Anybody interested in Chinese traditional music?

[LiYuanXi]

Hello, everybody! I just joined this forum yesterday. It seems like an interesting place to learn more about Chinese language and Chinese culture. I am a big fan of Li Yuan Xi and Kun Qu, a kind of chinese opera. Besides that i am picking up Nan Yin and Li Yuan Xi over here. Does anybody here happen to like these?

[asharpe]

I enjoy traditional Chinese music quite a lot, but my tastes seem to be more for traditional folk music, rather than opera. I am learning to play xiao, hulusi and dizi, with a major focus on the xiao, so that's the closest I get to kunqu (I believe that xiao is used in that kind of opera -- not so for Beijing Opera).

I'm always open to different kinds of music, though, so if there are some particular pieces of kunqu (or the other sorts you mention; I am unfamiliar with the names) that you'd like to point me to (perhaps on the net), I'd love to listen.

[Quest]

see if you like this one:

http://www.bucuo.net/play.htm?song_id=/new3/nvzi122/10.Wma

(left click only)

listen till the end, I like the ending part very much.

[asharpe]

Thanks! I don't use Windows, though, and the page doesn't work for me. Is it possible you can save the file off and provide a link to the actual file?

[LiYuanXi]

Wow, the piece you posted was great!!!!

The beginning part i believe is the Gu qin. right? I love that. I am now trying to learn gu zheng, it is very difficult.

http://www.kunqu.net/Music.htm

try this kunqu site. The music are great and i like those sang by Zhang Ji Qing. She has the sweetest voice i ever heard.

[LiYuanXi]

Quest, the link you posted. What's the title of the piece?

[Quest]

《紫禁城》by 女子十二乐坊。

still trying to find a direct link...

[Quest]

ok I made a video clip (first concert in Japan) for the song (4MB), you can download it here:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/stormsentinels/12fang.wmv

(copy the link, then left click and lycos will show u an error page, when you are on any lycos.co.uk page, paste the link in the address bar, and hit enter)

it was encoded with 10fps and 100kbps video quality, but overal it's smooth and acceptable.

[asharpe]

Thanks for the video; it's very nice. This is the 12 Girls Band. Oh! I see that you said that earlier. I tend more towards the traditional folk, instead of the fusion of folk instruments with modern rhythms and additional instrumentation, but this was a nice piece. I'm confused, though (a fairly normal state for me). Is this what LiYuanXi was talking about earlier, referencing Nan Yin and Li Yuan Xi?

[asharpe]

LiYuanXi: Thanks for the pointer to kunqu.net site. This is exactly the type of music I like. I picked one at random, 吟赏伴奏（三十五）【寻梦·川拨棹】, and it is quite pretty. It has (at least) dizi, guzheng, erhu, and lusheng, and I think I heard yangqin.

[LiYuanXi]

asharpe, the music the 12 girls band play is not nan yin or li yuan xi. 南音 is a very traditional form of music sang with 泉州话 and 梨园戏 has a history of 800 years is a kind of chinese opera performed with the 南音 music. One of the Tang emperor started a 梨园 in his palace for training musicians and opera artistes. That is where 梨园戏 got its name. Now, in the whole of china, there is only one 梨园 school left and the students intake is decreasing each year, same goes for 昆曲。 昆曲 is listed in the UNESCO under intangible heritage.

[LiYuanXi]

the piece you downloaded, 吟赏伴奏（三十五）【寻梦·川拨棹, note that the lyrics for this 寻梦 and 游园 are written by a famous write name 汤显祖 in the ming dynasty, hence, the lyrics are difficult to understand. At least difficult for me to understand. For example : 则为俺生婵小娟，

拣名门一例、一例里神仙眷。 Anybody know what it means?

Please try 惊梦【山坡羊】伴奏 in Page. I like it very much.

[geek_frappa]

南音 is a very traditional form of music sang with 泉州话 and 梨园戏 has a history of 800 years is a kind of chinese opera performed with the 南音 music.

yes....! something you can hum quietly to yourself when you are having a bad day or when you are just watching the clouds fly by... songs u can hear even when your mp3 player is not working or you don't have access to a CD player ... :-) sometimes these songs can be lifesavers.

[LiYuanXi]

geek_frappa, you heard of Nan Yin before?

[geek_frappa]

yes. the first time, i heard it performance.

now, i hear it in my head sometimes at sunset or sunrise during meditation. :-)

this music form is attractive to me because of the amount of history stored in the sound alone even without the voice. if you close your eyes and listen to a concert, you can imagine yourself in the past, which is a nice escape from the future.

[林彪]

Thanks! I don't use Windows, though, and the page doesn't work for me. Is it possible you can save the file off and provide a link to the actual file?

http://members.lycos.co.uk/stormsentinels/12fang.wmv

[geek_frappa]

http://members.lycos.co.uk/stormsentinels/12fang.wmv

when will this trend of young women performing in groups end?! may i ask? there was a time when a musician didn't have to look like a supermodel.... geez.

.... wait. i might be wrong...

[geek_frappa]

the music is so nice. i forgot what i was talking about...

[LiYuanXi]

Everybody likes to see beautiful things!

geek_frappa, i am glad you like nanyin as nowadays very very few people listen to this. It is hard to gete audience to our performance in Singapore!

[skylee]

LiYuanXi, I have come across this -> The Palace of Eternal Youth 長生殿

I am a bit interested mostly because of the name of the opera being 長生殿, the theme, and the beautiful costumes. But it is a 崑劇 which I know nothing about, and "The opera will be staged in three episodes on three separate evenings" means that one has to spend three evenings on this programme. What do you think?

IIRC I have only seen 崑劇 once. IIRC it was 武松 played by 裴艷玲.