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The Huqin Family
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2004-9-3 21:53:44
CRIENGLISH.com
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In today's program, we are going to take a look at four kinds of instruments belonging to the Huqin Family—the Jinghu, the Gaohu, the Zhuihu and the Banhu.
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The melody begins with an atmosphere full of happiness. Liberal use of glissando and vibrato emphasizes the unrestrained character of Henan people. The following adagio, slow and elegant, makes for a sharp contrast with the former rhythm. Finally, the melody once more adopts a happy path.
That was Tune of Henan.
Another well-known kind of Huqin is the Banhu, a two-stringed instrument with a thin wooden soundboard. Its tone is loud and sonorous. It has a history of more than 300 years, first appearing during the development of Bangziqiang, the local opera in north China's Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, north China's Hebei Province and east China's Shandong. It is usually performed to the accompaniment of Bangzi, clappers of unequal length and made of jujube wood. The Banhu is mainly popular in northern China.
Now let's listen to a piece of music called My Brother Is Back. This piece was rearranged in 1958 according to the music used in shadow plays, which were popular in districts to the north of Huashan Mountain in Shaanxi Province. The merry melody and enthusiastic drumming usher in a warm welcoming scene. The second section is adagio with a melody that is sweet and agreeable. The third section is a variation on the first section, and the piece finally ends with prominent drum beats.
You have just heard My Brother Is Back.
Well, before we conclude today's program, I'll leave you with another Banhu solo—A Mixture of Music from Mei and Hu Counties. Mei and Hu are two counties in northwest China's Shanxi Province, where a local form of opera known as Mihu is very popular. It mainly includes the traditional stories of "talented scholars and beautiful ladies", who are frequently heroes and heroines from traditional Chinese romances. This piece combines the classic works found in Mihu opera.
With that we come to the end of this week's China Roots. Comments and suggestions for the show are very welcome – you can write us a standard mail to English Service, China Radio International, Beijing, China, or send us an email to chinaroots@crifm.com. You can also logon our website at www.crienglish.com to have an online listen to the program. I'm your host Shen Ting. So long for now.
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Director: Liu Chi