Western European and National in Chinese string music: ways of mutual influence

Van Nan' ORCID: 0000-0003-4203-7197 Postgraduate student; Institute of Music, Theater and Choreography; A.I.Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University 197374, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Obvodny Kanal str., entrance 9, sq. 509 747797557@qq.com

China is a country with an ancient and original culture. Music developed in him in its own special ways, unlike any other models. The Silk bamboo palace orchestras, Chinese opera in all its various varieties, and applied music of folk festivals made up a motley, multifaceted picture. However, unfortunately, until the twentieth century there was no systematization and recording of all these monuments, there was no thoroughly developed musical theoretical science. This was the reason for the loss of many works that were transmitted only in the oral tradition. In addition, the wars that devastated the country at the turn of the XIX – XX centuries also led to the loss of some national instruments, manuscripts and other cultural values.

Western music theory, once in China, changed the situation radically. Most of all, it affected chamber genres. The introduction of the methodology of modern composition prompted the composing of new music on a solid folk basis, rethinking the possibilities of a chamber ensemble, and stimulated the search for other ways of writing for musical instruments. Sub–vocal and contrasting polyphony enriched the traditional archaic monody, melodies were clothed with accompaniment - homophonic-harmonic textures, genres of Chinese folk music and architectonic principles developed in the Western European school of composition were assimilated.

The aesthetic features of Chinese traditional music have transformed the technique of violin playing, introduced a lot of various innovations in rhythmic and ladoharmonic terms. For example, the so-called "flexible rhythm", which is not characterized by Western squareness and uniformity, metric asymmetry gives it a special oriental charm and flavor ("Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", "Rich catch of fishermen"). Imitation of the sound of folk instruments – first of all, the erhu – is heard in the use of special types of glissando ("Nostalgia" by Ma Sytsong ^{[1, pp.22-24]}) and vibrato ("Summer Night" by Yang Shanle ^{[2, pp. 22-25; 3, pp. 64; 4, c.138]}).

Chronologically, one of the earliest compositions of Chinese chamber music is considered to be the "String Quartet in D Major" by Xiao Yumei (1884-1940), created around 1915-1916. One of the first professional musicians qualified in Europe, the author of the quartet used the Western model to create it, and his innovation lies in transferring an alien form to the national ladointonal soil.

After that, over half a century of study in Western Europe, the USA and the USSR, Chinese composers composed many masterpieces of chamber music: violin sonatas, works for violin and piano, string trios and quartets, piano string quintets. Among the authors who had the greatest influence on the systematization and further development of compositional skills in China, Xi'an Xinghai, Tang Xiaolin, (1940s), Sang Tong, Wu Zuqiang, Qu Wei, Zhu Jianier, He Zhanhao, Shi Yongkang and Ding Shande should be mentioned. Their creations belong to the early stage of the development of Chinese chamber music, which is characterized by a high degree of borrowing of foreign techniques and techniques in the process of working on works. However, it is undeniable that it was this somewhat formal approach that laid a solid foundation for the further development of compositional thought in the country.

A new wave of Western music swept into China in the 1980s, when the political situation in the country began to favor it. Copying the forms of chamber Western European music was the starting point for creating an original layer of compositions in this direction. In the process of development, these works increasingly departed from the samples, being filled with their own artistic content. There are ways to assimilate two well-established traditions: Western European architectonics and traditional Chinese genres. Whereas at the first stage, only melos and fret were taken from Chinese traditions.

The sensational victory at the Weber International Composition Competition of the Chinese string quartets Tang Dong "Song of the Wind" (1982) and He Xiuntian "Two Hours" (1983) demonstrated not only the ability of Chinese composers to master the genres of Western European music, but also to create original compositions within a given framework. Exotic elements of the Chinese style integrated into the traditional European form ensured the success of Zhou Long's quartets "Qinqu" (1982), Li Xiaoqi's "Border Plug Sketch", Guo Wenjing's "Chuanjiang Narrative" (1981), Zhang Qianyi's "String Quartet in A" (1982) and other works that received awards in various contests.

The creative method, which in Chinese musicology is called Yangwei Zhongyu – "take it or not", penetrated the entire composition process in the twentieth century. The composer is given freedom in the degree of following the Western model: more often it is the external organization of the form, which seems to be the most logical and convenient, since in China, due to the lack of a systematic theory of music, there were serious problems with shaping. But in terms of content, harmony, imagery and programming, there is a deep connection with national traditions. In the late 1980s and early 2000s, China was literally experiencing an explosion of quartet creativity, they were written by Chen Xiaoyong (1986-1987), Mo Wuping "Village Festival" (1987), Jia Daqun "Festival of Springs" (1988), Luo Zhongyong (1995-1997), Hu Xiao "Dramatic Scene" (2008). However, after the foundation of professional composing was laid, the method of direct borrowing of forms and genres from other cultures ceased to meet the needs of Chinese authors and the time came for evolutionary changes.

The next stage of innovation was the adaptation of compositions for Chinese traditional instruments and Western chamber music techniques. The accumulation of experience and the development of foreign techniques not only enriched the national culture of China, but also made one acutely feel the impossibility of accurately copying it in relation to folklore instruments: the pitch, timbre of authentic wind and string instruments, not to mention the methods of sound reproduction, impose requirements on compositions that differ from the Western model, forcing one to search for new forms and genres which correspond to their unique specificity.

In the 1960s, Hu Deng Jiao, a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory, began attempts to overcome the "great unison" of the past by embarking on the path of innovation of the traditional Chinese instrumental ensemble - the quintet of silk strings (erhu, pipa, zhongruan (liuqin), yangqin and guzheng). Having gained Western European experience, Hu Denjiao began to interpret 4 plucked and one bowed (erhu) like a piano quintet. The legato and bright dynamics of erhu are perfectly shaded in this combination with the pizzicato of pipa, liuqin and guzhen, the hammer staccato of yangqin (originating from the Persian dulcimer, according to the percussion-string method of sound production and the sound closest to the piano). The updated "silk strings quintet", after the introduction of new compositional techniques, began to perform polyphonically and harmonically developed compositions based on the frets and melodies of folk art. Thus, without losing, but increasing the charm of Chinese music by mastering new techniques, the natives of the Shanghai Conservatory contributed to the further development of the national school of composition. One of the main landmark events was the solo concert of folk music by Tang Dong, held in the auditorium of the Central Conservatory of Music in April 1985. The concert featured a series of new experimental works, such as "Chinese String Suite", "Nanxiangzi" and "Double Tie", with non-traditional writing techniques, performance techniques and aesthetics. The combination of "foreign for Chinese use" techniques and innovations ensured the success of these creative experiments.

Composer Liu Tianhua's decision to teach the erhu folk solo instrument in colleges and universities can be called truly revolutionary. Previously, it was an instrument accompanying the voice. However, after studying the methods and techniques of playing the violin, Mr. Liu Tianhua began to innovatively combine both techniques and compositional techniques, which allowed him to achieve unprecedented brightness and expressiveness in his compositions for erhu. For the first time, the author demonstrated the achievements of these findings in the composition "Yin in Sickness", based on traditional Chinese folk music and cultural elements in the close integration of violin playing techniques and Western architectonics, opening a new chapter in the development of modern musical creativity of Erhu, continued experiments to expand the arsenal of technical means in the play "Reflection of the Moon in two Sources" ^{[5, pp. 91-93; 6, pp. 5-11]}. The arrangements of violin works using her characteristic playing technique, the principles of shaping when creating music for erhu, have caused her prosperity more than ever before.

Now, in addition to solo pieces, detailed compositions for various ensembles began to appear, even concerts where erhu was given a leading role. Wang Jianming's "Five Rhapsodies", based on the use of folk music materials combined with modern composing techniques, is an amazing fusion of national traditions and innovation.

Borrowing violin techniques for playing the erhu helped expand the range, timbre richness, and technical capabilities. Such violin masterpieces as Paganini's 24 Caprice, Bizet's Fantasia on Carmen Themes and many others were arranged for performance on the erhu. This contributed to the expansion of cultural exchange with other countries.

The technical breakthrough and the interchange of traditions of the East and the West served as the basis for the formation of a new repertoire for both national stringed instruments and the violin. The metrorhythmic organization of the latest Chinese violin music has been enriched: increasingly, the asymmetrical dimensions of traditional songs – 5/8, 7/8 and variable - penetrate there. The ethnic style breathed new life into the composer's work of the Middle Kingdom, updated by Western European education, and the real masterpieces did not take long to wait. Let's list just a few of them: Li Siguang's "Difficult Journey", Ma Sytsong's "Inner Mongolia" and "Tibetan Sound Poetry" ^[7], Ding Zhino and He Zhanghao's "Reflection of the Moon in Two Sources", Zhang Jinping's "Harvest Festival", Chen Gang and He Zhanghao's violin concerto "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai."

At the same time, new genres are emerging in the use of traditional Chinese stringed instruments. A clear square 64-bar structure, a simple two-part form a-b-a1-b1 was chosen by Liu Tianhua for the play "Happy Night" for Erhu Solo (1927). Shu Ban creates a play for erhu "Towards the Light" (1931) in a reprise of the four-part da capo form with a coda. The play for Guzhen "The Year of Qingfeng" by Zhao Yujiai (1950) is written in a simple two-part form with an introduction, the accompaniment is well developed, whereas traditionally only monodic compositions were written for guzhen. This list can go on for a long time. However, along with this, other works appear, the form of which is far from European analogues. But the detailed development of the texture – homophonic-harmonic or sub–vocal - is, after all, the unconditional influence of Western European education. Liu Tianhua's "Birdsong on an Empty Mountain" (1918) for soloist erhu involuntarily evokes associations with similar searches by Olivier Messiaen, his "Catalog of Birds" and other ornithological musical sketches ^[8]. The form is strophic, completely free from foreign influences, the size is variable, the rhythm is exquisitely whimsical. The Autumn Moon in the Han Palace (1929) is similar to it, the through-development of which and the literally verbal turns in rhythm and phrasing characteristic of the Chinese language create a special national charm of the play.

The mutual influence of string music has led to vivid stylistic discoveries. Armed with new theoretical knowledge and practical skills, the composers began to create qualitatively different compositions, close to the Chinese listener in language and understandable to the Western audience in form. This led to a number of spontaneous victories of Chinese string players in composing and performing competitions.

The selfless work of Chinese musicians in the first half of the twentieth century contributed to the recording, preservation, and generalization of the existing cultural heritage of China. Obtaining professional education abroad has helped to summarize the millennial achievements of national music more fully and comprehensively, to collect, classify and creatively rethink this invaluable experience in new compositions ^[9]. Samples of folk music obtained in folklore expeditions were translated into European notation with the help of a special commission and became open for wide study. Systematic musical theoretical education and performing training based on a solid scientific and practical base helped a new generation of Chinese violinists and masters of national music to reach a qualitatively different level of composition and concert practice ^{[10; 11]}.