The tradition of luogu dianzi (percussion classics) and Its signification in contemporary music

Abstract

From the decades around the beginning of the twenty-first century, contemporary Chinese composers' music performed in various concert halls has exhibited a great debt to the expressive power of music gestures from Beijing opera, including the opera tradition's percussion classics (luogu dianzi). In these modern compositions, luogu dianzi are often used as rhythmic topoi, where they are transformed in a variety of ways. This article traces several significant music gestures in Chen Yi and Chen Qigang's works to specific luogu dianzi; briefly describes the music, dramatic and psychological characteristics of these classics in their original context; and observes the different modes of signification in the ways that these percussion classics are put to use.

Keywords:

• Chen Qigang (b.1951)
• Chen Yi (b.1953)
• Chinese Opera
• Percussion
• Rhythm
• Chinese Art Music
• Rhythmic Topoi

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Liu Yue () in Beijing for his encyclopedic knowledge and guidance on percussion music in Beijing opera, without which this article would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the American Council of Learned Societies and National Endowment of the Humanities for affording me time in autumn 2004 to undertake this research.

Notes

[1] According to one of the most comprehensive texts on luogu dianzi, there are about 100 different patterns, but the number would be larger if many variations are taken into consideration (see Zhang et al., 1958).

[2] In Beijing opera, the percussion orchestra is separated from the orchestra of melodic instruments. The percussion orchestra is called ‘wuchang’, meaning literally ‘domain of action or martial movement’. For more discussion on the role of percussion in Beijing opera, see Weng (2006).

[3] The significance of this phenomenon is noted in an earlier study, from a composer's perspective (see Lai, 1982).

[4] For more information on the rise of new-wave Chinese modern composers, see Mittler (1997); Liu (1998); Melvin & Cai (2004).

[5] Personal interview with Guo Wenjing, 24 November 2004, Beijing.

[6] Klein (2005, p. 76). In another discussion, I called for the examination of the temporal simultaneity of multiple traditions in the work of contemporary Chinese composers (Rao, 2000, 2002). See also Lien (2000).

[7] Nevertheless, in many percussion books, ji-ji-feng is notated as duple throughout, perhaps for the convenience of notation. Wang Xieyuan's important contribution is an exception (see Wang, 1988). This simple beat characteristic of ji-ji-feng is also confirmed by a senior luogu performer of Beijing opera, Liu Yue, with whom I consulted.

[8] Clearly Chen Qigang's use of mandolin here references a common expression of the Chinese instrument pipa, and the rhythm here can be read as reflecting that instrument as well. Most likely there are multiple meanings embedded with this gesture, and current analysis will focus on its relation to luogu dianzi.

[9] Su (1076). According to its subtitle, the poem was written on the occasion of the moon festival in the year of bingchen (the 53rd year of the sexagenary cycle).

[10] This discussion is inspired by Michael Klein's analysis of a similar situation in a different context (see Klein, 2005, p. 57).

[11] An analysis of Symphony No. 2 from a rather different angle can be found in Guo (2002). In addition Shi Fan Luogu also has a role in this symphony.