The violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" was composed by Chen Gang and He He during his study in Shanghai Conservatory of Music. It was made in the winter of 1958 and premiered in Shanghai in May the following year, with Lina Yu as a violin solo. The theme is a well-known folk story, with the tunes in Yue Opera as the material, the symphony and China folk opera music expression techniques are comprehensively adopted, and the layout is carefully conceived according to the plot development, with sonata structure and solo music subtitles. The main contents are "Grass Bridge Becoming sworn", "Anti-marriage between Yingtai and Taiwan" and "become a butterfly at the Grave".
The whole song takes about 26 minutes. First, I talked about the theme of Liang Zhu's love for five minutes, then I had a happy school life, and then I sent it to the 18th National Congress. From ten minutes to the second paragraph, Zhu Yingtai went home and refused to get married. Finally, he cried. The second paragraph is about the same length as the first paragraph, about eleven minutes. The last paragraph is to become a butterfly, which is the theme reappearance.
The tune begins with a few plucked strings and then a flute, which seems to be like being in the clouds, thus opening the curtain, just like falling from the sky, sweeping away the clouds and overlooking the world, and the scene of the characters gradually becomes clear from the obscurity. First of all, the theme is played by the violin, with two long and two short lyrics and an ending sentence, which is long and weak, as if Zhu Yingtai were telling the past beside him. Then repeat the theme in the bass and return to earth.
The orchestra always plays the theme and fully understands it on the spot. Liang Shanbo, the representative of cello, also appeared, and the two of them were affectionate. The big violin and Ming played the theme, and gradually the violin dominated the melody and introduced orchestral music to emphasize again. When the music stopped, the woodwind instrument continued to fall slowly. Violin solo is deeply soothing and introspective, which shows that Zhu Yingtai has doubts about the future, but still firmly believes in himself. Dare to love! The mood is light, the flute is loud, and the cello is dancing, just like a beautiful spring outing in March. Violin shows skill and is absolutely beautiful.
It's good to get together, but there are always differences. After a good mood, it is farewell. Play the theme variation slowly, like a ruthless step, and eventually leave. The big violin duet is closely combined and inseparable. At the end of this passage, the string played the theme of crying for the first time, predicted the end of the tragedy, and constituted the presentation part of the whole song, "Love".
In the second paragraph, the development department has three segments: strong, weak and strong, which mean fast, slow and fast respectively. At first, the orchestral sound like a big wave represented Zhu Fu's opposition. He continued to play a few bars, as if to say: No! No way! Violin is in fierce competition with it, and the conflict between them is gradually rising. Finally, the whole ensemble played the theme of Liang Zhu to show the exposure of love, and waves finally drowned the theme.
The balcony will gently tell the feelings with the violin and listen with the cello. It's the cello's turn to pour out love, and the violin is easygoing. Suddenly, the music turned sharply, and Liang Shanbo died of excessive sadness and despair, using the method of "tight beat and slow singing" in Yue Opera.
On the way to get married, Zhu Yingtai stopped at Liang Shanbo's grave and cried. The violin screamed: Brother Liang! Broken, staccato sad melody, crying, kneeling, and some memento mori. Gradually, the tears opened and the crying stopped. I made up my mind. In the voice of grief and indignation, I plunged into the grave and suddenly burst open, and the music reached its climax at the same time.
The last part of the music is the reappearance part "Becoming a Butterfly". Under the light and elegant strings, the theme of love reappears, and butterfly lovers becomes a pair of butterflies from the grave, flying freely among the flowers and never parting.
The rainbow blooms in Wan Li.
Butterflies in the flowers are in pairs.
Thousands of years cannot be separated from generations.
The Butterfly Lovers
Musical form analysis
(1) Presentation Department
1, Introduction:
Ask before enjoying: Please pay attention. What animals do musical instruments imitate in music? What kind of picture does the melody of this song present in everyone's mind?
(Play "Introduction" music)
Clarity: At first, the introduction part imitates birds' singing to play the melody, and then the oboe shows the beautiful scenery of beautiful spring, birds' singing and flowers' fragrance with a soft and lyrical introduction theme.
2. Main part: (Play "main part" music)
First, the violin plays a poetic theme of love. Next, the cello responds to the lightness and softness of the violin with rich and mellow timbre. Finally, the whole band played the theme of love again, showing Liang Zhu's sincere and pure friendship and deepening mutual affection.
3. Connecting parts and subparts: (Play "Connecting parts and subparts" music)
The connecting part is a tune in sharp contrast to the theme of love. It is a cadenza with free rhythm, which evolved from the development of Yue Opera.
Deputy department:
Question: What is the difference between the rhythm of this part and the previous theme? Imagine from this, which part of Liang Zhu's story is described by this piece of music? Don't answer until you appreciate it.
Qing: the rhythm is clear and cheerful, and skipping rope is used in many places to make the melody lively and swaying. Solos and bands appear alternately, vividly showing Liang Zhu's happy life for three years.
4. Episode: (Play "Episode" music)
This piece of music became an adagio, and the affectionate dialogue between violin and cello reappeared, in which the intermittent tone showed the hesitant and contradictory inner feelings of Zhu Yingtai, a woman disguised as a man. It shows the scene of farewell on the 18th, long pavilion farewell and reluctant to part.
(2) Development Department
This part describes three plots: "resisting marriage", "building meeting", "crying, accusing and throwing graves".
1. "Refuse to marry":
"Brass Tube" plays the cruel theme of feudal forces with severe rhythm and gloomy tone; The rhythm of the Sanban solo stated the grief and panic of Yingtai, and the strong Allegro of the band set off the theme of the solo resolutely opposing feudal forces. These two themes gradually intensified, forming a scene of anti-marriage between Britain and Taiwan. Although the band's full performance once gave people yearning and longing for a happy life, the feudal forces represented by copper pipes gave great pressure.
2. Loutai Club:
Another adagio, the dialogue between violin and piano, moving and sad timbre, vividly shows the mixed feelings when Liang Zhu meets the balcony.
3. "Crying, accusing and throwing graves":
Scattered solos of violins and allegro of bands appear alternately, and the techniques of guiding the Beijing opera and singing the Yue opera are changed, which profoundly shows the bloody and tearful scene of Yingtai accusing feudal ethics at the grave. Finally, gongs and drums roared, and Yingtai rushed to the grave, and the music reached its climax.
(3), copy department
This part mainly describes "becoming a butterfly". The flute plays a soft and colorful melody, which is in harmony with the sliding sound of the harp, bringing people into a mythical fairyland. The solo violin once again played the theme of love, showing that after Liang Zhu died under the oppression of feudal forces, he turned into a pair of butterflies and danced happily and freely among the flowers.
label
This violin concerto, which comprehensively adopts the musical expression techniques of symphony and China national opera, is carefully conceived and laid out according to the development of the plot, placing people's deep sympathy and wishes for the tragic man and woman, and also expressing people's pursuit and yearning for a better life.