A river of spring water, a lonely moon, so many thoughts

——Approaching "Spring River with Flowers and Moonlight Night"

Chinese summary: About the pipa song "Spring River" Research on "Flower Moon Night" has never been uncommon. It is generally believed that this piece of music is divided into 10 sections, depicts the charming scenery of the Spring River on a night of flower moon, and praises the beautiful scenery of the Jiangnan water town, but rarely touches on the artistic conception of the music and what it contains. philosophy of life. Therefore, this article aims to explore the understanding of life and thinking about the universe shown in the music.

Keywords: Pipa, sad but not sad, artistic characteristics, artistic conception

The poem "Moonlight Night on the Spring River" written by the talented Zhang Ruoxu on the Yangtze River has flowed into the hearts of many people over the past thousands of years. Spring, river, flowers, moon, night, every word contains the reverie of beauty, and every word is soaked in the taste of beauty. The intoxicating bright moon, the sparkling lake water, the clean sky, and the white sand on the terrace. This beautiful scenery has touched generations of people for thousands of years, and has been embedded in the blood of Chinese civilization, becoming an eternal classic. "If the color is not charming, people will be intoxicated; if the scenery is not intoxicating, everyone will be intoxicated." I don't know how many literati are intoxicated with this virtual scene, intoxicated with the moonlit night on the Spring River.

The famous song of the same name is performed based on the artistic conception of the original poem. It is sung with three sighs, but it is neither exciting nor bold. The gentle string music stirs up the quiet air, and a beautiful landscape painting of life gradually unfolds: in the evening when the evening drum bids farewell to the sunset and the full moon is heard, people drive small boats and roam on the calm spring river. On both sides of the bank are green mountains and flower branches. Shadow; the moon is dancing in the center of the water surface, and the sound of oars and oars is added. "The tide of the spring river reaches the level of the sea, and the bright moon on the sea rises with the tide. The waves follow thousands of miles, but there is no moon on the spring river." The beauty of the south of the Yangtze River and the meaningfulness of the poems are softly blended into the euphemistic and simple melody and smooth and changeable within the rhythm. The music is euphemistic and beautiful, the rhythm is smooth and changeable, and the orchestration is crystal clear, making people have endless aftertaste. [1]

1. The background and status of the music:

The music was originally a pipa song called "Sunset Flute and Drum", also known as "Xunyang Pipa". The music score was first seen in the copied pipa scores of Ju Shilin (about 1736~1820) and the manuscript of Wu Wanqing in the first year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1875). In 1895, pipa player Li Fangyuan included it in "New Scores of Thirteen Daqu Pipa Scores of the Northern and Southern Schools" . After 1925, the Shanghai Datong Association adapted it into a national orchestra and renamed it "Spring River Flower Moonlight Night". After liberation, it was reorganized and adapted many times, making the artistic expression more mature and perfect. [2]

This song once appeared at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics as one of the representative works of Chinese traditional music. It is a shining pearl in my country's national music.

2. Listen to the music:

When the pipa sounds, exquisite pictures pop up the charm of spring, river, flowers, moon and night like flowing notes; pipa Ah, are you being blown by the wind of the ancients? The breath of poetry is permeating the air; are you knocking on the door of allusions? What is a startling glance at the door opening are the eyes of a woman looking forward to your return with the moonlight?

The artistic characteristics of the music "Spring River Flowers and Moonlight Night" are mainly reflected in the melody development technique based on core tones. It uses two core tones as the basic links to perform modulations or variations to form the presentation and development of the melody. . After each section of music develops and changes, a different material is often used as the end of the section to tie the whole piece together, making the music sound very harmonious. It shows the appreciation habits and application characteristics of traditional Chinese music aesthetics, constantly showing new expressions and flows in tranquility, and this flow is submerged in the beauty of moderation and elegance. [4]

The structural layout of the eleven sections of the whole song can be roughly divided into three parts. The first part consists of two to five paragraphs and is the presentation part of the theme. The second part is the sixth paragraph, which is a slightly contrasting paragraph developed based on the first theme material. The melody appears in the bass area and the tone is implicit and deep. The third part consists of sections seven to eleven. The tenth section is the climax of the whole song. It mainly uses fast and various modular techniques to form the driving force for the continuous development of the music. The circuitous melody line rises and falls twice, vividly depicting the The sound of the oar is rushing, the boat and the water are beating against each other, the waves are rising and falling, and it is a joyful scene when the boat approaches the shore.

The specific analysis is as follows:

(1) Introduction:

A free scattered rhythm is used, with the pipa simulating the faint drum sound coming from the river in the distance, and Xiao and Zheng simulating the sound. It plays a slight sound, depicting the setting sun reflecting on the river and the wind blowing on the water.

(2) "Jianglou Bells and Drums"

The band played the beautiful and cantabile theme of the whole song. The phrases are connected with the same sound, euphemistic and calm; the big drum rolls softly, and the artistic conception is profound. The last sentence played by Xiao and Pipa is a fixed cadence phrase that loops through every paragraph. It seems that when people hear and see Xiaogu, the bright moon, flower shadows, clouds, water, fishermen and other scenery, they sincerely say "The moonlit night on the spring river is beautiful" Picturesque” voice of admiration.

(3) "Moon Over the Eastern Mountain"

The theme is moved four degrees higher and moves freely. The melody has a slowly rising dynamic, showing the scenery of the bright moon rising into the sky.

(4) "Fenghui Qishui"

This is the second variation of the music. The melody descends and then rises again, presenting a scene of ripples on the water. It vividly expresses the breeze blowing on the river and the joyful mood of people boating on the river.

(5) "Cascading Flower Shadows"

This is the third variation of the music. After seven bars of slow melody, the pipa plays a magnificent melody with four groups of sound patterns that are first tight and then wide. The emotions rise and fall suddenly, and then continue to converge, like the shadows of flowers in the water swaying and stacked in chaos, in sharp contrast to the tranquil scene depicted before.

(6) "Shui Yun Deep"

In the rich mid-bass area, the pipa, zheng and Xiao play in unison, then jump in octaves, and use vibrato and overtones to play an elegant sound effects. The contrast between the sound range and timbre reminds people of the empty and hazy evening scene on the river where the river and sky are the same color.

(7) "Fishermen Singing Evening"

This piece of music is very distinctive. It uses a rest and half-clap in the third measure of each sentence, which makes it interesting and lively. Accompanied by wooden fish, Xiao and Pipa played a cantabile descending melody, like a fisherman singing while rocking his oar, while the unison of other instruments after each long sound was like a chorus of people on the boat, keeping people entertained. The joyful mood of the night outing is vividly expressed, adding a humorous and lively atmosphere to the music.

(8) "Huilan Patting"

This is the fifth variation of the music. First, the pipa plays a string of progressive sound patterns that gradually progress from slow to fast using techniques such as wheel fingering and sweeping, and then the orchestra plays in full, which is like the artistic conception of a fishing boat breaking through the water, river water splashing on the table, and waves splashing.

(9) "The Sound of the Roaring Sound"

Use the sound of running water, rocking oars, etc. to depict numerous fishing boats on their way home. Because it overlaps with the ninth paragraph, it is often deleted and not played.

(10) "Returning to the Boat"

This is the climax of the whole song. The music rises repeatedly, and the sound of the zither is like flowing water, and the speed increases from slow to fast. From weak to strong, the melody is compact, powerful and exciting. It vividly depicts the scene of the returning boat breaking through the water, splashing waves, the sound of oars, and approaching from far away.

When the music reaches its climax, it slows down and returns to its original speed. The guzheng is played from low to high, and then moves to the end of the eleventh section.

(11) "End"

When the erhu and the flute played the melodious main melody one after another, the music returned to the poetic and picturesque atmosphere at the beginning of the music. The light and ethereal big gong at the end gives the music a far-reaching and long-lasting artistic conception. It seemed as if the boat was gradually moving away, and the river and sky became a quiet night. [3]

3. Feelings about the music:

The music deliberately hides the profound and beautiful art world in a confusing artistic atmosphere. The whole poem seems to be enveloped in an ethereal and mysterious atmosphere. In the confused moonlight, the audience is attracted to explore the true meaning of beauty. Some people say that this piece of music is "sad but not sad". It not only shows the charming scenery of the Spring River on the night of flowers and moon, but also contains a trace of thinking about the infinite universe and the short life. Although it is sad, it is still light; although it sighs, it is always Light; sad but not sad, resentful but not chaotic. On the one hand, it is a sigh for the shortness of life, envying the infinity of the universe, and lamenting the brief moment of my life. And this sigh also contains the understanding of the endless vitality of all things in the universe.

The bright moon lasts forever and the river flows endlessly. In comparison, life is small and short. However, it is also this small and short life, facing the infinite universe, that there is a mission beyond the limitations of survival. musings and dreams. On the other hand, there is admiration and lingering for life. Strolling by the river, the spring night is quiet, the jade rabbit rises in the east, boats are rowing on the river, and the shadows of flowers are swaying. The pipa strings were playing in my ears, every detail...

In the end, it dispersed, became quiet, and left, leaving only the endless river water and the bright moon. The beautiful scenery of the Spring River on a night of flowers and moon, the vast river and sky, and the infinite depth of the universe. Scenes like this can always arouse people's vague and lingering thoughts. The music in my ears is a bit heavy, like a long low hum. The deep and solemn music does not need words, but it seems to be asking the world: "When does the moon first appear on the river bank? When does the moon on the river shine on people?" The lonely moon lingers in the sky, as if waiting for someone, but it can never do so. Under the moonlight, there is only the rapids of the river, rushing away. I don’t know who was the first to be surprised by the brightness of the moon, and no one knows when the bright moon that illuminates the Spring River began to shine all over the world. The short life is always too fragile, and the years are always so ruthless. The vicissitudes of life performed by Pipa tell the truth about the changes in the world: life is so small and short, but it is not as profound and eternal as the universe. Looking up at the bright moon, I wonder what night it is.

Concluding remarks: The famous song "Moonlit Night on the Spring River" vividly depicts the charming scenery of the Spring River on a moonlit night through its euphemistic and simple melody, smooth and changeable rhythms, ingenious and delicate orchestration, and meticulous performance, and fully praises the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The strange appearance. The whole song is like a long landscape scroll with fine brushwork, soft colors, and elegance. It is fascinating and is a unique piece of Chinese national music. When appreciating it, we should not only comprehensively analyze it from the aspects of melody, rhyme, rhythm, etc., but also pay attention to the artistic conception of Zhang Ruoxu's poem of the same name to understand his joyful contemplation. Life changes endlessly from generation to generation, and the only thing that remains unchanged is Jiang Yue's life remains the same year after year; but on the other hand, although life is short, all things in the universe are endless and have infinite vitality. Sad, but not without hope.

Notes:

[1]. "Music Appreciation Tutorial (Volume 1) - Chinese Part"

[2]. "Basic Knowledge of Music and Appreciation of Famous Music "

[3]. "A Concise Tutorial on Chinese Traditional Music"

[4]. "Music and Music Appreciation"

References:

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2 Li Liang. "Basic Knowledge of Music and Appreciation of Famous Songs", Changsha: National University of Defense Technology Press, 1st edition, 1st printing, January 2006

3 Editor-in-chief Yuan Jingfang. "A Concise Tutorial on Traditional Chinese Music", Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, first edition in May 2006, second printing in January 2007

4 Editors-in-chief Zhang Jun, Guo Aimin, and Li Yuegeng. "Music and Music Appreciation", Changsha: Central South University Press, 1st edition, August 2004, 1st printing

5 Qian Renkang, edited by Hu Qiping. "Music Appreciation", Beijing: Peking University Press, 1st edition, January 2005, Second printing in November 2005

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8 Liu Chenghua. "The Charm of Chinese Music", Fujian: Fujian People's Publishing House , 1st edition, January 1998