Knowledge about large-scale ethnic orchestras (troupes)

Large-scale ethnic orchestras are composed of four parts: wind instrument group, plucked instrument group, percussion group and string string group, which specialize in performance The organization of large-scale ethnic orchestras is called large-scale ethnic orchestras. At present, my country's large-scale ethnic orchestras include the Central Chinese Orchestra, the Central Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, and large-scale folk orchestras in some provinces and cities. In order to develop our country's national cultural undertakings, we draw lessons from the organizational form of foreign symphony orchestras and cooperate with our country. A large-scale professional organization established for large-scale national instrumental music works written by some professional composers. Like foreign large symphony orchestras, it can not only express various themes of history, war, stories and love, but also through Our country's national instrumental music of different types of music is played to express our country's folk customs. Sometimes our composers also take some foreign symphonies, adapt them, and perform them with large national orchestras, which also has good effects. Due to the rich expressiveness and technical performances with ethnic characteristics of large-scale ethnic orchestras, performances at home and abroad are generally welcomed by the audience.

The establishment and arrangement of performance seats of large-scale ethnic orchestras

The establishment of large-scale ethnic orchestras is generally about 70 people, of which the wind section includes 8 suona players, 4 flute players, and sheng players. 4 people, 2 Guanzi and 1 Dongxiao; the plucked instrument group includes 4 Pipa, 4 Zhongruan, 2 Daruan, 2 Yangqin, 2 guzheng and 1 Sanxian; the stringed instrument group includes 8 Gaohu , 10 erhu players, 5 Chinese Hu players, 1 Banhu player, 6 cello players and 4 Bei cello players; the percussion group consists of 6 players, and the national percussion instruments used include gongs, drums, cymbals, chimes, xylophones, cloud gongs and Triangle etc. Sometimes, according to the needs of the work, the band can add or remove players appropriately during rehearsals and performances.

When rehearsing and performing seats in a large national orchestra, the weak stringed instruments and plucked string instruments are generally arranged in front of the stage close to the audience, and the powerful wind instruments are arranged in the middle and further back. , the percussion instruments are arranged in the last seat. This seat arrangement can easily achieve the volume balance and uniform timbre of the entire band, and also facilitate the conductor's command and the cooperation of each player.

Musical performance of large-scale ethnic orchestras

The four components of large-scale ethnic orchestras all have superb performance techniques and rich expressive power, such as the plucked instrument group, It was very prosperous in the Tang Dynasty, and they often served as the main instrument in some Tang operas and court banquets. They have been used to this day to have a unique style in terms of performance techniques and the shaping of various musical images. They can not only express comfort and The artistic conception of the beautiful singing melody can also express some jumping and cheerful emotions. In addition, when they are combined together, they can play various chord connections, and can show a clear sense of rhythm and good performance when serving as a band accompaniment. When used to describe various natural emotions, the plucked instrument can also show off its various special skills. For example, the twisted strings of the pipa can express the neighing of war horses, the glissando of the guzheng can express the gurgling water, and the bass and middle ruan of the dulcimer can be expressed. The combination of , Da Ruan can express the rough character of men, etc. The wind section also has a long history. From the Xia Dynasty, the slave society of our country, to the present day, it has always been an indispensable powerful instrument in the band. It was most prosperous in the Song Dynasty. There are three styles of suona in this group: high, medium and low. They form a system of their own. They can not only be played in unison but also perform multi-part performances connected by various chords. Their high-pitched and bright timbre is very combative and is often used for They are often used as the lead performers to express some scenes of war and triumph, as well as to express the warm atmosphere of celebratory occasions. Their performance is majestic, rough and powerful, and the climax and strongest music in the big band are often inseparable from them. participation. The unique flute performance, with its lingering and gentle timbre, can be used to express some delicate emotions. When playing adaptations of foreign symphonies, they often serve as the performance of the brass section. The flute is used in the band just like the flute in the Western orchestra. It is often used to play some dexterous and fast musical fragments and form counterpoint with other instruments. Its loose board playing is suitable for expressing pastoral scenery.

The pipe also has a special timbre and technique. When it is used as a soloist in a big band, it often produces some unique sound effects. The sheng is the only wind instrument that can play harmony by itself. It is a middle voice instrument that can play a variety of chords to supplement the middle voice of the band. Its timbre can be added to blend the timbres of various wind instruments. One furnace unifies the timbre of the wind group, and it also serves as a transition to the timbre of other instrument groups, such as the plucked group and the stringed string group. The stringed string instrument was formed relatively late, with its prototype appearing in the Tang Dynasty. It was only officially documented in the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, its performance techniques and musical performance reached a prosperous period, and it leapt to the national level. The dominant position of the band and its application in the band are equivalent to the string instruments of the Western orchestra. It is not only suitable for playing lyrical instrumental melodies, but also can play music with various rhythms and various emotions. Its timbre is closest to the human voice, which prevents the listener from being bored when playing in a large orchestra. Various connections, expansions, tonal changes and climaxes in large national orchestras are often inseparable from their performance. In addition, the timbre of this group of instruments is relatively uniform, and the overall performance of various harmonies and polyphonic music can achieve good results. Of course, the brightness of its timbre, performance techniques and musical performance are comparable to the string groups in Western orchestras. In comparison, there is still a certain gap. Percussion group, there are two types of percussion instruments in my country. One type is percussion instruments with fixed pitch, such as chimes, chimes, gongs, timpani, etc.; the other type is percussion instruments without fixed pitch. This type of percussion instruments There are many styles and different images. Take gongs, drums, and cymbals. There are 10 or more styles of the same musical instrument. For example, drums include big drums, hall drums, long drums, bamboo drums, bronze drums, wooden drums, Fishing drums, waist drums, panel drums, tambourines, bongos, row drums, octagonal drums, etc., are also played with superb skills and unique styles. In the performance of the band, some percussion instruments can play solo, but most of the percussion instruments play the role of exaggerating the atmosphere, creating climax and color matching in the band, such as the use of large cymbals. When the band progresses from weak to strong, each A variety of musical instruments were added, and when the timpani and snare drums crescendoed and reached the maximum volume, the big cymbal struck hard, like a thunderbolt from the blue, thus achieving a sound effect that shocked the entire theater. Another example is when the whole band is performing a fade-out, the tap of a big gong gives people an ominous feeling of death and desolation.

Performances of large-scale ethnic orchestras

The works performed by large-scale ethnic orchestras in my country can be roughly divided into the following three categories:

Performance categories of different music types

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Works of different music types in our country are mostly performed by semi-professional bands composed of folk artists when participating in folk activities. The performance of this type of works has a wide range of mass appeal, and they are adapted into The performance of a large-scale ethnic orchestra can not only expand the performance range of the work and enrich the expressive power of the music, but also often achieve good performance effects during stage performances, which is extremely popular with the audience. For example, the Hebei blowing song "Qin Xianglian" was performed by the large-scale national orchestra of the China Central Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra. The three leading instruments are alto suona, guanzi and treble suona. The tenor suona was played by a young man who was born in the hometown of Hebei blowing songs. Performer Zhou Dongchao's performance was unique in terms of tone and technique. People gave him the title of "Golden Suona", and the entire band's stage performance also won warm welcome from the audience. Another example is "Zhoushan Gongs and Drums" performed by a large ethnic orchestra, "Throwing Nets to Fish", "Great Victory", etc., which were all gold medal-winning works at the World Youth Festival.

Adaptations of Western symphonies

The arrangements in this category include the "Carmen" Overture, "Firebird Suite", "Picture Exhibition" and other works we mentioned earlier , including Chinese and Western orchestral music "Tiger Descending the Mountain", "Spring Festival Overture", "Yao Dance Music" and other works.

When Mr. Peng Xiuwen, the composer and conductor of the Central Broadcasting Chinese Orchestra, adapted "Yao Dance Music", he adapted the theme tone Adagio ■ of the first section of the work from the original violin performance to a gaohu substitute performance to express the moonlight at night. At the bottom, there is a scene of ethnic minority girls dancing gracefully. The Allegro in the middle was originally played by the bassoon, but now the big sanxian and daruan are used to express the rough dancing scene of the young men.

Creative works

There are relatively many solo works of national instrumental music in my country. There are not many large-scale national orchestra ensemble works like this at present, but some of them Works such as "The Rising Sun", "Harvest Gongs and Drums", and the Erhu Concerto "Capriccio on the Great Wall" have great influence. When Mr. Peng Xiuwen created "Harvest Gongs and Drums", he used my country's Chaozhou gongs and drums, Peking Opera's "Jiji Feng", Jiangsu percussion and other gongs and drums as performance materials, and used them in his own works in an innovative way, winning the audience and unanimous praise from colleagues.