Observations from a Film - (Miriam Lang) (PDF ... - East Asian History

TRADITIONAL MUSICIANS IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA167In its avoidance of value judgements about China's musical culture, thefilm presents no easy solutions. It neither pleads for traditional instrumentalmusic to be saved from oblivion nor endorses the dominance of Westernmusic. Interestingly, the incidental music chosen to convey the passing oftime in the film is synthesized and neither distinctly Chinese nor Westernsounding.Since electronic music is not discussed at all in the film, this is ableto provide a suitably neutral background.2. MUSICAL MATERIALThe central melody, composed by the fictional Ou Laoshu and entitled "TheWild Goose Flies in the Cloudy Sky," is first heard played on the gaohu byOu Laoshu himself early in the film. In the traditional manner, ornamentationis not notated in the score; the gaohu player adds his or her own passingnotes and grace notes in the performance. The sharpened fourth degree ofthe scale typical of Cantonese music is likewise not notated; the score readsF-natural (bars 21-22) but what is heard is much closer to F-sharp.Examples from the score by Zhou Xiaoyuanare reproduced below with his permission.Example 1 -Ott Laosbu s melody35II