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People who were in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region last week may still remember the toe-tapping folk songs rearranged
by present-day composers and interpreted by pop bands such as "Black
Leopards," "Made of Yi People," "X Boys,"
"Pretty Babes," and "Tang Dynasty" during the
Nanning International Festival of Folk Songs and Folk Arts.
The festival attracted more than 2000 folk and
pop singers from across the country and more than 150 foreign singers
and dancers from 15 foreign countries including Spain, Belgium,
Austria and the United States.
At the festival, which was launched last year,
the way traditional folk songs were rearranged and sung has evoked
mixed reactions from audiences and musicians.
Some said it was a trend which could endanger
the traditions of Chinese folk songs
While others insisted that the artists had simply
tried to revitalize old Chinese folk songs.
So what is to be the fate of the Chinese folk
song in the 21st century?
Will it decline and die? And if so, what can
be done to bring it new life?
Such questions evoked heated debate during a
recent seminar in Beijing on the future of Chinese folk songs.
The seminar was attended by numerous Chinese
musicians, folk artists and musicologists, and was held before the
opening of the nationwide China Country Singers Singing Competition
2000, which will be held next month.
"By organizing such events, we hope to
raise public awareness of the current situation, regarding Chinese
folk songs," said Luo Li, general manager of the Red Earth
Art Centre, who co-organized the seminar and competition with China
Central Television.
Usually, Chinese songs are divided into three
groups according to the way a song is sung: bel canto, national
and pop, said Wu Yanze, a singer and secretary-general of the Chinese
Musicians Association.
Songs sung in the "national way" are
those with a traditional Chinese flavour but which are usually sung
using Western singing techniques.
They are termed by some musicologists "pseudo-folk
songs."
Folk songs are sung by people who have a musical
gift but have not received professional training. Thus, some musicians
hold that the way these singers sing is improper and unrefined.
"As a result, Chinese folk songs are put
in an awkward position as they cannot find a niche in the classification
system," pointed out Wu.
Over the past few decades, Chinese audiences
have seen, on the TV and in concerts, too many stereotypical folk
singers who sing with a similar singing style and have no artistic
identity of their own, said composer Kai Chuan.
"Being identical in artistic style will
suffocate the development of Chinese folk songs," he said.
Only those who sing songs with their own clear,
personal mark will be remembered as good singers; and only songs
that are distinctive in style will be remembered, and handed down,
as good songs, he said.
That was why, in a singing competition months
ago, Wu gave high marks to a folk song duo who sang a moving song
with untrained voices.
Some people say that the Chinese folk song experienced
its golden age during the 1940s and 1950s. And that it lost its
charm for ordinary people in the 1980s.
Nowadays, traditional folk music predominantly
exist in rural areas.
With the development of small townships and
small cities and the influx of urban culture and Western influence,
original rural culture is disintegrating, said composer Gu Chunyu.
Many young farmers have now taken an interest
in pop singers and their songs.
They listen to pop music on the radio, watch
music videos on TV and go to discos or karaoke bars for entertainment.
They no longer spend time learning the songs
their fathers and grandfathers used to sing.
For example, the sons of the "Shaanxi Folk
Song King," He Yutang, love songs by Madonna.
"It is impossible for a place to maintain
its original flavour after its society has been opened up to the
outside world," said music critic Yan Xiding.
"Modern ways of mass communication increasingly
threatened the existence of folk songs. Any kind of art form goes
through a process of birth, development and decline."
The future of Chinese folk songs has become
a "live or die" question in the eyes of some musicologists.
However, others say this is not the case.
Chinese folk songs are not dying or, even declining.
Instead, they are safe, still growing and transforming as always
occurs in human history, said Li Yarong, a music critic and folk
music enthusiast.
Through investigations, over the past few years,
into various Chinese folk songs in different parts of the country,
she has established her own views on the future of the Chinese folk
song.
"Yes, some old folk songs are dying due
to reasons such as old themes and no longer popular tunes. If some
die, let them die. But some are still alive and thriving - the Chinese
folk song as an art form will never weaken or die," she said.
"Really good folk songs will be remembered
for their simple but beautiful melodies, soul-stirring themes and
easy-to-memorize lyrics. Songs that are forgotten or ignored for
a time may find new life years later as people's tastes change."
Chinese folk songs, or in fact, any folk songs,
should not be seen as static, ossified and immutable, in Li's opinion.
Attempts to inject new energy into traditional
folk songs should be welcomed.
For instance, the Nanning International Festival
of Folk Songs and Folk Arts, which ended last week, contributed
a lot to the development of Chinese folk songs, she said.
Some folk songs sung by pop music bands and
individual singers during the festival included the influences of
Western music.
But opinions about these "distorted"
folk songs, among local people who have a long history of singing
folk songs, is divided.
"Times are changing. People are changing.
They may want to sing both old songs such as 'Xintianyou' originating
from Shaanxi Province or 'Lan-huahua' from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous
Region and Qinghai Province, and new songs, which reflect contemporary
social reality," said veteran composer Zhang Li. "The
existence of any type of art form must have its roots in social
reality."
Nowadays, Chinese audiences have more music
choices.
"People today are tired of the limited
musical pieces that have been handed down from the past. Artists
writing folk music should throw out the old ideas and create something
that has both a traditional flavour and meets the tastes of present-day
audiences," he said.
Folk songs are closely related with the lives
of local people and their customs.
"Folk songs that express the inner feelings
and living situations of today's ordinary people are badly needed.
The crisis of today's Chinese folk songs comes from inside,"
said Jin Zhaojun, a music critic and lyricist.
There is a wave of so-called "New Folk
Music" sweeping through China. These songs catch the temperament
of today's people.
Musicians must leave their studios, which are
filled with state-of-art equipment, and seek inspiration from folk
songs still alive among ordinary people.
They can create their own work with references
to traditional folk music, he said. They should concentrate on keeping
the essence of old Chinese folk music, the cultural gist and not
just its superficial features, Jin pointed out.
(China Daily 11/29/2000)
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