Second creation in music art refers to the analysis and research of historical materials or performances (singing) by famous artists on the basis of being faithful to the true intention and basic style of the original work by the performer (singer) or score editor. , integrate your own understanding and processing of the work. Because different people have differences in aesthetics, artistic experience, etc., during the process of editing, publishing and performing the score of the same work, there will be some different versions in terms of score and sound. This article will compare and analyze the music scores and sound data of different versions of Beethoven's piano work "Für Elise" to explore the diversity of secondary creations in musical performance.
"Für Elise" (also known as "Für Elise") is a piano piece by Beethoven. Beethoven did not publish this piece at the time. There is this text on the draft: "For Alice, April 27, 1810, Beethoven." This is where the piano piece "For Alice" gets its name. The official version appeared in Knoll, Germany, on the 40th anniversary of his death (1867).
Since there is no record of the relationship between Beethoven and Alice in relevant historical records, some say it was a teacher-student relationship, while others say it was a lover's relationship. Therefore, modern music historians have questioned the above inscription, "Did Beethoven write it himself? Is Alice really a person?" In addition, some people think that this work was dedicated by Beethoven to a man named "Thai" when he was forty years old. "Thelese" is a seventeen-year-old girl. But no matter what the results of future research are, it is generally recognized that this is a successful work that depicts the image of an innocent, beautiful, and simple German girl. It is a rare piano piece that is both elegant and popular. Because of its simple and friendly music, it is favored by music professionals and music lovers.
However, when we listen or perform, we will find that different audio materials or musical scores will be more or less different. Did the player make a mistake or the publisher was careless? With this question in mind, the author found four versions of the music score and compared them with recording materials from several different audio and video publishing houses.
The four different music score versions are:
1. Satellite TV educational music textbook "Basic Piano Performance Training", edited by Zhou Guangren, Higher Education Press, October 1990 1st edition (referred to as "Satellite TV Edition" in this article); 2. "Basic Piano Tutorial", a trial textbook for higher normal colleges, edited by Han Linshen, Li Xiaoping, Xu Fei and Zhou Hejun, first edition of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in May 1985 (this article (referred to as "Normal College Edition" in Chinese); 3. (U.S.) "Selected Piano Music for Adults" edited by Arold, first edition of People's Music Publishing House in February 1992 (referred to as "Adult Edition" in this article); 4. (U.S.) ) "Selected Piano Songs" compiled by Jane Smith Bastian, first edition of People's Music Publishing House in December 1989 (referred to as "Famous Songs Edition" in this article).
The three audio materials are:
1. "Audio Dictionary of Western Musical Styles", edited by Guan Boji and produced by Guangzhou Pacific Audio and Video Company (referred to as "Musical Style Edition" in this article). 2. "Selected Piano Pieces of Beethoven", performed by (O) Alfred Brende, internal teaching materials (referred to as "Brende Edition" in this article). 3. "Children's Classical Music", published by Guangdong Language Audio and Video Publishing Company (referred to as "Children's Edition" in this article).
Through careful analysis and comparison, we found that whether it is the music score or the audio data, this piece has varying degrees of differences in pitch, ornamentation, dynamics, connections, pedals, etc. We can think of it as a latecomer's second creation of Beethoven's original piano piece "Für Elise".
1. Pitch
I don’t know whether it is due to the vague notation in Beethoven’s manuscript or the publisher’s negligence. "Famous Music Version",
"Satellite TV Version" The last three notes of the 7th bar on the right hand side of the score are "e1-c2-b1" (Example 1);
"Normal College Version" The last three notes of the 7th bar in the right hand of the "Adult Version" are "d1-c2-b1" (Example 2); at the end of the first theme, the right hand of the "Famous Songs Version" and "Satellite TV Version" is the single note "a1" (For example: bars 23, 61, 91, 105), "Famous Song Version" only has a major sixth harmonic interval composed of the two tones "c1-a1" in the final bar 105; "Normal College Version" and "Adult Version" They are all major sixth harmonic intervals composed of the two tones "c1-a1".
From a harmonic point of view, both versions of the seventh bar are reasonable, but from a musical point of view, "e1-c2" in the seventh bar is a minor sixth and a consonant interval, and the music progression is It appears simple, natural, and friendly; while "d1-c2" is a discordant interval of minor sevenths, and the music progression is slightly tense, novel, and unique; in measure 8, whether the right hand is a single tone or a double tone, it is consistent with the tone of the left hand. It constitutes a complete main triad, indicating the end of the theme music. However, the use of harmonic intervals increases the weight of the triad of the chord, making the music more stable and full, but the fluidity of the music is not good. I think that in The end of the middle paragraph should be best with "single a" to make the music more fluid.
2. In terms of decorative sounds
The main difference is that in the 31st section, there is no "echo" after the "c sound" in the "Satellite TV version" (Example 3), while the other three Both versions have "echoes" (Example 4). It was originally thought to be due to omissions in the formatting of the "Satellite TV version". Later, through comparison of audio data, it was discovered that both situations existed. From the perspective of musical performance, not adding echo is a bit rustic and simple, but adding echo adds to the flow and vitality of the music, and lays a good foundation for the thirty-second note sentence at the end of this paragraph, requiring The performers played dexterously and clearly to express a simple, pure and energetic musical image.
3. Dynamic aspects
Most of Beethoven's works have many dynamic marks and large amplitudes. He often used sudden diminuendo to interrupt the crescendo passages to obtain the music. of tension and drama. The author made a intensity change curve chart based on the representative intensity treatment plans of the "Higher Normal University Version" and "Satellite TV Version" (the number of bars is the abscissa, the intensity level is the ordinate, the thick line is the "National Normal University Version", the thin line is " Satellite TV version") for comparison.
Judging from the general change trend, the intensity changes in the "Satellite TV version" are concise and the contrast between each paragraph is not large, while the intensity changes in the "National Higher Education Normal University Edition" are more delicate and the contrast is greater.
From the perspective of each part, the "Satellite TV Version" processes the first insert part (bars 25-39) into mf, which is stronger than the main part (pp to mp) and has a small change range (Example 5) ), the music appears warm, lively and full of vitality. The "Normal College Edition" treats the first insert as p (Example 6) and is full of changes, making the music softer and more dynamic. In terms of the intensity arrangement of the second episode, the "Satellite TV version" is p-f, while the "Normal College version" is f-p-f. The former is overly natural, while the latter is more conflicting.
On the whole, it seems that the three versions including "Normal College Edition", "Adult Edition" and "Famous Classics Edition" focus more on reflecting the dramatic characteristics of Beethoven's music. However, when listening to the recordings, I found that some performers have processed several versions into the second insert, the most powerful part of the song, and performed it very affectionately and tenderly (such as "Brunde Version"). Starting from the fact that Beethoven was a composer in the classical period and this piece expresses Beethoven's love for his lover, the "Satellite TV version" and the above-mentioned recording interpretation are also reasonable.
4. Connections
The "Satellite TV Version" has simpler markings. In addition to only marking senpre legato (always using legato) at the beginning of the score, there are only a few connections. , there are no detailed tips on the division of musical phrases. The "Normal College Edition" and "Adult Edition" have more detailed connection marks, and the editor's phrase division tips can be seen more clearly. The "Famous Songs Version" is closer to the "Normal College Version", but uses longer connecting lines in the two inserts to make the phrases broader. Czerny (a student of Beethoven) once said that Beethoven generally disliked "non-legato". He believed that in most cases, Beethoven used legato lines where he did not indicate them. Unless: 1. The composer indicates a light tone (leggiermente); 2. A fast accompaniment pattern that contrasts sharply with the legato melody; 3. The music requires a very light timbre. From this point of view, the annotation of "Famous Songs Edition" is more in line with Beethoven's taste.