Nanguan (music)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The mouthpiece of the Xiao
flute.
Nanguan (
Chinese:
南管;
pinyin:
nánguǎn;
Pe̍h-ōe-jī:
lâm-im; literally: "southern pipes", also called
nanyin (南音),
nanyue (南樂), or
nanqu (南曲)) is a style of Chinese classical music originating in the southern Chinese province of
Fujian (福建), and is also now highly popular in
Taiwan, particularly
Lukang.
[1]
Fujian is a mountainous coastal
province of China. Its provincial capital is
Fuzhou, while
Quanzhou was a major port in the 7th century CE, the period between the
Sui and
Tang
eras. Situated upon an important maritime trade route, it was a conduit
for elements of distant cultures. The result was what is now known as
nanguan music, which today preserves many archaic features.
It is a genre strongly associated with male-only community amateur musical associations (
quguan
or "song-clubs"), each formerly generally linked to a particular
temple, and is viewed as a polite accomplishment and a worthy social
service, distinct from the world of professional entertainers.
[1] It is typically slow, gentle, delicate and melodic, heterophonic and employing four basic scales.
[2]
Styles and instruments
Nanguan repertory falls into three overlapping styles, called
zui, po and
khiok (
zhi, pu and
qu
in Mandarin), differentiated by the contexts in which they occur, by
their function, the value accorded them by musicians and by their formal
and timbral natures. The
Zui (指) is perceived as the most
"serious" repertoire: it is a purely instrumental suite normally more
than thirty minutes in length, of two to five sections usually, each
section being known as a
cu or
dei ("piece"). Each is
associated with a lyric that alludes to a story but, although this may
denote origins in song or opera, today zui is an important and respected
instrumental repertory. However, the song text significantly eases the
memorising of the piece.
Khiok (曲) is a vocal repertory: two thousand pieces exist in
manuscript. It is lighter and less conservative in repertory and
performance than zui. Most popular pieces today are in a fast common
metre and last around five minutes.
Po (譜) literally means "notation" - these are pieces that have no associated texts and thus must be written down in
gongchepu notation. It is an instrumental style that uses a wider range than zui and that emphasises technical display.
[3]
A nanguan ensemble usually consists of five instruments. The
pie (
muban (木板) or wooden clapper) is usually played by the singer. The other four, known as the
dinxiguan or four higher instruments, are the four-stringed lute (
gibei,
pipa (琵琶) in Mandarin), a three-stringed, fretless, snakeskin-headed long-necked lute that is the ancestor of the Japanese
shamisen, called the
samhen, (
sanxian (三線) in Mandarin), the vertical flute, (
xiao (簫), also called
dongxiao), and a two-stringed "hard-bowed" instrument called the
lihen, slightly differing from the Cantonese
erxian.
Each of the four differs somewhat from the most usual modern form and
so may be called the "nanguan pipa" etc. Each instrument has a fixed
role. The gibei provides a steady rhythmic skeleton, supported by the
samhen. The xiao, meanwhile, supplemented by the lihen, puts "meat on
the bones" with colourful counterpoints.
[3]
These instruments are essential to the genre, while the
eixiguan or four lower instruments are not used in every piece. These are percussion instruments, the chime (
hiangzua), a combined chime and wood block called the
giaolo, a pair of small bells (
xiangjin) and a four-bar xylophone, the
xidei. The transverse flute called the
pin xiao (
dizi in Mandarin) and the oboe-like
aiya or
xiao suona
are sometimes added in outdoor or ceremonial performances. When all six
combine with the basic four, the whole ensemble is called a
zayim or "ten sounds".
[3]
Diaspora
From the 17th century the
Hoklo immigrated from
Fujian to
Taiwan and took with them informal
folk music as well as more ritualized instrumental and
operatic forms taught in amateur clubs, such as
beiguan
and nanguan. Large populations of similar background can also be found
in Malaysia, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Burma,
Thailand and Indonesia, where they are usually referred to as
Hokkien, ("Fujian" in the
Min Nan language). There are two
nanguan associations in
Singapore[4] and formerly there were several in the Philippines:
Tiong-Ho Long-Kun-sia is one that is still active.
Gang-a-tsui and
Han-Tang Yuefu have popularised the
nanguan
ensemble abroad. A Quanzhou Nanguan Music Ensemble was founded in the
early 1960s, and there is a Fuzhou Folk Music Ensemble, founded in 1990.
References
- Wang, Ying-Fen (September 2003). "Amateur Music Clubs and State Intervention: The Case of Nanguan Music in Postwar Taiwan". Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore (141). Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- Wang, Xinxin. "Nanguan Music: Appreciation and Practice (course description)". Graduate Institute of Musicology, National Taiwan University. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010.
- Chou, Chenier. "Nanguan Music". University of Sheffield. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007.
- Koh, Sze Wei (May 30, 2006). "Nan Yin — A Historical Perspective". Save Our Chinese Heritage. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
External links
Video
- Nanguan videos
- Nanguan videos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanguan_%28music%2
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- http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/833866?uid=3738392&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104323447153
The Music of Nanguan - Lin PoChi
The Lâm-koán is called “Nanyin”(南音) in southeastern China and “Nanyue”(南樂)
in southeastern Asia. It used to be popular in locations where the
Minnan language was spoken including Quanzhou and Xiamen. It then came
to Taiwan around the Ming Dynasty and followed the prevalence of
Taiwanese migration communities in southeastern Asia. Lâm-koán’s
current style of singing preserves that of ancient times. It is sung
with the accent of Quanzhou so it is also therefore named “Chôan-Chiu
Hiân-koán”(泉州絃管). Modern Lâm-koán performances have preserved the form of Daqu (大曲) in the Tang Dynasty. The main parts of the ensemble are called “Siau-koán”(簫管) or “Téng-sì-koán”(上四管) meaning “the core four parts” collectively.
 Siau-koán
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When “Téng-sì-koán” plays with “Ē-sì-koán”(下四管, translated as “the peripheral four parts”) and “Ài-á”(噯子), it is called “Sỉp-im”(十音).
Many
scholars argue that the music of Lâm-koán is a “living fossil” of
Chinese music. The fact that the Lâm-koán singer holds the “Phek” to
direct the ensemble has proved that the tradition of “Siang-Ho Ker”(“相和歌”)
of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) still remains. The construction of
instruments (such as Pê, Jī-hiân, Tōng-siau and others) also preserved
Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) styles. Furthermore, titles of
Lâm-koán repertoire are often from poems and names of tunes that already
existed. This living fossil or living tradition of Lâm-koán is still
taught with oral instruction in Taiwan and has a distinct difference
from the Chinese style.
The music aesthetics of Lâm-koán music
found its base from concepts of Chinese literature and Taoism. Music
starts from morality, and in the ensemble the concepts of “Five
elements” (五行) and “Yin and Yang”(陰陽)
are apparent. For example the five parts of Téng-sì-koán (Siau,
Jī-hiân, Sam-hiân, Pê, and Phek) are seated in order and clockwise. The
percussive tone color of Pê and Sam-hiân are strong like “Yang”, and
the linear and continual tone color of Siau and Jī-hiân are soft like
“Yin”. The mixture of the percussive and linear tone colors represents
the complimentary “Yin and Yang”. In the ensemble of Téng-sì-koán and
Ē-sì-koán, the principle ”Metal Controls Wood” (“金木相剋”)
is adopted; therefore, metallic and wooden instruments are played in
alteration. The presentation of music emphasis is not on individual
techniques but the tacit understanding among all parts. Thus, the
Sam-hiân follows the Pê like a shadow, and the Jī-hiân fills in for the
leading instrument Siau which requires occasional breathing. Both
Sam-hiân and Jī-hiân do not surpass their leading parts.
Instrumentation
1. Phek: made of five long pieces of wood, held by the singer who strikes the Phek on every beat to control the tempo.
2. Pê: aka Nanguan Phi-pha, the
leading part of the ensemble. It has a curved-neck like the Tang and
Song Phi-pha, but unlike the modern Phi-pha, it is played horizontal. It
has four bars and ten frets on the fingerboard with four strings tuned
d-g-a-d1 (工、士、下、工）.
3. Sam-hiân: its resonance box
is covered with snake skin on both sides. Unlike Pê its neck has no
frets. Its three strings are tuned A-d-a (下、工、一). Its fingerings are the same as those of Pê’s and sounds an octave lower than Pê.
4. Jī-hiân: The Jī-hiân stick
is made from bamboo and usually has 13 nodes. One must follow certain
strict rules when selecting the bamboo material for Jī-hiân. The
resonant box is made from the root of the Pandan (Nâ-tâo) tree. Its
pegs are on the same side as the strings. The strings are silk and tuned
to g- d1(士、工). Its bow is soft.
5. Siau: It is made from the root of bamboo. It has 10 flats and 9 nodes within the length of 1 “meter” and 8 “inch” of Tang (唐制一尺八寸, about 54 cm). The lowest pitch is d1 (「工」).
6. Híun-tsóan:
A tiny gong hung from a small bamboo frame and struck with a small
padded mallet. Its rhythm is basically the same as that of Pê except
that it rests on the beats that the Phek strikes（金木相剋）.
7. Sì-tè: also called “Sì -pó”,
meaning “four treasures”. The Sì-tè player holds two clappers in each
hand. It plays quickly and in vibration to reflect the Pê’s tremolo or
strikes once to reflect the Phek’s beat. The tacit part of its rhythm is
the same as that of Pê’s.
8. Siang-im: Also named “Siang-tseng” or “Siang-lêng”, the player avoids playing on the beat.
9. Kiò-lô: Consisting of a small gong and a temple block. The gong is usually played one-half beat after the Híun-tsóan, and the temple block usually falls on the downbeats.
10. Aì-á: A small Sōna, also
called “giok-aì”. It appears in the “Sip- im” ensemble. It is never
played in a loud dynamic but “sings” softly as a person does when
singing Lâm-koán.
The Lâm-koán music is divided into “Tsuín” (指), “Kheh” (曲) and “Phóo” (譜). “Tsuín” and “Kheh” both have lyrics; however, the lyrics of “Tsuín”
are only for the purpose of memorizing the music and not sung in
performances. “Kheh” is the center part of all activities in Lâm-koán.
“Phóo” is purely instrumental. In a concert, the music must follow the
order of “Starting with Tsuín”, “Into Kheh”, and “Ending with Phóo” (起指、落曲、煞譜).
 "Phóo"
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 "Kheh"
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© TNUA School of Music Department of Traditional Music | TEL: 02-2893-8247 | FAX: 02-2893-8748 http://trd-music.tnua.edu.tw/en/intro/c.html
Taiwan Journey Part One: Nanguan Music with Wu Hsin-fei
https://vimeo.com/13859136 This performance is amazing!
http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=326&Itemid=175
| Wang Xinxin infuses ancient nanguan music with fresh energy |
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28 August 2007 |
Wang Xinxin (王心心) is a contemporary nanguan musician
extraordinaire. She began to study nanguan, literally "southern pipe"
music, at the age of four. Years of practice and her devout commitment
to the arduous discipline have endowed Wang's music with a lyrical
precision and graceful, melodious rendering, earning her critical
acclaim at the Golden Tripod Awards and Golden Melody Awards. Wang
inherited the mantle of nanguan virtuoso and is expert at all three
kinds of nanguan repertory: zhi, pu and qu (or Da Qu) and various
instruments in the nanguan ensemble. She is particularly adept at the
semi-vocal semi-instrumental repertory –qu–or "kio" in Fujian vernacular. The artist has long been a champion of vigorously promoting the nanguan art.
Nanguan music originates form China's Fujian Province and
dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It was bought to Taiwan by
Fujianese immigrants in the 16th century. It is usually made up of a
core ensemble of five traditional instruments.
Wang was born and raised in Quanzhou, Fujian Province in
China, the birthplace of nanyin (literally, southern sound, the term
usually given to the nanguan genre in Fujian). In 1984, she was admitted
to the esteemed nanguan training institute of the Fujian Art School
(福建藝術學校), topping all examinees in the technique category. She graduated
magna cum laude, and was immediately signed up by the Nanyin Ensemble
(南音樂團) in Quangzhou City in Fujian. During her enrollment in school and
her stint in the Ensemble, Wang won third place in China's "National
Folk Art Forms Literally New Repertory Award", the "Tongmei Cup" (通美盃)
National Cassette Tape Silver Medal, Excellence Vocal Performance Award,
the East China, Six-Province "Red Light Cup" (紅燈盃) Melody Award, and
third place in the "Fujian Nanyin Broadcasting Screening Contest."
(福建南音廣播大選賽).
In 1992, Wang relocated and took up permanent residence in
Taiwan, and was appointed music director and principal musician at the
internationally celebrated Han Tang Yuefu Music Ensemble (漢唐樂府).
She traveled with the Ensemble to eminent universities, institutions,
and major art festivals around the world to regale international
audiences with this ancient music form. Three years later, Wang again
earned the Vocal Excellence Award at the Golden Tripod Awards (金鼎獎)
organized by Taiwan's Government Information Office under the Executive
Yuan, and won the Best Album of the Year Recognition at the Golden
Melody Award with song, "Thoughts of a Quiet Night in Tang Poetry Nanyin
Version" (唐詩南管新唱─靜夜思).
Wang's performances have been described as lyrically precise
in acoustic fidelity, gracefully mellifluent, melodiously profound, and
deeply moving so that they strike an emotional chord in her audience;
they are also rich in purity and strength. Particularly rare and
commendable is that Wang, an extremely seasoned music instructor, is
intuitively in tune with the need of amateur nanguan learners who wish
to study the art. She creates clear, systematic methods of teaching that
guide the students through different levels of difficulty, assisting
them in commanding the knowledge of the art. She is a veritable gem in
Taiwan's nanguan music field, and a respected pedagogy researcher.
In 2002, Wang set up the Xin Xin Nanguan Ensemble (心心南管樂坊).
Her primary goal was to pass on and promote nanguan music legacies. But
it was not until April, 2007, that she finally located a permanent site
for her beloved music troupe. The Ensemble is now nestled in the New
Nanguan Music Pavilion Building in one of Taipei City's premium
districts on Renai Road, Section 4, known as the Wooded Avenue; the
building is comfortably furnished and surrounded by thick foliage. On 28
April, the Ensemble kicked off a series of cultural events to mark the
inauguration of the art season, with art maestros from Taiwan and
overseas to grace the occasion.
Xin Xin Nanguan Ensemble is oriented around the preservation
and promotion of the melodically gentle and delicate nanguan music, to
cultivate in nanguan students a free, insouciant and composed character,
an upright, modest heart; and a magnanimous, open-minded spirit in
keeping with the principles of harmony and integrity. Xinxin Nanguan
Ensemble is a lot more than a music group - it has pledged to
develop the culture of nanguan music in Taiwan by means of nanguan
curricula planning and a sound teachers' training program, in hopes of
inseminating the seeds of this beautiful ancient music form in the
contemporary surroundings; the Ensemble playfully envisions that the
gentleness and high-mindedness in the traditional music spirit will be
honored and upheld in order to tone down the impetuous, blundering
ambience of our time.
Wang once said: "Nanguan is my lullaby." As a prominent
contemporary musician, Wang's statement hits the mark in portraying her
profound rapport with nanguan music. Her performances always radiate an
unspeakable, bewitching quality; it is as if the time and space have
become completely frozen in a faraway era.
Wang's stage name in China used to be "Wang Axin" (王阿心). The
Xinxin Nanguan Ensemble is her namesake; moreover, it represents her
thoughts about this music form. "To me, nanguan is all about the
gathering of people with the same heart, and they lay their hearts bare
to one another as they play," she says. The Chinese character for the
word xin repeated twice in the name of the ensemble means "heart" in Chinese.
Wang hopes that every nanguan music student will
wholeheartedly embrace the art and their own life with utmost
earnestness, and that all hearts and feelings will be in perfect
communion when the students perform together. She said that this is the
only path to achieving that transcendent joy "as we play in unison – and
in kindred spirit."
Raised in Quanzhou, the birthplace of Nanguan, Wang began to learn pipa
(the Chinese lute with a pear-shaped body) at a very young age. Her
prolonged immersion in music has intricately entwined her life with
nanguan. After marrying her Taiwanese husband over a decade ago, she has
served in music directorship at Han Tang Yuefu Music Ensemble and
taught nanguan music in a number of colleges. But more often than ever
Wang's energy is spent on pondering the future of nanguan music – what
she should do to usher this thousand-year-old art form into modern life.
Wang had the privilege to work with Joy Luo (羅曼菲), an
eminent dancer who passed away last year (2006). The duo married the
ancient nanguan art to modern dance and created new dynamics with this
eclectic, artistic fusion. Wang also attempted singing the Tang poetry
with the qu repertory and garnered a Golden Tripod Award. Wang has a lot
of performance experiences under her belt; her graceful silhouette has
garnished many art festivals in Europe. French Baroque Cellist Franck
Bernede went out of his way to come to Taiwan just for a chance to work
with Wang.
To Wang, nanguan is so much more than a living musical
fossil. She say that all the conceivable hardships she has endured in
establishing the Ensemble, is actually a beautiful translation of her
driven sense of obligation to innovate, and systematically pass on the
nanguan music heritage.
Written by Perry Hsieh
for culture.tw
Translated by Shannon Hu
Photos courtesy of Xin Xin Nanguan Ensemble
For a detailed English explanation about nanguan music see the UK's Sheffield University, Department of Music page.
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http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=243&Itemid=157
Nanguan’s reluctant innovator
Wang Xinxin, lauded as one of the foremost practitioners
of nanguan music, is receiving international recognition with concert
and lecture tour of Europe
By Ian Bartholomew / Staff reporter
The many faces of Wang Xinxin.
Photo Courtesy of Xinxin Nanguan Ensemble
Nanguan (南管), an ancient style of Chinese music that has seen a
gradual revival over the last couple of decades, is about simplicity —
the kind of simplicity that can only be achieved by a lifetime of
dedication. Wang Xinxin (王心心), the founder of the Xinxin Nanguan
Ensemble (心心南管樂坊), has established herself as one of the foremost
exponents of nanguan music on the contemporary scene, and her
achievements are being given international scholarly recognition in a
concert and lecture tour to Paris, Lisbon and Heidelberg later this
week.
The origins of nanguan are lost in the mists of time, but by
the end of the first millennium, it was already associated with China’s
southern province of Fujian, particularly to the then prosperous port
of Quanzhou (泉州). The word nanguan translates as “southern pipes,” and
its primary development has been in the form of chamber music, usually a
quartet, sometimes with vocal accompaniment. It is particularly known
for its extremely slow thematic exposition, a feature that has made it a
hard sell to contemporary audiences.
Wang’s love of nanguan’s
almost meditative simplicity is at odds with her role as a performing
artist in contemporary Taiwan. Nanguan’s roots in amateur musical
associations in which musicians performed primarily for their own
pleasure have created obstacles for its development as a public
entertainment. Taiwan’s Han Tang Yuefu (漢唐樂府), one of the first groups
to develop nanguan as a theater event, derives much of its impact from
creating lavish visual settings that provide a feast for the eyes when
the slow pace of the music leaves audiences floundering.
Wang, a
Quanzhou native and former member of Han Tang Yuefu, established her own
company in 2002 to pursue a different vision. Her productions are not
without theatrical elements, for as she admitted — with regret — this is
the only way nanguan can survive as a performance art in the modern
world.
Speaking of the art of nanguan singing, Wang said “the performer
should not respond to any of the emotions expressed in the lyrics.
Everything is expressed through tone, timbre, and other aspects of
musical expression. Every hint of theatricality should be banished. In
nanguan, we talk about going to ‘hear’ a show, not to ‘see’ a show. Many
people at a nanguan performance may even sit there with their eyes
closed, their bodies moving trancelike with the music.”
The stage effects and narrative links in Wang’s shows are intended to provide a doorway into the music.
“We
try to create a meditative atmosphere through our stage settings. In
some respects, you might almost say it adds to a performance. It sets
the mood for the audience; the visual elements aim to sooth and calm
their emotions before the music begins. If they had to get straight into
the music, for modern audiences, this would be very difficult,” Wang
said.
Wang’s main interests are in fusing nanguan with classic
Chinese poetry, adding to the music’s already heavily literary
associations, especially with the great romantic tales of Chinese
literature (which almost invariably end in tragedy). She is also
interested in exploring musical possibilities in combination with other
instruments. In the case of her current tour, she has joined together
with guqin (古琴) master Huang Chin-hsin (黃勤心). The combination of nanguan
music and guqin is a radical departure from tradition, though perhaps
not particularly obvious to outsiders.
Wang sees herself very much as an innovator, and sees plenty of
potential for innovation from within the Chinese tradition, a refreshing
change from the monotonous refrain about East-West fusion that
dominates Taiwan’s arts establishment and seems to be the key to
government funding.
Still, Wang has not completely escaped the
need to conform to contemporary cultural dogma, and has ventured into
collaborations with multimedia. As a professional company, the demand
for visual stimulation is ineluctable. Costumes, projected backgrounds,
stage sets and narrative links have all been included in some of Wang’s
shows. “What people don’t always understand is that things that seem
simple, such as a group of musicians playing music in a bare performance
space, takes years of dedication and also costs money,” she said.
Although
Wang has proved reasonably successful in accessing the limited
government funds and somewhat more generous corporate sponsorship
available, there is a sense of regret that nanguan needs to become such a
circus. Wang has established monthly small venue performances at her
studio and at the Taipei’s Dadaocheng Theater (大稻埕戲苑), where her
stripped down style of nanguan is given a regular airing.
Wang’s unwavering focus on the more abstruse appeal of music over showy
oriental exoticism has kept the Xinxin Nanguan Ensemble small, but it
has won considerable respect from curators of international arts
festivals, particularly in Europe. On her current tour, Wang will speak
at the Sorbonne in Paris (Sept. 14) and at the Maison des Cultures du
Monde (Sept. 15) about preserving cultural traditions in a contemporary
context, and perform at the Orient Museum in Lisbon (Sept. 17), the
Musee Guimet in Paris(Sept. 25) and the French Senate House in Paris
(Sept. 26).
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2012/09/10/2003542387/1
Nanguan music is important in the areas that worship Chen Jinggu.
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