Erhu Appreciation Shun Zhang

Four Sections of Chinese Orchestra  Bowed string  Plucked string  Woodwinds  Percussions

Bowed Strings  Erhu (d1-a1)  Gaohu (highest-pitched, a1-e2)  Zhonghu (lowest-pitched g-d1 or a-e1)  Jinghu (for Beijing opera)  Banhu  Similar to violin, viola, cello and bass in symphony.

Plucked Strings  This section sets Chinese orchestra apart from symphony orchestra.

Structure of Erhu Neck Tuning Pegs Nut Sound Box Bow Skin

Brief history of Erhu  Before 20 th century: Used for accompaniment only.  Liu Tianhua ( ) developed Erhu to a solo instrument by his 10 pieces of Erhu solo.  1950s-1960s: Many excellent works appeared, including some middle sized works. e.g: Horse Racing. e.g: Horse Racing.  Liu Wenjin: Sanmen Gorge Rhapsody(1961) Erhu and Piano  1970s: Stopped due to political reason  1980s: Large works e.g: Great Wall Capriccio (1982) e.g: Great Wall Capriccio (1982)  1990s-2000s: Modern works with higher skills

Birds Singing in Desolated Mountain  Peaceful prelude  Principal theme, allegretto, repeated once.  Special skill, to play the same note by 3 fingers in turn.  Use open string and glissando to mimic the singing of birds.  Principal theme again.

Moon Reflected on the Second Pond  An representative piece of Erhu  Composed by a blind street performer, A Bing, who had a very complicated life and suffered from poverty, disease and repression from corrupted authorities in the old China (before 1949).  “I should kneel down to listen to it!” — Ozawa Seiji, Japanese Conductor

Horse Racing  A piece with a burning enthusiasm, depicting a horse racing.  Using spiccato to present the pace of horse.  Final spurt!  The racing ends. Erhu mimics the neighing of horses

Flowers Fade and Fly  Preclude by ensemble of Erhu  Principal theme by Erhu solo, accompanied by plucked strings.  More Erhus join to the principal theme  Main theme by plucked string, with a background by Erhu.  Climax by ensemble of the whole orchestra.  Principal theme again by Erhu and plucked string

Great Wall Capriccio 1 st Movement  A glorious prelude  Erhu begins slowly on inner string, with 6/4 rhythm, to play the first 4 sentences. 6/4 rhythm, to play the first 4 sentences.  Switch to outer string, with brighter colour and faster tempo, 4/4 rhythm.  Quicken up the pace to 2/4.  Slow suddenly, beautiful and fantastic.  Quicken up again and become forte.  Peaceful end

Great Wall Capriccio 2 nd Movement  This movement depicts a battle.  Tense prelude  Erhu begins with tension, plays the principal theme on different tunes.  The tension releases after a climax.  This section depicts the battle of cavalry.  Falls quickly from passion to melancholy.  The trumpets play disharmonic chords.  Powerful end.

A Town in Jiangnan  Jiangnan is the southern area of the lower reaches of the river (southern part of China).  Jiangnan is the southern area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze river (southern part of China).  The regional music of this area is called ‘silk and bamboo’, refers to string and wind musical instruments. The style is usually soft and beautiful.  This pretty girl is the first chair Erhu player of Shanghai Chinese Orchestra.

A Tune in Henan  Henan is a province in middle part of China, where Chinese civilization originally generated 3000 years ago.  The humour piece adopts some elements of regional opera.  Many kinds of vibrato and tremolo are used.

Grapes Ripened  This is an Uyghur style piece (northwest part of China)  Uyghur music is close to central Asian music, with characteristic rhythmic patterns.  Piano is used to imitate the rhythm of the ‘hand drum’ in Uyghur.