The interaction of traditional Chinese and Western musical instruments in Tang Dong's work as a multicultural dialogue

Litvikh Elena Vyacheslavovna ORCID: 0000-0002-3370-7825 PhD in Art History Associate Professor; Musical Education Department; A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University 191186, Russia, Saint Petersburg, 48 Moika River Embankment street composer.elena@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Lyu Ilei Postgraduate student; Department of Musical Education and Education; A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University 191086, Russia, Saint Petersburg, 48 Moika River Embankment street liuyilei@bk.ru

The synthesis of the cultural traditions of the West and the East is one of the defining features of modern musical art. This trend is very clearly manifested in the work of the outstanding Chinese composer Tang Dong, the author of works of various genres that brought him worldwide fame.

Tang Dong's works are of great interest to musicologists, as evidenced by the works of such authors as J. Amblar ^[1], O. N. Beznisko, Zhou Shiyu ^[2], J. Vazzoler ^[3], S. Kim ^[4], V. O. Petrov ^[5], S. Y. Petrunina ^[6], K. Utc ^[7], Zhu Linji ^[8], V. N. Yunusova ^[9], Yang Lin ^[10], S. Yang ^[11], etc. This research interest is due both to the undoubted artistic value of the composer's works and to the fact that his work reflects many current trends in modern art, including the attraction to the synthesis of various cultural traditions.

Tang Dong is one of those Chinese composers whom researchers attribute to the "New Wave" direction. This trend appeared in China after the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and captured various types of art: painting, music, literature, cinema. The music of this period is characterized by the active development of avant-garde compositional techniques that appeared in the West, combined with the implementation of national traditions in music, and quite ancient layers of Chinese culture ^[12].

The fact that this process took place extremely intensively and fruitfully, apparently, was largely due to counter trends in Western music of the 20th century, namely, the active development of philosophical ideas, religious teachings and musical culture of the East by European and American composers. This interest of Western composers in Eastern culture was one of the consequences of the change of the ideological paradigm in the first decades of the 20th century, which led to a revision of the entire system of artistic means and the very concept of art in general and the work of art in particular. Western composers turned to Eastern culture not only in search of new expressive means, but also (and even more so) in search of philosophical foundations for their own creativity.

Therefore, it is not surprising that since the middle of the XX century, many points of contact have been found between the art of the West and the East. Thus, the researchers note that a significant influence on the work of J. Cage was influenced by Zen Buddhism ^[13]. On the other hand, according to Dai Yu, among the philosophical teachings reflected in Chinese music, the influence of Zen is most strongly felt ^[14] (note 1).

Among the most important ideas of the Western avant-garde, which arose on the basis of interest in Eastern culture and turned out to be close to the creative searches of Chinese composers, perhaps first of all it is necessary to name musical multiculturalism, which became widespread in the 1960s and presupposes the unification within one work of elements borrowed from the cultural traditions of different peoples of the world: the peculiarities of musical language, performing arts practices, verbal texts, etc. (note 2).

Thus, the convergence of Western and Eastern worldviews led in the last third of the 20th century to a hitherto unprecedented expansion of the stylistic framework of sound material that can be used in musical composition. This idea proved to be extremely in demand among Chinese composers who sought to integrate into the global cultural process.

As for Tang Dong, he can be fully considered a bearer of both the Chinese and Western (Euro-American) musical traditions, which is due to the peculiarities of the composer's creative biography. In his youth, Tang Dong worked in the Beijing Opera Company, then entered the Beijing Conservatory, and in 1986, after receiving a scholarship to study at Columbia University, he moved to the United States.

Thus, the composer had the opportunity to deeply study both traditional Chinese musical culture and Western professional music. Therefore, the tendency to combine sound material with a variety of origins in musical composition, which is generally characteristic of postmodern art, turned out to be absolutely organic for Tang Dong.

One of the manifestations of multicultural synthesis in Tang Dong's work is the inclusion of chamber instrumental and symphonic works of Chinese national instruments in the score. It is important to emphasize that this technique is used not only for the sake of timbre diversity, but also performs an important semantic function. Traditional musical instruments, especially the most popular of them, are an important part of the cultural code of the Chinese people, and in the works of Tang Dong this quality is fully revealed.

Let's consider the application of this artistic technique using specific examples. In 1994, Tang Dong wrote Ghost Opera, intended, in accordance with the author's designation of the composition of instruments, for string quartet and pipa together with water, stones, paper and metal – "for string quartet and pipa with water, stone, paper and metal" (note 3). At the same time, if the "water", "stone" and "paper" groups include sounding structures representing these materials in the most raw form, then the "metal" group includes percussion instruments common in China and other Asian countries (gongs, Chinese plates, tam-tam and Tibetan bells).

It can be assumed that in this way the composer, on the one hand, gives a "reference" to the traditional Chinese classification of musical instruments, which is based on the material from which they are made ^[17]. On the other hand, in the "stones" group, he does not use the lithophones common in China (teqing and bianqing), but is limited to four pairs of stones of different shapes. In addition, there are no tools in the Chinese classification, the material for which is paper, and even more so water. However, for the composer, these sound sources (Tan Dong calls them, like metal and stones, "organic materials") are no less important. It is no coincidence that vessels with water, stones and sheets of paper are placed in the score along with well-known and ancient percussion instruments (note 4).

As Dai Yu notes, the composer "models special timbres from noises and gives them the status of the sound of traditional instruments" ^{[16, p. 19]}. Apparently, for Tang Dong, "organic materials" are the personification of the forces of nature and are used by the composer to build connections between man and the world around him. In such a "sacralization of nature", the connection of Tang Dong's creativity with archaic layers of Chinese culture is obviously manifested: thus, according to ancient Chinese shamanic and animalistic cults, animals, plants and even objects "possess a spirit that connects man with the Universe and unites all living beings" ^{[8, p. 118]}.

It should also be noted that, along with the undoubted continuity of Tang Dong's "organic music" in relation to ancient Chinese culture, as well as its connection with folk performing practices (for example, the use of household items in ritual music), this artistic concept has roots in the Western avant-garde: it is enough to recall the abundant use of diverse noises in the works of J. Cage, as well as earlier musical experiments (pieces for specially designed instruments – intonarumori – L. Russolo, works for percussion and noise instruments by E. Varese, etc.). Therefore, the concept of "organic music", apparently, can be considered as a multicultural phenomenon: on the one hand, it can be considered a modern interpretation of some ancient Chinese ideas about the world, on the other hand, the original implementation by the Chinese composer of the idea of the equivalence of musical sound and noise, which appeared in European music at the beginning of the XX century.

An important aspect of the artistic concept Ghost Opera is also a dialogue of various "time layers", in the differentiation of which the difference of timbres plays a significant role. Thus, according to the designation in the score, "organic materials" represent eternity, whereas the string quartet and pipa represent the present, and the borrowed musical material represents the past.

At the same time, the sound composition of each of the time layers is heterogeneous: the "present" is based on a combination of European bowed instruments and Chinese plucked (pipas). In addition, a single-stringed lute (an ethnic instrument used in China and India) occasionally sounds in the work.

"The Past" includes a fragment of the cis-moll prelude from Volume II of J. S. Bach's "Well-tempered Clavier", the Chinese folk song "Little Cabbage", fragments from the play "The Tempest" by W. Shakespeare, shamanic whispers and exclamations, and "eternity" – the sounds of various "organic materials", among which are familiar to percussion instruments, as well as exotic ones (sheets of paper, etc.). At the same time, percussion instruments are distinguished by an Asian (mainly Chinese) flavor, and the use of organic materials, as mentioned above, has roots in both Chinese and Western culture.

Thus, there is a complex cross-interaction of sound material both inside each layer and between them. At the same time, the composer skillfully finds common ground between elements of different cultures and different eras. So, the sound of the pipa can be contrasted with bowed instruments, and almost merge with them – for example, when members of a string quartet play pizzicato (Fig. 1, note 5).

Fig. 1. Tang Dong. Ghost Opera. Part I, bars 43-48.

A quote from Bach's prelude and a Chinese folk song, initially perceived as alien to each other, sound surprisingly harmoniously together in the middle of the third part of the composition. At the same time, the non-conflict nature of such an extraordinary combination is emphasized by the fusion of timbres: both a fragment of Bach's prelude and the song "Little Cabbage" are performed by string quartet instruments (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Tang Dong. Ghost Opera. Part III, bars 8-15.

Avant-garde atonal sounds are juxtaposed in Ghost Opera with a quote from Bach's music and pentatonic Chinese melodies. Fragments from Shakespeare's The Tempest sound in an acutely expressive ceremonial manner. V. O. Petrov calls this Shakespeare's "shamanization", adding that such a technique emphasizes the expressiveness inherent in the text of the English playwright ^[5] (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Tang Dong. Ghost Opera. Part I, bars 22-29.

Thus, a complex, multidimensional interaction of extremely diverse musical material takes place, which demonstrates that even points of contact can be found between elements that are so difficult to match at first glance. Considering that the performance of the "opera" is accompanied by the movement of musicians on the stage (the work belongs to the genre of instrumental theater), the ritual nature of this musical action becomes obvious.

As the composer himself noted, this work reflected the impressions of the ancient shamanic rite of commemoration of the deceased, which in ancient China was called Nuo Opera (nuoxi) and which Tang Dong had the opportunity to observe in his youth. The composer recalled: "During someone's funeral, the whole village turned into madness... Specially trained people cried professionally, ... their shamanic choir played mournful melodies. In Hunan Province, where I grew up, people believed that they would be rewarded after death for their suffering. Death was a “white happiness”, and musical rituals accompanied the deceased to the territory of a new life. At the same time, homemade tools were used: pots and pans, kitchen tools and bells" ^[5].

Apparently, the highly expressive manner of melodic recitation, wordless hissing, exclamations of "yao", the widespread use of the glissando technique, as well as the use of sounds similar to "homemade instruments", which, according to the composer's description, were used during the memorial ritual in Hunan Province, is borrowed from the ancient funeral rite (note 6).

However, the composition of Tang Dong is extremely far from a direct reproduction of the ancient rite. In fact, the composer creates his own ritual, which combines both archaic and cutting-edge worldview ideas. So, on the one hand, Tang Dong was inspired by the ancient Chinese ritual action "nuoxi", during which "shamans communicate with the spirits of the past and the future and establish dialogues between nature and the human soul" ^{[4, pp. 1-2]}. Probably, using the music of the past and instruments close to natural objects, the composer sought to revive this sense of the unity of the world – man and nature, the past and the future.

On the other hand, Tang Dong not only appeals to archaic ideas, but significantly complements this concept with a very relevant and modern aspect of the dialogue of cultures (note 7). Apparently, by weaving diverse national elements (including instrumental timbres of various origins) into the motley fabric of his work, the composer sought to demonstrate the possibility of harmonious coexistence and non-conflict interaction of different cultural traditions. In addition, it can be assumed that music making, interpreted as a kind of ritual, should, according to the author, contribute to the rapprochement of cultures. This idea is quite in the spirit of the traditional Chinese worldview: in ancient China, it was generally recognized that music could have a serious impact on humans, society and nature, as evidenced by studies of Chinese musical theory and practice of music making ^[18].

There are, of course, other options for the interaction of Chinese and Western instruments in Tang Dong's work. For example, in the Concerto for both String Orchestra and Pipa (1999), the dialogue of a traditional Chinese plucked instrument with European representatives of the violin family is embedded in the framework of the Western genre of the concerto with its cyclic structure and the idea of contrasting the soloist and orchestra parts (note 8).

At the same time, it is of particular interest that the musical material of the Concert is borrowed from Ghost Opera: the work is composed of fragments that were performed by the string quartet and pipa in the "Ghost Opera", with the exception of those quotes from Bach's prelude that sound in parts I and II of Ghost Opera and do not counterpoint with the song "Little Cabbage" (note 9).

These fragments were transferred to the concert either unchanged or with minor changes. Their sequence is also preserved, except for the repetition of Pipa's first solo as the end of the concert. Surprisingly, such an "abridged version" of the Ghost Opera musical text sounds completely organic and does not give the impression of artificially composed fragments.

In general, comparing these two works, we can say that the Concerto for String Orchestra and Pipa is a more monolithic fusion of various cultural influences than the "Ghost Opera". Thus, it is noteworthy that the concert reproduces a variant of the harmonious combination of a fragment of Bach's prelude and the Chinese song "Little Cabbage", which sounded in the III part of Ghost Opera, but does not give their contrasting contrast, which takes place in the I part of the opera. Shamanic exclamations are heard less frequently in the Concert and differ in a smaller variety of options. At the same time, the elements of instrumental theater (shouting, stomping, etc.) complement the dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra, but do not turn the genre of the concert into something else.

In this regard, it is appropriate to recall the words of K. Stockhausen about two possible concepts of working with musical material borrowed from different cultures: the method of symbiosis based on the fusion of heterogeneous elements into a single whole, and the collage method in which these elements "collide, bump against each other" ^[19]. In relation to the works of Tang Dong discussed above, it can be said that the Concerto for String Orchestra and Pipa represents rather the concept of symbiosis, whereas the Ghost Opera method as a whole is closer to collage (note 10). At the same time, both works have undoubted artistic persuasiveness (note 11).

Another variant of the dialogue of various cultural traditions is presented in the Crouching Tiger Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (2000), based on the music for the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (note 12). With the exception of percussion, Tang Dong uses European symphony orchestra instruments in this work: flute (viola and piccolo), harp, solo cello and strings (note 13). At the same time, according to P. Monaster, the music of the Crouching Tiger Concerto, written for a classical western orchestra, "is neither classical nor Western" ^[21].

As for the drums, the African drums are the most exotic in this work: the composer includes a tar (frame drum) in the score, which can be replaced by a talking drum in the part of the first drummer, and timpani in the parts of the other drummers. These instruments are used in the III part of the concert, which is subtitled "Silk Road: Encounters" ("Silk Road: meetings").

The African drum is obviously interpreted by the composer as a carrier of the culture of one of the peoples who lived in the territories through which the Silk Road ran, and the dialogue of the tara (or talking drum) and the solo cello, in which the techniques of imitating the sound of the erhu are widely used, most directly expresses the idea of intercultural dialogue. Moreover, this idea is visualized using elements of instrumental theater: according to the composer's instructions, the performer on the African drum should move towards the cellist to the accompaniment of handclaps performed by the other percussionists and the harpist, as well as pizzicato strings (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4. Tan Dong. Crouching Tiger Concerto. Part III, bars 63-67.

In addition, the Chinese timbre flavor is clearly felt in the work. However, in this case, it is due not to the introduction of appropriate instruments into the score, but to the fact that due to the use of a number of special techniques by the composer, the sound of European instruments imitates the sound of Chinese ones. First of all, this applies to the solo cello part, the sound of which in this work is very similar to Erhu's "Chinese violin" (note 14). This effect is achieved through the frequent use of a high register (the modern tuning of the erhu corresponds to the tuning of the middle strings of the violin) and some playing techniques. For example, glissando is very widely used. Moreover, this technique is occasionally used by the string group of the orchestra, which enhances the artistic effect (Fig. 5, note 16).

Fig. 5. Tan Dong. Crouching Tiger Concerto. Part II, bars 36-40.

At the same time, the composer, of course, does not limit himself to imitating the sound of the erhu, but fully uses the rich arsenal of technical capabilities of the cello: he uses double notes and four-tone chords that are not feasible on the erhu due to its design, sonorous pizzicato, pizzicato with his left hand, palm strikes on the strings. Thus, the cello part combines the virtuosity and brilliance of this instrument with an imitation of the gentle, melodious and soft sound of the erhu.

The composer interprets the flute part in much the same way. Thus, the characteristic techniques of playing the Chinese transverse flute are foreshocks, short trills, glissandi in a small range, and rehearsals ^[24]. All these techniques can be found in the flute part of the Crouching Tiger Concerto (Figs. 6 and 7).

Fig. 6. Tan Dong. Crouching Tiger Concerto. Part I, bars 53-57.

Fig. 7. Tan Dong. Crouching Tiger Concerto. Part IV, bars 1-3.

Thus, the timbre of Chinese instruments seems to "shine through" through the timbre of European ones, and their interaction with African drums is reminiscent of intercultural interaction within the Silk Road. Let's not forget that all this takes place within the framework of the European concert genre with its characteristic composition of instruments and characteristic features: the dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra, the cadence of the soloist, the virtuoso character of the solo part (note 17). Thus, in this work, the composer creates an impressive fusion of various cultural traditions, which at the same time differs, perhaps, in even greater stylistic unity than in the Concerto for String Orchestra and pipa.

Conclusions. The analysis allows us to come to the following conclusions:

1. Traditional Chinese instruments in Tang Dong's music appear primarily as carriers of Chinese culture and in this capacity act as subjects of a multicultural dialogue, on which many works by an outstanding Chinese composer are based. The use of Chinese national instruments in Tang Dong's music is not limited to a decorative function, but is closely related to the aesthetic concept of the works.

2. The interaction of instrumental timbres of various origins, which is an integral component of the multicultural concept of Tang Dong's works, is used in his music along with the interaction of other elements of the sound fabric: fret systems, rhythms, musical themes (including borrowed ones), etc.

3. Traditional Chinese instruments in Tang Dong's music can perform various functions: act as characters of an instrumental theater, be members of an ensemble (orchestra), embedding themselves into the framework of classical Western genres (for example, a concert), act as sound images that are reproduced by other instruments.

4. Tang Dong's work uses both main methods of working with musical material borrowed from various cultural traditions: symbiosis and collage. Of particular interest in this regard is the experience of implementing both concepts of multicultural dialogue on the same musical material (Ghost Opera and Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra).

Notes:

1. In Tang Dong's work, researchers note the influence of both Buddhism and Taoism ^[2].

2. A striking example of multiculturalism is the concept of Weltmusik ("Music of the World") by K. Stockhausen, implemented in many works by the German composer ^[15].

3. In Russian-language literature, there are different versions of the translation of the title of this work. In the works of V. O. Petrov, it is called "Ghost Opera" ^[5]. V. N. Yunusova believes that it is more correct to translate the name as "The Spirit of Opera" ^[9]. In Dai Yu's study, the title is translated as "Ghost Drama" ^[16]. Taking into account the artistic features of the work and the grammar of the English language, it seems to us that the translation of "Ghost Opera" or "Ghost Opera" is more convincing.

4. In general, the widespread use of so-called "organic materials" is one of the most important features of Tang Dong's music and is largely due to the influence of ancient Chinese ideas about the world on the composer's work ^[8]. This artistic concept – "organic music" – is one of the most significant innovative finds of Tang Dong and is implemented in such works as "Paper Concert" (Paper Concerto, 2003), "Concert of the Earth" (Earth Concerto, 2009) "Water Passion After St. Matthew" (Water Passion After St. Matthew, 2000) and others. S. Y. Petrunina also points out that the concept of "organic music" can be interpreted both as a concept and as a genre ^[6].

5. Since the members of the instrumental ensemble in Ghost Opera must play different instruments, as well as recite and sing, their parts are indicated in the musical text by numbers: 1 – first violin, 2 – second violin, 3 – viola, 4 – cello, 5 – pipa. In the above fragment, the viola part contrasts in timbre with the parts of the other members of the string quartet and pipa. At the same time, the second violin and cello play pizzicato, and instead of the first violin, a single-stringed lute sounds.

6. V. O. Petrov points out that the thorn is used in a shamanic ritual to summon spirits ^[5]. "Yao" is a Chinese exclamation to scare away evil spirits ^[4]. S. Kim points out that the glissandi often found in a Concert for string orchestra and pipas can be considered an imitation of the manner of singing by Nuo opera performers ^[4]. Considering that the concert is made up of fragments of Ghost Opera, this statement is true for this work too.

7. Interestingly, the multicultural dialogue in Ghost Opera covers both the time layer of the "present" (the interaction of Chinese and European instruments) and the "past" (the comparison of sound material having German, English and Chinese origin), and partly even "eternity" (the use of Asian percussion instruments along with sound structures, related to both Chinese traditional culture and the Western avant-garde).

8. It should be clarified that the composer does not use a three-part structure, which is typical for a classical solo concert, but a four-part structure (like "slow-fast-slow-fast"), which is typical for Baroque concerti grossi.

9. Accordingly, the concert did not include episodes with percussion instruments, "organic materials", recitation and singing.

10. At the same time, Part III of the work is a vivid example of using the symbiosis method.

11. Stockhausen believed that only the symbiosis method was artistically justified. However, works such as Ghost Opera refute this claim.

12. Tang Dong was awarded an Oscar for the music for this film.

13. The music for this film, as an independent instrumental work, also exists in the version of the Concerto for erhu and Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Sonata for Cello and Piano ^[20].

14. The technique of imitating the sound of erhu on the cello is very common in Chinese music. It can be found both in other works of Tang Dong (for example, "Elegy: snow in July") and in other authors ^[22].

15. Various types of glissando are used on the erhu ^[22]. In addition, due to the absence of a neck, the erhu is intonationally less stable than the instruments of the violin family ^[23]. Therefore, the constant use of the glissando technique, characteristic of the performance of cantilevered melodies by a solo cello in Crouching Tiger Concerto, probably imitates this property of the erhu.

16. As N. A. Feofanova notes, "to imitate the folk style, it is necessary to combine sounds with noticeable slow glissando, which are almost always present" ^{[22, p. 34]}. This is exactly the technique used in the given fragment of the score.

17. As a visual accompaniment to the music, E. Lee and D. Shamus created a video sequence including fragments of the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", views of New York and Beijing, etc. ^[21]. However, the inclusion of a video sequence is not a prerequisite for the performance of the Concert.