RED BOAT TROUPES AND CANTONESE ... - University of Georgia

In the composition /libretto creation process, choosing the right word for a matching tone
is important. The word needs to have a natural tone that is close to the pitch in the music.
Otherwise the word “sky” (1 st tone) would sound like “ field” in the 4 th tone, if sung
an octave lower. The following incident may demonstrate how tones are derived. During a visit
to the Qing Wan Cantonese Opera Association of Vancouver in 2003, I heard a gentleman who
is from the Four Yups 106 sing a boun huang in Cantonese. On the last word of the stanza, he
delivered the tone one octave lower that I expected it to be. He sang the word in his native
dialect. Many words in the Four Yups are lower in tone than what is spoken at the city of
Guangzhou. His Cantonese diction was perfect, except for that very last word. For people who
grew up in Guangzhou or Hong Kong, his one octave lower intonation provided a different
meaning to the word.
Local narrative folk songs are usually formulated with certain melodic contours. They
include nam yum (southern tune, which used to be sung by blind singers who tell stories), mok
yu, 107 lung zhou, 108 and others. Siu kuk are made up of known melodies. Siu kuk includes songs
set to Cantonese instrumental music, folk songs of China, Western tunes, movie theme songs,
and arias specially composed for new operas. Some siu kuk have nametags that can be
referenced. Mr. Wong Toa said that siu kuk started to be added to repertoire after the 1930s. 109
It was interesting for me to hear a short passage of London Bridge is Falling Down from a 1950
script.
106 Four counties, Toi San, Hoi Ping, Yan Ping and Sun Wui, are close to each other in the Province of Guangdong
and have different, but closely related Cantonese dialects.
107 This is a popular sing-recite genre popular at the turn of the 20 th century. They were available in small booklets
after printing allowed mass production. Women enjoyed reading these booklets because the poems told expressed
their feelings.
108 The melody is similar in contour to mok yu, except they are sung around dragon boat festival time by people who
beg for money. The singers carry small percussion instruments and add a few strokes after phrases end. Wong Toa
gave me a demonstration by reading a mok yu su (mok yu book) in 2007.
109 Conversation with Wong Toa
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