- Xiao Diao from the Canal Towns in South of the Yangtze River
Xiao Diao is usually performed for practical needs during daily life, such as the childhood songs, lullabies, selling tunes, and singing tunes in rituals and ceremonies. The lyrics of folk tunes are typically descriptive, and the sound of the singing is delicate and tuneful, with a simple elegance. The gentle and lyrical style represents the personality of the residents from these towns in southern China.
Jasmine Flower
Singer: Song Zuying
2. Three editions of Butterfly lover （梁祝）
- Folk Song
- Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto
- Butterfly Lovers ErHu Concerto
2. The Northern Hao Zi from the Chinese Northern Plain
The folk songs of the northern plains area have a consistent, resilient, passionate, and sorrowful manner that is reflected in lyrics. Meanwhile, the songs also have a pioneering and optimistic attitude. For example, Hao Zi is a traditional folk song that is sung and made by workers on Yellow River boats. These workers have to use all their strength to hold the tool. The folk tune that they sing during their work is helpful for them to keep up a good performance or coordinate with other people.
Usually they yell loudly with simple descriptive lyrics, and when workers join forces to move the boat, they must release the air out of their lungs to protect their organs. The short “Hei!” and “Ha!” accents burst out of the music alternately, and the rhythm and pulse is straightforward with energy.
- Prelude: The Song of the Yellow River Boatmen (黄河船夫曲)
3. The Northwest Xintianyou and the wild character
Xintianyou is the typical genre of folk music, which has a contrasting style compared to Xiao Diao from the Canal Towns in South of the Yangtze. For example, Lan Huahua is the most famous Northwest folk music. The high range of the pitch with extended shape of the phrase make this piece stunning.
4. Shan Ge and Dance Music of Southwest Plateau Style
- Shan Ge often refers to a folk music form that allows working people to openly express their emotions. Traditional Shan Ge contain themes of love and suffering. Shan Ge is frequently performed outside. The lyrics are primarily improvised, the music is loud and high-pitched, the rhythm is free and extended. Folk song lyrics exhibit the qualities of straightforward passion, audacious imagination, and clever imagery, which are colorful and moving. For example, the most famous Shan Ge of YunNan Province is Flowing Stream. The parallel phrases have alternating dynamics and pitch which create an echo effect, illustrating the vivid sound features of the mountain area.
- Dance music also establishes the distinctive music features of the Southwest plateau region especially in the Tibetan nationality residence area. Such as XianZi Dance. The Xianzi dance is very popular in Tibetan communities of Southwest China, such as in Sichuan, Yunnan, and other regions. Xianzi dance is usually accompanied with instrument playing and singing together. People congregate and dance in a circle at parties, weddings, and other events. XianZi is a Tibetan stringed instrument, usually played by a male musician, who accompanies the lead dancer while she is singing and dancing. The posture and motions of the dance include shaking the long sleeves of her traditional costume openly and gracefully with both hands.
5.Urtiin duu and the NorthSteppe Landmark
“Urtiin duu” is one of the most significant types of the folk song in the Inner Mongolia area, which belongs to the Northern part of China as a Steppe landmark. Urtiin duu is a sacred form of expression that is connected to significant events and holidays, and it has a special place in Mongolian society. “The Urtiin duu is a lyrical chant, which is characterized by an abundance of ornamentation, falsetto, an extremely wide vocal range and a free compositional form”. Even though the melody of the folk tune might have been changed recently between the inner Mongolian region of China and the country of Mongolia because of some political issues, the same ancestral history and geographical living environment illustrate the similarity of the folk music style. The traditional folk tune from both these two areas have the same lyrics or even the same melody. Urtiin duu has a rising melody, which is slow and steady.
An interview of Urtiin due ( Long song) singer and her performance
Chinese Mongolian Long Tune Folk Song – Small Yellow Horse
6.Exotic and colorful style of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
The folk music of the Xinjiang area contains various tonality and musical elements, and it is mainly influenced by three major systems: Mongolian, Iranian and European music systems. The Twelve Mukams are a product of the Uygur people which over a long historical period they gradually amalgamated and developed from inheriting the music of Kuqa and absorbing outside art. Twelve Mukams is a large-scale form of Uygur traditional classical music that mixes songs, poems, music, dance, singing, and playing. It uses various art forms such as music, literature, dance, and drama to express the colorful life and emotional character of the Uyghur people. The melodic line of XinJiang folk song is beautiful, combined with symmetrical structure and rhythmic patterns. And the dance music contains lively and excited moods with syncopated rhythmic patterns. Furthermore, the Tajik and Kazakh folk song harmony system indicated a diverse harmony styles. In addition to the pentatonic scale, major and minor diatonic modes are also present in folk music. For example, the most famous folk music from Kazakh people of the XinJiang area is Mayila. The lively dance music style with well organized phrase structure and the beautiful melody with exotic harmonic style are features that make this folk tune well-known.
Why Are the Flowers So Red- Violin solo edition
Why Are the Flowers So Red- English translation edition