of extreme tension in China’s long history of national political control over culture. As class struggle was identified as the main conflict in society, the piano, as an instrument from bourgeois culture, was largely rejected. However, through the work of the Chinese pianist Yin Chengzong, who used the piano to accompany a Model Opera authorised by the government (The Piano Accompaniment to The Red Lantern) and arranged revolutionary music for the piano (The Yellow River Piano Concerto), the piano found a way to survive in China as a tool to serve politics. Its fortunes then revived in the 1970s when the government started to request composers to arrange piano transcriptions of pieces from traditional Chinese culture to meet the demands of populism and nationalism. The aim of this thesis is to illuminate the historical situation of Chinese piano music and transcriptions in the social and political context of China led by the proletariat government, especially in the decade of the Cultural Revolution. From a musical point of view, this thesis specifically chooses five piano transcriptions arranged during this period—Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake by Chen Peixun, Red Lilies Glowing on the Mountain and Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon by Wang Jianzhong, Music at Sunset by Li Yinghai and The Story of a Cowherd by Dan Zhaoyi—and analyses their specific musical materials to examine how composers realised the expression of national identity in their piano music in terms of the connection between piano versions and the original versions of traditional works, traditional Chinese culture, philosophy and aesthetics. Meanwhile, due to the lack of government instruction in specific compositional techniques, some scope for the composers' individual musical creativity is observed. Ultimately, the theoretical research in this thesis will be presented through practical piano performance, with an approach of culturally informed performance embodying the expression of national identity in Chinese piano transcriptions which was both a political and a musical goal

Criação de música baseada na proporção áurea: abordagem teórica e prática à escala de 34 tons de igual temperamento

The sensory phenomena of music perception are considered to be highly non-linear. The golden ratio plays a key role in nonlinear dynamic systems and has been recognized as an aesthetic element in many places over time. This research develops the 34-note equal tempered scale (34-TET). A microtonal model based on the golden ratio, containing the harmonic musical intervals, and permitting a consistent approach that embraces the different temperaments throughout history, as well as other music cultures. These theoretical properties are practically exposed in two portfolios, including compositional samples of art music with European roots (from the Renaissance to the twentieth century), popular music (bossa nova, tango, swing), maqãm, and Indian music. The second portfolio, created within the scope of this thesis, contains the artistic work “The Asian Garden” combining the equal tempered scales of 34 and 12 notes (12-TET), and provides additional cultural references from China and Japan. The 34-TET scale offers an overall approach to just intonation scale more than twice as good as that of 12-TET, with all consonant intervals well below the differential threshold. If a maximum impurity value was accepted, not appreciably different from that agreed upon when the equal-tempered 12- tone scale was standardized (17.65 cents vs. 15.67 cents), then the 34-TET scale would become, additionally, a useful tool for approaching different cultures.Os fenómenos sensoriais de perceção musical são considerados substancialmente não lineares. A proporção áurea desempenha um papel fundamental em sistemas dinâmicos não lineares e tem sido reconhecida como um elemento estético em vários contextos ao longo do tempo. Esta investigação desenvolve a escala de 34 notas de temperamento igual (34- TET). Trata-se de um modelo microtonal baseado na proporção áurea, contendo os intervalos harmónicos musicais, e permitindo uma abordagem consistente que abrange os distintos temperamentos ao longo da história, assim como outras culturas musicais. Estas propriedades teóricas estão praticamente expostas em dois portefólios, incluindo exemplos de composição erudita com raízes europeias (desde o Renascimento ao século XX), música popular (bossa nova, tango, swing), maqãm e música indiana. O segundo portefólio contém o trabalho artístico “The Asian Garden,” criado no âmbito desta tese, que combina escalas de temperamento igual de 34 e de 12 notas (12-TET), e fornece referências culturais adicionais da China e Japão. A escala 34-TET oferece uma abordagem global à escala de entonação justa que é mais de duas vezes melhor do que a da escala 12-TET, com todos os intervalos consonantes consideravelmente abaixo do limiar diferencial. Se fosse aceite um valor máximo de impureza não muito diferente do valor acordado quando a escala de 12 tons igualmente temperados foi padronizada (17,65 cents em vez de 15,67 cents), a escala 34-TET tornar-se-ia, adicionalmente, uma ferramenta útil para a aproximação de culturas diferentes.Programa Doutoral em Músic

Popular Music and Identity in China: A Qualitative Analysis of “Chineseness” in Mandopop since the 1980s

This qualitative popular music study explores the construction of identity in Mandopop after the policy of reform and opening-up in 1978 in China. Opening Part I of the thesis, the discussions begin with the concept of identity and subsequently explore Chinese identity, especially national identity and cultural identity, and its role in Chinese music history and Mandopop history by drawing on the concept from previous works by popular music academics and from the research by ethnomusicologists and cultural sociologists, who have made significant contributions to the study of music and identity. The discussions also explain the design of the research and analytical methods from a variety of disciplines to explore research questions, including one-to-one interviews, open-ended questionnaires, music observations and textual analysis, and acknowledge the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the research design and fieldwork. Part II explores the first research theme, Mandopop in a Changing Context, to reveal the historical background and sociocultural context of Mandopop and understand the commercial genre of Mandopop to relocate the use of the term “wind” in Mandopop, and to explore the functions of Mandopop. In Part III, three further research themes explore “Chineseness” in Mandopop based on the perspectives of fieldwork participants, with subsequent chapters based on each theme. The first theme is related to Chinese nationalism and national identity in Mandopop by discussing key terms and analyzing representative musical examples to explore the rise of nationalism in China and the construction of national identity in Mandopop. The second theme explores class identity and social stratification in Mandopop, illustrating the connection between class status and musical taste in Mandopop based on the homology and “omnivore-univore” argument, thus discussing the construction of class identity in Mandopop. The final theme is about fandom culture and idol industry in China and its impact on Mandopop, illustrating the relationship between fandom, policy and media platforms, as well as discussing how fandom (as a subcultural group) constructed its own identity in Mandopop under the strict censorship 4 system in China. Overall, the thesis presents multiple factors that affect the construction of Chinese identity in Mandopop as it is shaped by different ideologies and creative expressions within changing sociocultural contexts