摘要
无伴奏清唱剧《桃花扇》是廖乃雄先生于2008年创作的一部具有独特表现形式的大型声乐作品，其创作初衷是为中央音乐学院音乐教育系的学生编写中国式的合唱教材。但出乎作者意料，这部作品一经上演，它所产生的审美效果已远远超出作为内部教材的合唱作品，而成为当前音乐创作处在无法摆脱种种套路的情况下，
The a cappella oratorio The Peach Blossom Fan,composed by Mr.Liao Naixiong in 2008,is a full-length vocal work with unique means of expression.The initiative of the composer was to write a chorus teaching textbook for students of the Music Education Department of the Central Conservatory of Music.But surprisingly,once the work was presented on stage,its aesthetic effect reached the level far higher than that of the work as unpublished teaching textbook.In my view,it has set a good example for contemporary music compositions which have been struggling to get rid of the fixed prototypes.In fact,the idea of composing an opera for The Peach Blossom Fan may date back to the year of 1951 when Liao was still a college student.Fifty-five years later,in 2006,he happened to watch the Kunqu opera The Peach Blossom Fan in Nanjing,which reminded him of fulfilling his earlier vision.Because of the large scale and high cost for perfor-mance of an opera,he decided to write an a cappella oratorio based on the subject of The Peach Blossom Fan by combining his ideal with the mission of developing chorus teaching materials for the Music Education Department.When the work was completed and staged,we suddenly realized that this composition of a cappella oratorio was after all a historic invention! Oratorio originated from the West,and is often performed with the accompaniment of an orchestra or a piano.Chinese composer Huang Zi used piano accompaniment in his oratorio A Song of Unending Sorrow,while Liao Naixiong composed his own oratorio in the form of a cappella,which reflects his high artistic accomplishments that have gradually been accumulated through many years of hard work on composing.Liao's composition was at first not intended to pursue originality,but it turned out to be a great work of immense creativity,which tells a historical story entirely in the form of vocality.And moreover,this new form of creation has also brought unprecedented aesthetic enjoyment to the audience.When the work was premiered in Beijing,it was performed twice in two concerts,both presented jointly by the Choir of the Music Education Department of the Central Conservatory and the Jiangsu Provincial Opera and Dance Drama Theatre.The first show was at the Concert Hall of the Central Conservatory,only for designated audience while the second one was at the Centennial Hall of Peking University,also serving as the opening concert of the 4th Beijing Modern Music Festival.The two shows were targeted at different audience:the first was for music professionals and students while the latter for ordinary college students and general public.I had the pleasure to enjoy both of the two concerts,which,in spite of the different audiences and locations,both created great sensations.This 80-minutes-long vocal work,being totally subject to human voices for pitch and intonation,is indeed a very difficult one for singers.The audience,whether professional or non-professional,concentrated their attention on the intonation purely out of human voices,and enjoyed great aesthetic appreciation when they were experiencing the perfect pitch and intonation with high accuracy.What is most exciting is that the cast in the play had all excellent control of pitch and harmony,and this played a crucial role in achieving high aesthetic values of the work.This year,on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Music Education Department of the Central Conservatory,the a cappella oratorio The Peach Blossom Fan was performed in seven different shows in the cities of Beijing,Nanjing,Shenzhen,Guangzhou and Wuhan,and made great successes in all of them.The high degree of difficulty,to some extent,represents the aesthetic values of an artistic work.Although there are some simple and easy-to-understand works which contain also rich aesthetic substances,works with complex forms and highly difficult techniques,artistically,may naturally increase the sense of shock that spectators would experience in the process of aesthetic appreciation of an art work.The high difficulty in singing and the technical requirements for performers as reflected in the means of expression of The Peach Blossom Fan inevitably evoked great impact of aesthetic psychology upon the audience.This has not only ignited the audience greatly,but has also enabled them to pursue a higher-level aesthetic appreciation of music.
出处
《人民音乐》
CSSCI
北大核心
2010年第5期7-10,共4页
People’s Music
作者简介
中央音乐学院院长 博士生导师 《人民音乐》杂志主编
