The Way of the Pipa: Structure and Imagery in Chinese Lute Music

162 Pages·1992·4.16 MB·English

by  John Myers

The Way of the Pipa
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The Way of the Pipa
STRUCTURE AND IMAGERY
IN CHINESE LUTE MUSIC
John Myers
THE KENT STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Kent, Ohio, and London, England
© 1992 by the Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 91-33965
ISBN 0-87338-455-5
Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Myers,
John, 1951— The way of the pipa : structure and imagery in Chinese lute music / John Myers.
p. cm. — (World musics)
Foreword also in Chinese.
Originally presented as the author’s thesis (Ph. D.—University of Maryland at Baltimore, 1987) under title:
A critical study of a 19th century handbook for the Chinese pipa-lute.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Discography: p.
ISBN 0-87338-455-5 (alk. paper)
1. P’ i p’ a music—History and criticism. 2. P’ i p’ a music— Analysis,
appreciation. I. Title. II. Series.
ML1015.P5M9 1992
787.8’2—dc20 91-33965
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.
To Alice
That you would include me
in your indescribable collage of meaning and beauty,
I remain permanently grateful.
Contents
Music Examples
Foreword and Translation
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1 / THE BACKGROUND
1. A General History of the Pipa
2. Chinese Music Aesthetics
Part 2 / THE SEAMLESS CLOTH
3. Musical Structure in the Hua Collection
4. Levels of Structure
5. Folds in the Seamless Cloth
6. Musical Structure in the Xiban
7. Musical Structure of the Daqu
Part 3 / MUSIC AND IMAGERY
8. Patterns of Correspondence
9. Glimpses Beyond
Notes
Glossary
References
Select Discography of Solo Pipa
Index
Music Examples
The following is a list of the music examples found in The Way of the Pipa. The
works are listed in the order of their title number (for example, T64F refers to
section F of the sixty-fourth piece to appear in the Hua Collection, “The Five
Elements of Supreme Ethics”) and are frequently referred to in the text in their
abbreviated form.
Title number Musical Work
T2 “Silk Thread”
T4 “The Phoenix Birds Courting”
T6 “A Cluster of Grapes”
T7 “The Thick Clouds Descend”
T13F “Skirmish”
T13G “Battle Cry”
T16 “Zhaojun’s Lament”
T23 “A Speckled Dove Crosses the River”
T27 “Rain Strikes the Banana Tree”
T35 “The Morning Dew”
T44 “A Thousand Victories”
T45 “Beautiful Spring”
T47 “Endless Waves of Clouds”
T57 “The Bee and the Butterfly Fight Over
Spring”
T61 “The Butterfly Makes Love to the Flower”
T64A “The Stable”
T64F “The Five Elements of Supreme Ethics”
T65E “Transition”
T65H “Small Trumpeting”
T66E “Floating on the Clouds”
T66M “Duel in the Sky”
T67A “Night Moon Over the Island”
T671 “Jade Pagoda of a Thousand Floors”
T68C “Incense and Praise”
T68G “Song of the Yu Mountain Temple Blocks”
Foreword and Translation