1. High mountains and flowing water: It is said that Boya, a luthier in the pre-Qin Dynasty, once played the lute in the wilderness. Zhong Ziqi, a woodcutter, was able to understand that this was a description of "the towering ambitions are in the mountains" and "the vast ambitions are in the flowing water". Boya was surprised and said: "How wonderful, my heart is the same as my own." After Ziqi's death, Boya suffered from pain and lost the sound of his friend.
"High mountains and flowing water" first came from "Liezi. Tang Wen". It is said that Yu Boya was good at drums and harp, and Zhong Ziqi was good at listening. Whatever Yu Boya wants, Zhong Ziqi will definitely get it. Yu Boya played the harp and his ambition was high in the mountains. Zhong Ziqi said: "How good it is to play the harp, and Wei Wei is as high as Mount Tai." "After Zhong Ziqi died, Yu Boya broke the strings of the harp and stopped playing it for the rest of his life, thinking that there was no one in the world who could play the harp again. Later, "high mountains and flowing water" were used as a metaphor for bosom friends or confidants.
As a guzheng piece, mountains and flowing water are the representative pieces. But the most common versions of High Mountains and Flowing Waters are the Shandong Zheng School, the Zhejiang Zheng School, and the Henan Zheng School.
The reason why there are three versions is because the tunes are completely different, not because of the different playing techniques.
The Shandong Zheng School of "Qilu Daban": When playing, the big finger is used frequently and is strong and powerful. Even if it is the "flower finger", the big finger is mostly played by the lower flower finger in conjunction with the "tuo"; while the left hand's chanting, kneading and sliding are both hard and soft, sonorous and deep, and its playing style is simple and elegant.
The Henan Zheng School of "Zhongzhou Ancient Diao" (or "Zheng and Wei Zhiyin"): A great feature of Henan Zheng playing is that the right hand starts from close to the piano code and plays in a flowing manner. Go to the place close to "Yueshan", and at the same time, make a big tremble with your left hand. The musical performance is very dramatic and effective. In Henan Zheng, this technique is called "wandering". Among them, there are especially the left-hand slide (the left hand presses the note, then moves back a little when playing the string, and the sound slides up quickly, with no trace of sensitivity), small vibrato (the vibrato is tight and tight), sliding vibrato (trembling on the edge), Techniques such as Big Trembling (trembling with a wide amplitude and moving in a passionate manner) are the most distinctive. In terms of playing style, whether it is slow or allegro, or whether the music is cheerful or sad, the music does not pursue a clear, elegant, delicate and beautiful style. Instead, it is known for its simplicity and simplicity, and is characterized by its deep inner impassionedness. Fu Xuan's evaluation of Henan Zheng music in "Zheng Fu. Preface" is that "the music is high and mediocre, but the skills are difficult to master."
The Zhejiang Zheng School of "Wulin Yiyun": The performance features include "big finger shaking", "quick four o'clock", "clipping", "string lifting" and other techniques, and learn from, learn from, and integrate Incorporating the playing techniques of pipa, sanxian, dulcimer and even Western instruments, Zhejiang Zheng uses the "shaking finger" to perform the performance by making detailed shaking of the big finger. The effect is very similar to the long bow of a bowed string instrument. Strictly speaking, this is something that is not found in traditional Zheng music from other schools, because what other schools call “finger shaking” or “wheel fingering” actually uses the big finger to perform relatively fast “support” and “split” movements. ", and Zhejiang Zheng's "finger shaking" shows its own characteristics and is different from other schools.
But at the beginning, the right hand of the Zhejiang Zheng School has a beautiful melody. At the same time, it expresses the majesty of the mountains and the clarity of the water. The right hand in the middle of the song is as smooth as water, and the left hand in the bass position is like a mountain. It is as soft and crisp as stone.
"High Mountains and Flowing Waters" is based on "Bo Ya Gu Gu Qin Yu Zhi Yin", there are two kinds of music, including two kinds of music, the same name and completely different styles.
"Flowing Water" makes full use of fingerings such as "overtone, rolling, brushing, Chuo, Zhu, up and down" to describe the various dynamics of flowing water and express the meaning of a wise man who is determined to flow water and enjoys water.
Liu Shui: Guqin music, the music makes full use of fingerings such as "overtone, roll, whisk, Chuo, note, up and down" to depict the various dynamics of flowing water.
First. Section: the introduction part. The melody keeps jumping and changing sound areas in a wide range of sounds, with subtle finger changes and solid sounds alternating. The melody disappears and appears like the top of the mountain, surrounded by clouds and mist.
The second and third paragraphs: clear overtones and lively rhythm, just like "clanging, the cold current in the secluded world; clear and cold, the trickle of pine roots." Listen quietly, and you will be filled with joy. But life. The third section is an octave-higher repetition of the second section, omitting the end of the second section.
The fourth and fifth paragraphs: a cantabile melody, "its rhyme is long and graceful, just like flowing clouds and flowing water."
The sixth paragraph: first the undulating melody, with a dramatic Up and down pitch. Then there is a continuous "fierce rolling, slow whisking" sound of running water, and an ascending and descending tone is played above it. The ingenious combination of the two is really like "a very boiling and surging view, with the image of a dragon roaring. Rest and calm your mind." Listening to it, one feels as if one is crossing the Wu Gorge in a dangerous boat, one is dazzled and thrilling, and one almost feels that one is rushing through the mountains and rushing through the valleys." (See the postscript of the Qing Dynasty edition of "Qinxue Series·Liu Shui", 1910. Year)
Paragraph 7: The continuous overtone groups in the high-pitched area first fall and then rise, and the sound potential is greatly reduced, just like "the light boat has passed, and the momentum is idle. Sometimes the aftermath shakes the rocks, and sometimes it spins."洑微椤.” (Postscript to "Qin Xue Congjiao·Liu Shui")
The eighth paragraph: The changes reproduce the previous cantabile melody and add new musical materials. A slightly faster and more powerful piano sound, the music is full of enthusiasm. The sound of running water returns at the end of the paragraph, which is evocative.
Paragraph 9: The carol-like melody starts from low to upward and is full of passion. The seed material from the fourth paragraph appears again at the end of the paragraph, finally ending on Gongyin. Sections 8 and 9 belong to the "restoration" part of the guqin music structure.
The overtones of Qingyue at the end make people immersed in the thoughts of "overwhelming, but the sincere sound of ancient tunes".
2. Guangling San: Ji Kang's "Guangling San", also known as "Guangling Zhixi". It is a large-scale Qin music in ancient times, which has appeared at least in the Han Dynasty. There are always different opinions on its content, but the general view is that it is connected with the piano music "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han". "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han" mainly describes the tragic story of Nie Zheng, the son of a swordsmith during the Warring States Period, who stabbed the King of Han to death and then committed suicide in order to avenge his father's murder. Regarding this, Cai Yong's "Qin Cao" has a more detailed description.
The existing music score of "Guangling San" was first seen in the "Magic Secret Music Book" (1425) compiled and printed by Zhu Quan of the Ming Dynasty. "Guangling San" and "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han" are sub-titles of sections such as "Reporting the Sword" and so on. Therefore, ancient qin composers regard "Guangling San" and "Nie Zheng Assassins the King of Han" as having the same song and the same name.
According to Zhao Xiyao et al.'s "An Overview of the Culture of the Three Kingdoms", the score of "Guangling San" has forty-five sections, divided into finger, minor sequence, major sequence, main tone, and random tone. , and six subsequent parts. Before Zhengsheng, it mainly expressed sympathy for Nie Zheng's unfortunate fate; after Zhengsheng, it expressed praise and praise for Nie Zheng's heroic deeds. The main part of the music is the main part, which focuses on Nie Zheng's emotional development process from resentment to indignation, and profoundly depicts his will to revenge without fear of rape and death. The whole song is always full of the interweaving, ups and downs, development and changes of the two themes. One is the main tone of the main tone found in the second paragraph of the "Zhengsheng", and the other is the main tone of the chaotic tone that first appears at the end of the main sequence. The main tone is mostly at the beginning of the section, highlighting its main conductor function. The chaotic main tune is mostly used at the end of a section. It brings various changed tunes into a single tone, marking the section and unifying the whole song.
The melody of "Guangling San" is passionate and generous. It is the only existing Guqin music in my country that has a fighting atmosphere. It directly expresses the fighting spirit of the oppressed against the tyrant, and has great significance. High ideological and artistic quality. Perhaps Ji Kang saw the spirit of resistance and fighting will in "Guangling San" and why he loved "Guangling San" so much and had such deep feelings for it.
"Guangling San" was once famous in history. After the founding of the People's Republic of my country, Mr. Guan Pinghu, a famous guqin master in China, organized and notated it according to the tunes contained in "Magical Secret Score", making this wonderful guqin music Music is back in the world.
Modern qin scholar Yang Shibai believed in his "Qin Mirror" of "Qin Xue Series" that this song originated from Hejian Zaqu "Nie Zheng Assassination of King Han".
"Guangling" is the ancient name of Yangzhou, and "San" means to perform or lead music. The title of "Guangling San" indicates that it is a qin music popular in the ancient Guangling area. This is a large-scale instrumental work in ancient my country. It sprouted in the Qin and Han dynasties. Its name was first recorded in Wei Yingzhu's "Books with Liu Kongcai": "Listen to Guangling's Qingsan". By the Wei and Jin dynasties, it had gradually taken shape and was finalized. Later, it was lost for a while, and later generations found it in the "Magical Secret Book" of the Ming Dynasty court, and then reorganized it, and finally got the "Guangling San" we hear now. The content of the music is said to tell the story of Nie Zheng avenging his father and assassinating the King of Han during the Warring States Period.
Ji Kang is a great master of art. He wrote "The Theory of Sound without Sorrow and Music", "The Theory of Difficult Nature to Love Learning", "The Proverbs of the Grand Master", "The Theory of Ming Dan", and "The Theory of Private Comments" ” and “On Health Preservation” have been passed down through the ages. He also played the piano well, especially Guangling San, which attracted much attention. At that time, he was as famous as Ruan Ji, who was thirteen years older than him. In the history of music, there is often a saying of "Ji Qin and Ruan Xiao", but in terms of thought and personality, Ji Kang was superior to Ruan Ji.
Ji Kang disapproved of those long-standing and grandiose dogmatic etiquette, and even more deeply detested those officialdoms that were full of chaos, flattery and deceit. He would rather be an unknown and free blacksmith outside Luoyang than join the ranks of the scumbags. He is obsessed with pursuing the lofty realm of life in his heart: getting rid of constraints, releasing human nature, returning to nature, and enjoying leisure. The roaring fire and the vigorous hammering are the perfect interpretation of this realm. Therefore, when his friend Shan Tao recommended him to the imperial court for an official position, he resolutely broke off relations with Shan Tao and wrote the famous "Book of Severing Diplomacy with Shan Juyuan" in cultural history to clarify his aspirations.
Unfortunately, Ji Kang's outstanding talent and carefree style of life eventually brought him disaster. His life propositions of "not using Tang Dynasty and martial arts but despising Zhouli" and "going beyond fame and religion and letting nature take its course" deeply hurt the vitality of the ruling class: Ji Kang despised the classics of saints and hated the official career. If it goes on for a long time, wouldn't it be harmful to him? In our Taiping Jiangshan rule, this person cannot be killed to rectify the people's customs and clear the king's way. Isn't there a ready-made case of Lu An here? Wouldn't it be great to involve him so that he can be killed without being used as a weapon? Therefore, under the slander and instigation of some villains who hated Ji Kang, in 262 AD, the ruler Sima Zhao ordered Ji Kang to be executed.
On the execution ground, three thousand students petitioned the imperial court for Ji Kang’s pardon and asked him to become their teacher. This demonstrated Ji Kang’s academic status and charisma to the society. However, Such "unreasonable demands" will certainly not be accepted by those in power. What Ji Kang was thinking about at this moment was not that his splendid life was about to end, but that there was no successor to this wonderful piece of music. He asked to pass a harp, and on the high execution platform, facing thousands of people who came to see him off, he played the last "Guangling San". The clang of the harp and the mysterious melody were overwhelming. drifted into everyone's heart. After finishing playing, Ji Kang calmly raised his head and poked. He was only thirty-nine years old at the time.
3. House of Flying Daggers:
This is a large-scale pipa song with historical themes. There is no definite conclusion as to when the music was composed. The data can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. In the famous long poem "Pipa Xing" written by Bai Juyi (772-846), it can be found that the author Bai Juyi had heard pipa music that represented fierce battle scenes.
"Ambush from Flying Daggers" is widely circulated and is one of the traditional pipa songs, also known as "Huaiyang Pingchu". The existing score of this piece was first seen in "Pipa Xing" compiled by Hua Qiuping in 1818. The music describes the final battle of the Chu-Han War in 202 BC. The Han army defeated the Chu army with an ambush formation from all sides. Xiang Yu committed suicide in Wujiang River and Liu Bang won. At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, in the "Biography of Tang Pipa" in "Si Zhao Tang Ji", it was recorded that the pipa player Tang Ying once played a piece of "Chu and Han": "When the two armies fought in a decisive battle, the sound shook the heaven and earth. , The roof tiles are flying down. As you look closer, you can hear the sound of golden drums, swords and crossbows, and the sound of people and horses...it makes those who hear it feel excited at first, and then become frightened and unable to cry. "The scene painted is so touching. The sound and look are very similar to today's "Ambush from Flying Daggers".
The whole song is divided into thirteen sections, and the titles can be divided into three parts:
The first part:
(1) "The Camp" is the prelude to the whole song, showing the golden drums and war trumpets before the battle. Cheering in unison, an inspiring scene of everyone shouting. The music gradually becomes faster and faster, and the complex nature of modes and their alternating transformations add to the instability of the music.
(2) "Blow and Beat".
(3) The theme of "point general" is presented, using continuous long wheel fingering techniques (dan wheel, one wheel and one brush wheel) and the combined fingering of "buckle, wipe, flick, wipe" to express the generals A mighty demeanor.
(4) "Arrangement".
(5) The music of "Walk in Line" has a certain contrast with the previous one, and the techniques of "covering and dividing" and "covering and dividing" are used to further show the heroic and vigorous appearance of the army.
The second part:
(6) Ambush shows that on the night before the decisive battle, the Han army ambush at this place. The atmosphere was calm and tense, which paved the way for the next two paragraphs.
(7) A small battle at Jiming Mountain. The armies of Chu and Han were in close combat, fighting with swords and guns, breathing rapidly, and the music began to unfold.
(8) The Battle of Jiuli Mountain depicts the life-and-death struggle between the two armies. The sound of horse hooves, clashing swords, and shouts intertwined and shocked the hearts of the people. First, use the alternating playing method of "stroke, row, strum, row", and then use techniques such as playing double strings, push and pull, etc. to push the music to a climax.
Part Three:
(9) King Xiang was defeated.
(10) Wujiang Suicide first alternates between the sparse rhythmic repetition of homophones and the tight rhythmic sound of horse hooves, showing the scene of King Xiang and the Han army chasing after him after breaking through the enemy; then there is a tragic melody, It shows Xiang Yu committing suicide; the last four strings "stroke" and then "fall" (also known as "stop") suddenly, and the music stops abruptly.
The original songs also include:
(11) Everyone wins.
(12) The generals compete for merit.
(13) Return to camp after victory. Mr. Wei Zhongle's performance ended with "suicide", and the last three sections were deleted and not played. Today, most families adopt this method.
Looking at the whole song, it also has the layout characteristics of "starting, continuing, turning and closing". The first part contains five sections as the "starting and carrying parts", the second part contains three sections as the "turning" section, and the third part contains two sections as the "joining" section.
4 Pathetic: Tchaikovsky, his "Sixth Pathetique Symphony" profoundly expresses his dissatisfaction with reality under the reactionary rule of the Tsar, yearning for justice and joy, but unable to find it. He expressed the hesitation about the way out, using extremely mature and developed symphonic techniques to express the unspeakable sadness deep in his heart. It is his representative work handed down from generation to generation.
This work follows the structure of the four movements of a symphonic suite. The first movement is an allegro movement, but it expresses confusion, pain and hesitation; the second movement is a five-beat waltz, warm and friendly, as if it reminds you of beautiful memories in life; the third movement is a The string music plus march movement uses fast triple beats, while the march goes from weak to strong, and after a very strong ending, there is a slow fourth movement. The strong string melody in this chapter makes people's soul shaken and torn apart by the greatest pathos. Usually the last movement is usually brilliant, but Tchaikovsky made the fourth movement a tragic slow movement, which is a very original approach.
5 Moonlight: Ludwig van Beethoven
The first movement - sustained adagio, C sharp minor 2/2 time, three-part style
This movement is extremely expressive of emotions, including meditative tenderness, sad chanting, and dark premonitions. Although the accompaniment, theme and intensity have not changed much, the fluctuations of the author's heartstrings are still delicately expressed through changes in harmony, register and rhythm. This sonata contains Beethoven's most original ideas. Its dream-like improvisational nature and the way it explores the sound of piano sounds anticipated Debussy's Impressionism about a hundred years later. The theme it is based on is very simple: at the beginning of the music, boundless fantasy is constructed by the continuous flow of triplets. Four bars later, the first theme appears faintly in the alto area. It is delicate and calm, with a hint of melancholy.
The second theme appears in the key of B major at 1 minute and 18 seconds in section 1. The middle part begins with the first theme. The triplet twists and turns towards the high range, showing an irritable and restless mood. Then, entering the third paragraph, the first theme reappears calmly, the second theme reappears in the key of C-sharp minor, and then the bass continues to play the coda of the basic motive, slowly disappearing and ending.
The second movement - Allegro minor, D flat major, 3/4 time, trilogy style
This movement is relatively short. Liszt described this movement as "two abyss" A flower in the middle." It perfectly connects the contemplation of the first movement with the tense atmosphere of the third movement with completely different light expressions. The first section is a theme echoed by legato and staccato, and then repeated with variations. The middle part also remains in D flat major. Section 2 reproduces the first section at 1 minute and 13 seconds. This movement seems to be a gentle smile left in an instant.
The third movement - exciting Presto, C sharp minor, 4/4 time, sonata form
Although the tonality is closely related to the previous movement, the expression Feelings are completely different. The first theme is the uncontrollable boiling and incitement of enthusiasm, which is like a fierce rage and a continuous sound of jumping feet. The second theme is like a complaint from the bottom of my heart. The continuous eighth notes and decisive rhythm near the end express passionate emotions and strong will. After a short development, the inner excitement became even stronger. At the end, when the boiling enthusiasm reached its peak, it suddenly fell silent, but the turbulent mood did not calm down. Beethoven once said that both sonatas in his Opus 27 were like fantasies. He instructed that the movements of the "Moonlight" sonata should be followed without a pause, so that the opening movement could gradually unfold in a suggestive way and enter the intricate final movement, thus providing a sense of cohesion and climax. Beethoven's sonatas of this period were full of experimental approaches, and he attempted to re-evaluate the main creative principles of the sonata form. Generally speaking, if you want to follow the traditional pattern, the sonata form often appears in only one movement, usually in the first movement. But Beethoven broke this pattern. The "Moonlight" Sonata is the beginning of the classical music school moving towards the romantic music school. One of the works of transformation.
The reason why this piano piece is called "Moonlight" is because the German poet Ludwig Leerstable said after hearing it: "After listening to the first movement of this work, "It reminds me of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland and the bright moonlight rippling on the lake." Later, the publisher added the title "Moonlight Song" based on this passage, about the composer's improvisations under the moonlight. The legend became popular. In fact, what touched Beethoven's creation was not the bright moonlight, but the painful mood after the failure of Beethoven's first love with Julietta Guichardi (1784-1856).
Julietta Guichardi was the count's daughter, 14 years younger than Beethoven. The two loved each other sincerely, but the family gap forced them to break up. After Beethoven suffered this heavy blow, he poured out all the inner pain and intense grief and indignation caused by the feudal hierarchy into this passionate and fiery piano piece. So, this piece is dedicated to her. On November 16 of this year, Beethoven mentioned her in a letter to Wegler and said: "She loves me and I love her." But by the beginning of 1802, she had fallen in love with Luo Luo. Count Burr Hallenberg, and was driven by the family to marry him in 1803. Romain Rolland linked this piece to Beethoven's lovelorn, saying, "The fantasy lasted for a short time, and there was already more pain and grief in the sonata than love." Rolland interpreted the first movement as melancholy, lamentation and crying. Russian musicologist Olibyshev (1794-1858) believed that the first movement is a "deep sorrow" of lost love, like a "dying fire". But in 1801, Beethoven and Guichardi were passionately in love. To say that this work is about the pain of lost love may not be consistent with the facts.
Regarding the explanation of this work, perhaps the views of Russian art critic Stasov (1824-1906) are more reasonable.
After recalling listening to Liszt's performance in Petersburg, he believed that this sonata was a complete tragedy. The first movement was full of wistful tenderness and a mental state sometimes full of dark premonitions. He also had a similar impression when listening to Anton Rubinstein's performance: "... from far away, far away, as if from the invisible depths of the soul, a quiet voice suddenly rose. Some voices were melancholy and full of Some are filled with infinite melancholy; others are brooding, with a flood of memories and dark omens..."