China News Agency, Beijing, August 8th: When "ancient style" meets modernity, how does Chinese folk music "pop" overseas?
——Interview with Zhao Cong, head of the Central Chinese Orchestra and pipa player
China News Agency reporter Gao Kai
When it comes to traditional music, many people's first impression is of tradition and elegance. Nowadays, this art form has appeared more and more in front of people in a new way.
When "ancient style" meets modern times, in a series of cross-border collisions, more and more listeners at home and abroad have begun to approach and love folk music, boosting the "fire" of folk music overseas.
The Central Chinese Orchestra is a comprehensive national-level folk music performance group with the largest scale and the most complete arts at home and abroad.
Zhao Cong, the head of the orchestra and a famous pipa player, has been devoted to the modern expression of folk music for many years, with the motto of "traversing the past and the present in a snap of your fingers, no matter what and what is free".
The first half of this sentence is in line with her artistic yearning for pipa playing, while the second half represents her understanding of folk music.
China News Agency's "East and West Questions" column recently interviewed Zhao Cong to discuss the essence of Chinese culture contained in traditional folk music, and how this art form can find more modern expressions through innovative integration.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Agency reporter: Compared with other musical instruments, what do you think is the biggest feature and charm of the pipa in artistic performance?
Zhao Cong:
Pipa is known as the king of folk music. This musical instrument has extremely rich expressive power, with more than 60 playing techniques and ever-changing expressions.
Taking the most representative Wenqu and Wuqu as an example, listeners can feel the rippling light boat, the spring breeze, the ripples of the river, and even the fragrance of water and flowers from the chords of the Wenqu "Spring River, Flowers and Moon Night"; In "House of Flying Daggers", you can feel the flames and smoke of the two armies fighting, as well as partial close-ups of swords, lights, swords and shadows, with rich layers and realistic pictures.
From an artistic point of view, the pipa is extremely malleable, whether it is delicate and soft or firm and strong, it can be controlled freely.
China News Service reporter: Pipa, a musical instrument, settled in China along the Silk Road and evolved into its current art form. What is its connection with Chinese cultural characteristics and aesthetics? In recent years, the pipa has also undergone new changes. What do you think of this?
Zhao Cong:
Pipa originated in Persia. From the same source, it evolved into guitar in the West and chose to play various chords. After arriving in China, in the cultural infiltration, Pipa gradually integrated into the roots of oriental aesthetics and became a kind of accord with oriental aesthetics. Chinese-style musical instruments for internal expression, people prefer the charm, and like to express the harmony between man and nature that transcends words.
Compared with the various strengths and weaknesses of chords and the more complex performance, Chinese musical instruments prefer the beauty of the lingering sound, and pay attention to the vivid philosophical mood.
Players explore the different timbres that the pipa can show, and rely on special timbres to inspire the listener's imagination, seek changes in simplicity and timelessness, and stimulate imagination with charm and blank space.
Just like ink landscape, only black and white, but endlessly changing.
Why has the pipa always been loved by everyone for so many years?
An important reason is that the pace of change of the pipa has never stopped, from the method of performance to the expression of the works.
Of course, the premise of all "changes" is the inheritance of aesthetic charm, which is the root of the pipa, that is, the things in the DNA that the pipa inspires listeners to imagine will not change.
"Bounce Pipa Dance" based on the image of "Bounce Pipa" in Cave 112 of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhao Jun
Reporter from China News Agency: As a pipa player, you have visited more than 50 countries and regions in Europe, America, Asia and Oceania to convey the beauty of Chinese folk music to the world. What do you think of the international expression of folk music?
Zhao Cong:
At first, I mainly played traditional repertoire overseas. I really wanted to introduce pure Chinese folk music to the world. As the exchanges became more and more frequent, I began to try the collision and fusion of pipa and contemporary music.
Because I found that in the world music map, traditional music may only account for 15% or less of the total, and the rest of the audience belongs to pop music.
In order to make the pipa more widely loved, I have been learning to understand the international expressions of popular music.
Relatively speaking, Chinese folk music has less harmony and more melody. Western audiences may have some distance from this melody.
If we use the harmony and rhythm of the West as the background color, and add the charm and melody of the East to the creation, it will be easier for foreign audiences to accept.
Folk music goes to the world and has something in common with people's acceptance of food.
Many people start to like Chinese food from fusion dishes with a little westernization, then get used to it and eventually fall in love with authentic Chinese food.
Many times, cross-cultural art appreciation requires a process.
China News Service reporter: Overseas audiences are more likely to accept modern, trendy, cross-border pipa works, or traditional repertoire? Which method of communication is more effective?
Zhao Cong:
In recent years, a lot of folk music works have indeed become popular overseas, and the reasons must be divided into two parts.
On the one hand, China's national instrumental music is truly remarkable, with a cultural heritage spanning thousands of years. The artistic appeal of classic works such as "House of Flying Daggers" has amazed overseas audiences.
On the other hand, many new folk music works have also emerged in China.
For example, the "Flying Sky on the Silk Road" I created is completely symphonic, with the sound of the pipa in it.
This collision between China and the West makes the audience feel the somewhat unfamiliar expression of the pipa in a field they are familiar with.
This is two levels of promotion and dissemination, and the effects are at different levels, all of which are very meaningful.
When I play some traditional classic works, I feel like I'm talking to the ancient ancestors through the strings. The resonance is very magical, very tacit, and very proud; when I play my own works, because it comes from myself and belongs to me The expression of the moment will have the most direct power.
"Music in the East" Zhao Cong and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra symphony concert.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee issued by China News Agency
China News Service reporter: After you became the head of the Central Chinese Orchestra, the orchestra has taken many new actions, such as disseminating folk music through short videos. Why did you try this? In recent years, many folk music performers have tried to do cross-border integration. Can you share your experience?
Zhao Cong:
Focusing on innovation has always been an important tradition of the Central Chinese Orchestra.
The development of the Internet has brought great changes to people's lives. Although stage performances are the main front of the orchestra, the dissemination of folk music through large and small screens is also a very important way.
Since 2019, we have tried to cooperate with short video platforms to launch an event called "The Great Chinese Music". The number of participants quickly exceeded 100 million. Netizens uploaded their own Chinese music works or watched our performances online. , feel the charm of national music.
We will also launch the "Music Map" on the Internet, hoping to combine the original ecological folk music from all over China with the elements of popular music, and show it to audiences at home and abroad in the form of short videos.
Regarding the cross-border fusion of folk music, I always believe that the real fusion is a new creation, not only a collision, but also mutual stimulation and mutual achievement.
For example, the Central Chinese Orchestra has established a chamber orchestra composed of 12 girls, named "Li Ren Xing", and their performances are highly accepted by young people and overseas audiences.
Recently, they cooperated with a German wind orchestra across time and space. The Chinese girl chose the folk music "Raise Your Hijab", and the German orchestra adopted the form of jazz music. The collision and fusion of the two are very brilliant. The charm has jointly completed the youthful and boundless expression.
"Li Ren Xing" performance stills.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee issued by China News Agency
Another cross-border innovation is the first work I recently created, "Sanxingdui·Shenniao", which presents the concept of the metaverse in folk music. This work is a pipa song inspired by Sanxingdui and combined with the concept of metaverse. It shows a new look in it.
This musical work will also be combined with a video work presented by a French contemporary artist with the digital information of the universe of the past decade, the two collide to create a new audiovisual work.
China News Service reporter: What challenges do you think folk music faces on its way to the world? What further plans does the Central Chinese Orchestra have in the future?
Zhao Cong:
I think that compared to performing talents, works face greater challenges.
For a period of time, we studied Western symphony a lot, and many of our creations used Western expressions to write Chinese music.
The works written on this basis have their avant-garde side, but from the root, it is difficult to fit the national musical instruments.
With the continuous development of new achievements in various fields in China, people increasingly cherish the inheritance and promotion of the country's excellent traditional culture.
In addition to continuing to absorb international nutrition, many composers also pay more attention to the exploration of local cultural roots.
Art creation based on the premise of knowing oneself can truly express oneself.
In recent years, many young composers have made useful attempts in this area, and many works use "Pipa's own language".
For the Central Chinese Orchestra, on the one hand, we want to continue the inheritance on the stage and promote the contemporary expression of traditional art; Charm.
"Qingshandu" men's team.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee issued by China News Agency
During this process, we paid special attention to the youthful and international presentation of Chinese traditional music.
In addition to "Li Ren Xing", the orchestra has also created a men's group called "Qing Shan Du". The members are "post-90s" performers. They are cooperating with Mr. Hu Weili, who created the soundtracks of many classic Hong Kong martial arts movies. The spark that attracts young people.
Whether it is "Lirenxing" or "Qingshangdu", their innate oriental temperament and open and confident style of the times are believed to be favored by audiences at home and abroad.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Zhao Cong, Head of the Central Chinese Orchestra; Famous Pipa Player; National First-Class Actor; Director of the 9th Council of the Chinese Musicians Association; Consultant of Peking University Art Troupe; the first visiting art scholar at Stanford University; Funded by the first National Art Fund Composer; Special allowance expert of the State Council; "Famous Cultural Master" and "Four Batches" talents and outstanding academic leader of the Central Propaganda Department.
He has successively published solo albums "Carmen", "Listening to China", "Classic Eternal", "Pipa New Words".
He personally composed the Pipa Concerto "Flying Sky on the Silk Road", the Pipa Concerto "Fu Ji Tian Chang", and the Pipa Suite "Music in the East".