Weekend Concert 29: A Vocal Era Without Music
2007/2/24 15:19:35
During a winter holiday without the slightest hint of winter, wandering among the mountains, treating that chronic ailment for scenery — even without the bright moon and clear breeze, with only an inescapable fog blanketing northern China, there was nothing to complain about. Mountains and waters without mountains and waters still make one languid. A holiday yielding almost nothing — apart from a thousand-word, hundred-rhyme regulated verse on some sorry episodes in China's last century — I wrote fewer than ten Art Songs, with lyrics including: Mu Dan's "Song of Wisdom" written in March 1976, Huang Xiang's "Solo" from 1962, Bei Dao's "Declaration," and Hai Zi's "Offering to the Black Night" written on February 2, 1989.
Art Song composition began for me in my teens. At first, the lyrics were mostly from foreign poetry — Shakespeare, Goethe, and so on. At eighteen, I set Hamlet's famous soliloquy to music; singing it now, it's still just as stirring. I didn't write much with Chinese poets. In my teens, I set poems like "Second Farewell to Cambridge" and other 1920s–1930s verse, but rarely touched contemporary poetry. At that time, everything was done within tonal frameworks, and I always felt that using tonal material for contemporary poetry was a bit too simple. Meanwhile, I wasn't quite sure how to handle vocal lines in atonal music, and China's Art Song composition was basically stuck in its most primitive stage, with virtually nothing to learn from.
Later, I finally developed a method for smoothly transitioning between tonal and atonal according to poetic mood — a method for seamless conversion between tonal and atonal — allowing the expressive capacity and range of the music to extend without limit. From that point on, I could freely handle modern poetry. But then I encountered another temporarily insurmountable difficulty: I couldn't find a suitable voice. The Art Songs this ID writes are all extremely difficult to sing. They require an omnipotent voice — a dramatic voice equally at home from the low range through the middle to the high, and simultaneously the brightest, warmest lyric voice; one that can switch freely between different registers and timbres, transitioning seamlessly from the most lyrical mezza voce to the most dramatic recitative in any register. In this era — a vocal era without music — where do you find such a voice? In fact, this ID has been continuously exploring and training. This ID has always found it baffling: how is it that China's bel canto training has never produced a decent dramatic voice? The streets are full of powerless, affected pseudo-lyric voices. One's own works, in the end, will probably have to be performed by oneself.
In truth, whether male or female voices, history has had some great voices that were so mesmerizing — pity that this era, in China or abroad, no longer possesses them. What this ID finds most insufferable is that commercially hyped so-called Three Tenors — what are they? Compared to Caruso, don't they feel ashamed of themselves? Today's voices: the so-called "dramatic" is all muffled in the cavity or unpleasantly squeezed, while the so-called "lyric" has no power or depth whatsoever. Why is there no voice like Caruso's anymore? Originally a baritone, he ultimately became the greatest tenor of the last century, while also being able to brilliantly perform bass roles. Whether male or female voices — how did all such voices suddenly vanish? A pitiful era, an era of duck-like quacking voices parading the streets propped up by amplification and electronic processing, an era where everyone sings but no one is singing, an era of voices fit only for bed moans.
Now let us listen to the traces that great voice left behind in 1902 and 1903. For having preserved this voice, no matter how many sins recording technology has produced since, all can be pardoned. A recording full of noise, with the accompanying instruments' sounds already distorted and barely remaining — but the great voice, transcending time, transcending time's corrosion, remains as flawless, as radiantly brilliant as ever.
When uploading music I discovered the website had malfunctioned — can't post new files. Can only wait — will supplement tonight or tomorrow. Apologies.
Replies
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán 2007/2/25 13:19:56
Just came online and found that music podcast site still can't upload. Seems the holiday syndrome will continue — can only ask everyone to be patient.
As for those asking how to put music from this ID's podcast into their own articles, it's simple: under each music file there's a player embed code. Click for the trackback notice, copy the player HTML embed code and paste it into your article's source code. However, using the player embed requires registration on that podcast site.
Have social engagements this afternoon, can't upload. Can only swap in new background music for now. Heading out — see everyone tomorrow afternoon after the market closes.
Chán Zhōng Shuō Chán 2007/2/24 15:22:09
When uploading music I discovered the website had malfunctioned — can't post new files. Can only wait — will supplement tonight or tomorrow. Apologies.
Just got back from the mountains, and there are unavoidable social engagements to attend again — gatherings tonight and tomorrow. Can't chat much with everyone.
Heading out first, goodbye.