In the long river of art, the art of music is as beautiful as beautiful flowers all over the mountains. The history of China's music culture can be traced back to 8000 years ago. As early as in the slave society, there was a record of primitive folk songs: "Men and women complained, so they sang in chorus. Hungry people sing about their food and laborers sing about their affairs. " These prove and explain that our ancestors created colorful early folk songs very early.
The earliest collection of poems in China (The Book of Songs) and a large number of rap arts similar to the art of songs, such as Chu Ci, Tang Poetry, Song Ci, Yuan Qu and so on, are the sources of Chinese national vocal music.
By the time of Emperor Yao, there were already relatively complete songs, such as Six Generations of Music and Dance. Singing at that time was only a comprehensive art of poetry, music and dance, which could not be completely defined as an art form. It was not until it entered the feudal society and became an artistic activity loved by people throughout the ages that it really became a relatively perfect art.
In this historical process, there have been many professional singers engaged in singing. Such as: Qin Qing, the most outstanding singer and vocal music teacher in the Warring States Period. His songs can spread all over the fields, shake trees and write "Stop the clouds." Another example is Han E, an outstanding female singer during the Warring States Period. Her singing "reverberates around the beam for three days" vividly depicts her superb singing skills and high singing level.
During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, more singing works appeared. For example, Wei Liangfu, the "father of Kunqu Opera" in the Ming Dynasty, and Xu Dachun's Yuefu Biography in the Qing Dynasty, from the literature in the historical development of ancient music in China, we know that China's singing art is mainly based on traditional folk art, opera and folk songs.
The Han Dynasty is a peak of the development of folk songs in China, and the institutional Yuefu, which mastered court music and folk music, appeared, making the singing art professional. There are many popular folk songs, such as Peacock Flying Southeast, Mulan Ci and so on. With the prosperity of North-South trade and cultural exchanges, large-scale song and dance forms appeared in the Tang Dynasty. In Daqu in the Tang Dynasty, there appeared official music institutions, court music institutions and professional opera singing institutions-Liyuan. In the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, a special music institution was set up in the court. It is worth mentioning that during the Qing Dynasty, rap music developed vigorously and sublimated, which made the music form gradually develop to a new historical stage, and folk songs also improved in content and form. Under the direct influence of the May 4th New Culture Movement, China's modern music culture has been truly established and developed, and at the same time it has turned a new page in the history of China's music development. After the May 4th Movement, a large number of groups composed of bourgeois and bourgeois intellectuals engaged in professional music creation emerged. Their works not only reflect the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal spirit of the times, but also represent the progressive thoughts of the people. Xiao's "Problems" and "Commemorating the May 4th National Anthem" have great influence in this respect. Xiao is an outstanding music educator, composer and music theorist in the modern history of China, and the founder of professional music education in China. The music education institution he founded has trained many outstanding vocal talents for our country, such as soprano Yu Yilan and baritone singer Shi Yikui. His vocal music works have played a great role in the development of China's song creation in the future. During the May 4th Movement, under the influence of European artistic song creation, China's artistic song creation flourished. In addition to Xiao, students studying in the United States and German also began to make bold attempts in the creation of China's art songs by using harmony and composition techniques. They integrated the romantic temperament of China literati into the creation of artistic songs, and emerged excellent vocal works such as The River Never Returning and Teach me how to miss him.
War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period is the prosperous period of China's artistic song creation. At this time, composers began to make various attempts in the writing of national style, resulting in a variety of artistic techniques and personality characteristics. Like Zhang's
The rise of art songs in China has promoted the prosperity of vocal music performance. Since the first half of the 20th century, professional vocal music education in China has developed, and various music associations have been established in Beijing and Shanghai. Under the influence of this new situation, Beijing and Shanghai took the lead in establishing Peking University Music Studio, Music Department of Beijing Art Institute, Music Department of Shanghai Art Institute and Music Department of Shanghai University. The establishment of professional vocal music education institutions has trained a large number of singers and vocal music educators for China. For example, four famous vocalists in China: Huang Youkui, Lang, Yu Yishou and Zhou Xiaoyan.
After the founding of New China in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Chinese artistic song creation made a bold attempt in national and folk tones, and achieved remarkable results. These works include Ding Shande's Mara, Liyinghai's Galtai Day, Tatar's Under the Silver Moonlight and Wu Zuqiang's Swallow. There are also some songs that embody the national style, such as Sunrise on the Grassland, Don't Move in February, Song of Wrapping Horses, Dripping Water from the Rock Mouth, etc. In addition, there are some lyric songs in movies, such as Farewell and Night on the Grassland. These works have become the main teaching materials for vocal music teaching in conservatories and normal universities in China, and they are still used in vocal music teaching today.
During the "Cultural Revolution" period, that is, from the late 1960s to the 1970s, Chinese art songs created a solemn and affectionate melody on the basis of national tones. The artistic image is really glorious and free and easy. These works include Song of the Woodcutter, Millennium Cycas Bloom, I Guard the Bridge for the Motherland (I love this blue ocean), Back to Yan 'an, Ode to Beijing, I love Wuzhishan, I love Wanquan River, and Red Star Fight with Me, which developed the later China art songs.
Since 1980s, China's vocal art has developed by leaps and bounds. Excellent vocal educators, such as Yu, Zhou Xiaoyan and Shen Xiang, have formed their own unique teaching style and cultivated many outstanding singers who have won awards in international competitions and have superb singing skills and artistic accomplishment, such as soprano, Di Liebaier and Mo Hong. Mezzo-sopranos Guan Mucun and Liang Ning; Tenors: Cheng Zhi, Zhang Jianyi, Vivienne Liu, etc. Baritone: Liao Changyong, Yuan Chenye, Wu Zheming, etc. It has been recognized by vocal music circles at home and abroad.
After the reform and opening up, China's artistic song creation has its own scale and relatively stable mode in terms of ideas, contents, themes, styles, artistic creativity, composition techniques, harmony texture, ideology and artistry, which has made unremitting exploration and development for the prosperity of China's artistic songs. At the same time, it has promoted the continuous development and perfection of vocal music performance and vocal music teaching in China. In vocal music performance and teaching, we can learn from the successful experience of foreign vocal music teaching, broaden the horizons of vocal music teaching in China, and promote the changes of song creation techniques and styles. There are two styles of song creation: Toast Song, I Love You China, Our Life is Full of Sunshine and In the Field of Hope. These works are not only the crystallization of the creator's thoughts, wisdom and labor, but also the reappearance of the spirit of the times.
With the further communication between China's vocal music teaching and foreign vocal music teaching, it has promoted the development of vocal music teaching in China, and made China musicians actively explore and study the history of vocal music development, vocal music climbing theory, vocal music teaching, singing psychology, linguistics, the second creation, works research, genre and style of vocal music aesthetic singing. Vocal music art has gradually moved from the stage of feeling and experience teaching to a more scientific and complete advanced stage, which has made great contributions to cultivating outstanding vocal music talents.