"Horse Racing" is an Erhu solo piece composed by Huang Haihuai. It is a new work in the 4th Shanghai Spring Erhu Solo Competition in 1964. Below I will share with you the erhu solo piece "Horse Racing" and its music appreciation. Everyone is welcome to listen and appreciate it.

Music appreciation:

The music begins with a description of galloping horses to depict the lively scene of the Mongolian people’s festival horse racing, and then completes Quoting the entire melody of the folk song, through the icing on the cake variations of the folk song, and creatively using the plucking technique of large sections, the music is unique and unique, and then naturally leads to the cadenza section, which is a monologue that imitates the playing technique of the morinouqin. style music. It vividly expresses the vast beauty of the grassland and the joy of the herdsmen, and at the same time raises the erhu playing skills to a new and difficult level. At the end of the music, the whole song ends with a reappearance of the first melody.

The musical structure of "Horse Racing" is a trilogy consisting of a single theme and its derivatives. The middle part, the second part, is the original folk song, and the first and third parts Part of it is derived from the original folk song. The three parts all revolve around a center - "horse racing". Whether in terms of material processing or image creation, they all emphasize the image of "horse racing" and display it in multiple aspects. There are obvious differences and contrasts between them, but there are also close internal connections. The singing original folk song theme has a dominant nature in the sense of material composition, forming a cohesive force in the middle of the music, tightly pulling together the development parts at both ends, forming a contrasting and unified whole of the whole song.

The first part

The first part is a very typical instrumental melody, F palace D feather key hexatonic scale. Through the up and down jumps of these different span intervals, continuous and rapid rhythmic patterns, and careful rhythm processing, against the background of open and unrestrained forte and rapid and powerful sound patterns, the composer conveyed the theme's pitch material through rhythm. Compression, forming a progressive, circuitous and fast sixteenth-note rhythm, and transforming it in a modular manner, with a smooth melodic sense of movement, directly to the point, making the horses gallop on the racecourse, enthusiastically A jubilant scene unfolded in front of people.

The second part

The second part of the music (41-108), this is the complete quotation of the theme and its variations, and it is also the "middle" part of the whole song, which seems to be A natural "development" after the first part. Sections 41-56 are the prototype of the 16-section theme. In sections 57-72, the composer uses variations to decorate the theme melody and fill in the rhythm. The light and lively rhythm makes the music dynamic and makes the original theme closer to the image of "horse racing" in terms of musical character. Sections 73-88 are the second variation of the theme melody, played by the accompaniment part. The simple melody is hidden and jumps back and forth between three octaves. As the pitch position changes, the image of a galloping horse comes to life. The erhu creatively borrows the violin's plucking technique for large passages, and plays jumping broken chords in half a beat. The vivid combination of the two makes the music unique and unique. The relatively new erhu string-picking technique and the sharp contrast in rhythm and timbre of the pre-pulled melody have further expanded the development of music. Mr. Huang Haihuai's attempts to use large-scale plucked string playing techniques enriched the expressive power of the erhu and had a profound impact on the creation of subsequent erhu works. Measures 88-108, this is a transitional section. Through the entry, the theme melody material is compressed, echoing the first phrase at the beginning of the first part to imitate the effect of "horse hoofbeats", so that the theme can be integrated throughout the whole song. This is followed by a roundabout progression in pentatonic tones. Measures 100-105 are the decomposition of the main chord. The chord decomposition of these 4 measures further affirms and consolidates the tonality of the previous two parts, and forms a sharp contrast with the subsequent cadenza. In the subsequent expanded sections (105-108), the composer used the technique of tight and slow singing in dramatic music to fill in the transitional intervals between the two parts, turning it into a compact melody that flows uninterruptedly, integrating the theme melody. Unify it with the transition on the same plane of the melody line, making it one. Bar 108 does not converge on the main note, but opens up in corner A. The composer chose this method to not only maintain the momentum of the music moving forward, but also to naturally lead to the cadenza of the erhu and hint at the cadenza. functional features.

Ending

In the infinite extension of the overtones, the image of the /horse hoofbeat of the first phrase at the beginning of the first part reappears, echoing from beginning to end, and turns to the third part, returning to F palace D feather tune. This part is a "reappearance" of the first part, and the lively and joyful horse racing scene reappears in front of the audience. Before entering "Reappearance", there are 4 measures of sound patterns introduced, played by accompaniment instruments. These 4 measures (111-114) are the continuous rhythm changes of the /A corner 0 sound (that is, the falling tone of the second sentence of the theme). This "angle" sound starts from the last note of the cadenza and is directly prepared. The emergence of the main voice. From the perspective of Western harmony, it is the preparation of the subject--the subject. In the jubilant and fiery atmosphere, the music suddenly stopped at the lead note "D Yu".

This short but powerful ending leaves the audience with endless aftertaste.