A Conductor's Guide to Lyric Diction in Standard Chinese

Home , Alfred Hui, Bai (surname), Cai (surname), Chang (surname), Chang Yi (actor), Chen (surname)

A Conductor’s Guide to Lyric Diction in Standard Chinese

Yik Ling Elaine Choi

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts

Faculty of Music University of Toronto

A Conductor’s Guide to Lyric Diction in Standard Chinese

Yik Ling Elaine Choi

Doctor of Musical Arts

Faculty of Music University of Toronto

2018

Abstract

Chinese choral music is a relatively recent phenomenon. Within the last century, Chinese conductors and choral ensembles have actively fostered a vibrant choral community.

Furthermore, Chinese composers have taken increasing interest in the choral art, resulting in a growing body of new choral repertoire. Contemporary Chinese choral music adopts western choral approaches such as voice parts (SATB), style (bel canto), harmony and structure, but retains Chinese texts.

In order to introduce Chinese choral art music to English-speaking choirs, conductors must be equipped with good resources to deepen their understanding of the choral culture in China. More importantly, they need supportive materials to help them tackle the challenges of the language.

Currently there are few guides to lyric diction in Standard Chinese for singers and choral conductors. The primary goal of this study is to break down the complexity of the pronunciation of this language, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and Pinyin systems, to provide a helpful guide to conductors in teaching Chinese choral music.

A secondary goal is to introduce choral musicians to contemporary Chinese choral music. In addition to outlining the history of choral music in China, this study also includes analyses of five original compositions written within the last decade, in order to provide examples of original choral works in Standard Chinese written by Chinese composers from different geographical backgrounds: Hong Kong, China, the United States, and Canada. These analyses are supplemented with the composers’ biographies, program notes, and analytical information that may be helpful for pedagogical purposes. Through my research, I seek to champion interest in this sub-genre of music that is otherwise not well known currently in North America, both by providing a guide to teaching lyric diction in Chinese and by promoting original compositions written by modern Chinese composers.

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Acknowledgments

This dissertation would not have been possible without the unwavering support of Dr. Hilary

Apfelstadt. Dr. A, I am extremely thankful for your tireless hard work in supervising and mentoring me in this project, as well as the countless hours of help with proofreading and editing. Thank you, Dr. A., for giving me the strength and confidence to reach the finish line.

I would like to acknowledge committee members Dr. Lori-Anne Dolloff, Dr. Cam Walter, Dr.

Darryl Edwards, and Dr. Gregory Gentry for their guidance and advice. Thank you for your genuine interest in this project.

My thanks are also extended to editor Deb Bradley, transcriber Sean King and diction coach

Jason Nedecky for their invaluable expertise. Thank you to soprano Autumn Zhou for recording of the audio files and to Hong Kong conductor Leon Chu for his help in connecting me with

Chinese choral composers.

I am extremely grateful to my colleagues and the congregants of Timothy Eaton Memorial

Church for their enthusiastic support. I appreciate the opportunity to grow as a better musician and a stronger Christian in this most nurturing environment. A special word of thanks goes to all the choristers and musicians of the choir school, sanctuary choir, and worship band, for giving me an opportunity to continue to make music during this writing process.

I am forever thankful to my parents and my siblings for fostering my love of music over the last three decades. My parents made a life changing decision fifteen years ago to immigrate to

Canada in order for us to receive a more well-rounded education with an opportunity to further our musical studies. I must say, together, we are finally achieving this goal! 多謝您對我的悉心

栽培, 一生受用！

Finally, I must express my deepest appreciation and affection to my husband Noel, for his utmost patience and understanding during this journey. Your love and support mean the world to me, I am grateful to share this joyful moment with you. Ti amo marito mio!

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... VI

LIST OF TABLES ...... IX

LIST OF APPENDICES ...... X

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1.1 Purpose of the Study ...... 3

1.2 Methodology ...... 3

1.3 Organization of the Study ...... 4

1.4 Significance of the Study ...... 5

1.5 Definition of Terms ...... 6

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...... 7

2.1 Choral Music of China ...... 7

2.2 Lyric Diction in Standard Chinese ...... 9

2.3 Language guides accompanying selected repertoire ...... 11

CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF CHORAL MUSIC DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA ...... 17

3.1 Introduction of Christianity and Its Impact on Choral Music ...... 17 3.1.1 Hymns ...... 18

3.2 School Songs Movement (Xue Tang Yin Yue) ...... 20

3.2.1 Emerging composers in early years ...... 21 3.2.2 Summary ...... 26

3.3 Mass Songs (war songs, army songs) ...... 27

3.4 Large-scale Works ...... 27 3.4.1《海韻》 (Haiyun)–– “Song of the Ocean” ...... 28 3.4.2《長恨歌》(Chang Hen Ge)––Song of Everlasting Sorrow ...... 28 3.4.3《黃河大合唱》—Yellow River Cantata ...... 30 3.4.4 Summary ...... 31

3.5 Professional Development in Choral Conducting ...... 31

3.6 Chinese Choral Music in the 21st Century ...... 32

3.7 Musical Characteristics of Chinese Choral Music of the 21st century ...... 33

CHAPTER 4: OVERVIEW OF THE CHINESE LANGUAGE ...... 36

4.1 Standard Chinese ...... 36

4.2 Chinese Writing System ...... 38

4.3 Hànyǔ Pīnyīn: Phonetic System for Standard Chinese ...... 39

CHAPTER 5: SINGING IN STANDARD CHINESE ...... 41

5.1 Choral Diction ...... 41

TABLE 1. A DIAGRAM SUMMARIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF DICTION ...... 41

5.2 International Phonetic Alphabet ...... 42

5.3 Standard Chinese in Choral Singing ...... 42

5.4 Phonology ...... 44

TABLE 2. THE PHONATING PROCESS OF ONE SYLLABLE ...... 45

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5.4.1 Initials: Consonants ...... 46

TABLE 3. CHINESE CONSONANTS BASED ON ORAL PLACEMENT (CHEN, 2007, P 36) ...... 47 5.4.2 Vowels ...... 63 5.4.3 Tones ...... 71

5.5. Summary ...... 72

CHAPTER 6: CHINESE CHORAL MUSIC OF TODAY ...... 74

6.1 Ho, Alice: 靜夜思 “Thoughts on a Still Night” ...... 77

6.2 Pan, Xingzimin: 蒲公英 “Dandelion” ...... 81

6.3. Ng, Cheuk-Yin: Huxi ...... 90

6.4 King, Aaron: 夕燒”The Last of the Summer Sun” ...... 96

6.5 Liu, Xiao-Geng: 七彩云南 Colourful Yunnan ...... 102

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ...... 109

REFERENCES ...... 114

MUSICAL SOURCES ...... 119

APPENDICES ...... 121

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List of Tables

TABLE 1. A DIAGRAM SUMMARIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF DICTION ...... 41

TABLE 2. THE PHONATING PROCESS OF ONE SYLLABLE ...... 45

TABLE 3. CHINESE CONSONANTS BASED ON ORAL PLACEMENT (CHEN, 2007, P 36) ...... 47

List of Appendices

APPENDIX A: IPA CHART FROM HALF MOON RISING (WINZENBURG, 2015, P. X) ...... 121

APPENDIX B: PRONUNCIATION GUIDE DEVELOPED BY ELAINE CHOI ...... 123

APPENDIX C: SOUND FILES FOR EACH MUSICAL SELECTION ...... 128

APPENDIX D: MUSICAL EXAMPLES ...... 129

APPENDIX E: TEACHER’S RESOURCE GUIDE ...... 134

APPENDIX F: PHOTO/VIDEO RELEASE FORM ...... 135

Chapter 1: Introduction

As the world has become increasingly more global, both politically and economically, the last decades of the 20th century have given rise to increased multiculturalism in the arts (Gackle,

2009). From community theatre, street festivals, traditional ethnic music ensembles, and even dance troops, programs incorporating multicultural elements appear to be more diverse and inclusive in the 21st century.

Choral music is no exception to this trend. Within the choral community in North America, there appears to be growing interest in programming music from other cultures, much of it from

Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. I have observed that within recent years, for example, music of Latvian and Estonian composers such as that by Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, and

Ēriks Ešenvalds has become quite popular here in North America. With this rise in popularity, many organizations have promoted new music from other cultures. In 2015, the conductor arts service organization Choirs Ontario hosted workshops and concerts with the Estonian National

Male Choir. In 2017, the Toronto- based music company, Soundstreams, hosted a concert by the

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir.

In schools and community choirs, conductors often program repertoire specifically catering to the students’ cultural backgrounds; thus, concerts include music from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, belief systems, and in multiple languages. Canada enjoys a reputation as a haven for immigrants. The recent increase of Syrian refugees prompted Choirs Ontario to offer a workshop called “Choral Music in the Muslim World” in June 2016, and many conductors

1 2 attended in order to learn more about Arabic music and to acquire resources. This is a positive effort on the part of a professional organization, but there are even larger ethnic groups whose musical needs are not being served.

According to the Statistics Canada Household National Survey of 2011, 56.9% of immigrants to

Canada came from Asia (Statistic Canada, 2011). Chinese is one of the top three visible minority groups in six of Canada’s biggest cities: Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary, Edmonton,

Vancouver and Hamilton. Each of these cities are home to multiple choirs, and school and youth ensembles include many Chinese singers. Yet when I surveyed websites of leading community chamber choirs in each city, such as Vancouver’s Phoenix Chamber Choir, Halifax’s Camerata

Singers and Toronto’s Exultate Chamber Singers, I found no records of Chinese choral works being performed, programmed or recorded.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, I had the privilege to learn at a young age much beautiful choral music written by Chinese composers. I remembered the joy of learning Standard Chinese as a lyric diction through performing this music. My family immigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 2002 when I was a high school student. Since then I have sung in many choral ensembles. Although I have performed choral music in many different languages such as Russian, Swahili, Punjabi,

Zulu, and Portugese, just to name a few, I have yet to sing in Standard Chinese. As a Chinese-

Canadian choral conductor, I make it my mission to introduce and bring awareness of Chinese choral music to the mainstream choral community.

Given the number of Chinese residents in the country, I find the lack of Chinese repertoire surprising. Particularly with singers in school and community youth group, it is important to acknowledge their cultural background. At the Toronto Kiwanis Festival for example, high

3 school and community groups tend to perform Western art music, but there is no Chinese music sung despite the makeup of the groups. Why is this the case?

1.1 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this research is twofold: to introduce Chinese choral art music to conductors without background in this genre, and to produce a Standard Chinese choral diction guide to teaching Standard Chinese texts. The guide will be applicable to choristers and choir directors, and it is my hope to break down the complexity of the presumably challenging Chinese language. More specifically, I will introduce the pinyin system to non-Chinese speakers and relate it to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). IPA is a commonly used tool with which singers interpret oral sounds for foreign languages.

1.2 Methodology

Although there are limited resources on Chinese choral music history and pronunciation guides for Standard Chinese written in English for western readers, there is a growing body of literature published in China dedicated solely to the study of choral music. This literature includes scholarly publications on the development of Chinese choral music in the last few centuries, method books, and collections of repertoire. In this dissertation, I have consulted both English and Chinese references to create a concise overview of the development of Chinese choral music. I have translated from Chinese publications in order to get the most updated overview of the Chinese choral practice of the 21st century. Although a lack of lyric diction guides exists

4 which cover Standard Chinese written for conductors and singers, there is an abundance of phonology text books, YouTube resources, and language method books on the Chinese languages. It was important to gather information from these scattered sources to create a diction guide that is accessible to singers yet retains the authenticity and integrity of the language.

Finally, I have contacted five composers from different demographics within China (and North

America) in order to give a cross section of modern original Chinese choral music. As we are in a digital age with an online platform that makes music sharing extremely accessible simply by a click of a button, composers everywhere in the world are able to learn from one another while developing a musical language unique to their own writing. Chinese choral music has adopted

Western style since the early 20th century. Most of the texts for original compositions by

Chinese composers, however, are in the mother tongue. I have chosen repertoire that is musically accessible to high school and community level ensembles; these choices represent reasonable vocal ranges, use straightforward rhythms, and do not use extended vocal technique. I was also careful to find repertoire that uses universal texts and themes that are understandable by people regardless of their cultures, for example, nature, love, unity.

1.3 Organization of the Study

Chapter 2 of this dissertation begins with a review of the literature on Chinese choral music and lyric diction guides, followed by a review of selected repertoire to show the importance of good editions when sharing Chinese choral music with choristers. Chapter 3 outlines the evolution of

Chinese choral music. Chapter 4 gives a concise introduction to the Chinese language and its application to lyric diction. Chapter 5 is an extensive pronunciation guide geared toward readers

5 who have never sung in Standard Chinese and to those who have previous experience with the language but simply need a review. Unique to this chapter is section 5.4.1.6, which targets sounds foreign to English speakers. Chapter 6 includes musical analyses of five original compositions written in the last decade, in order to promote the dissemination of original

Chinese choral repertoire. In each example, I give a guide to pronouncing the text of these compositions and provide specific instructions on diphthong and triphthong treatments. My goal is to make the music accessible by providing sufficient diction help. The dissertation ends with a summary of the study and recommendations for further research.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Despite a large Chinese population in most major cities around the world, the music and language of China are, in general, still unfamiliar to many North Americans. Henceforth, a primary goal of this dissertation is to increase the knowledge and awareness of Chinese choral music. I aim to create a document with enough supportive materials for conductors and choristers who may be interested in experiencing Chinese choral works, perhaps for the first time. This dissertation, which includes a brief introduction to the choral music history, language, and compositions of China, aims to spark interest in this vast body of works that are currently not well known to mainstream choral ensembles in North America or Europe. For voice students, choir directors, and vocal pedagogues, it is important to have access to relevant pedagogical materials when researching a new singing language.

6 1.5 Definition of Terms

Hànyǔ pīnyīn (henceforth pinyin): Developed and adopted in the People’s Republic of China as the official phonetic transliteration system in the late 1950s, Pinyin uses the Latin alphabet and is the standard transcription for almost all Chinese-speaking communities in the world. Pinyin is used in most Chinese language-teaching materials and reference books, in library catalogues, on road signs, etc. (Wheatley 2015, p. 15) For more information, view section 4.3

Standard Chinese (henceforth SC): is called Putonghua (common speech) in China, Guoyu

(national language) in Taiwan and commonly referred to as Mandarin in English. SC is the official language of China and Taiwan. In 1949, SC was named as Putonghua in the People’s

Republic of China and defined as “the common language of China” (Lin, 2007, p. 2). For more information, see section 4.1 of this dissertation.

Chinese Writing System: “By contrast to the diversity of spoken languages, China has had, for the past two millennia, only one official written language” (Wheatley, 2015, p. 6). Unlike a phonographic writing system such as English, where each letter of the alphabet encodes a phoneme, Chinese writing is a logographic system (Sun, 2006, p. 102). For more information, see section 4.2.

International Phonetic Alphabet (henceforth IPA): is a true phonetic alphabet in which one symbol stands for one sound. IPA symbols are used to transcribe words in foreign languages and is helpful to singers who are required to sing in languages other than their own (Wall, 1989, p.

3). For more information, see section 5.2.

Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature

Chinese choral music is a relatively recent phenomenon. Within the last century, Chinese composers have taken increasing interest in this art form, resulting in a growing body of new choral repertoire. (Huang, 2015) Contemporary Chinese choral music adopts Western choral approaches such as voice parts (SATB), style (bel canto), harmony, and structure, but retains

Standard Chinese texts. To introduce Chinese choral music in North America, one must further his/her overall knowledge of Chinese choral music and have a basic understanding of the choral music culture in China. Furthermore, it is important to have a precise diction guide to help tackle the language challenge. Finally, conductors must have good repertoire to introduce to their ensembles.

2.1 Choral Music of China

China’s new international stature is stimulating interest in all its cultural forms, old and new.

Chinese choral music is a recent yet vibrant addition to these forms. Until a century ago, choral singing was relatively rare in China. Choral music was introduced in the early 1900s through

Western culture and religion (He and Zhu, 2014, p. 6). Today, throughout Chinese communities everywhere, choral music has become an everyday experience in school activities, ceremonies, concerts, and festivals (Tian, 2013, p. 4).

Liu’s book, A Critical History of New Music in China (2010), is an extensive volume targeted for serious scholars of Chinese music and culture. This 1000-page publication includes the

7 8 development of “new music” of all genres in China with detailed history from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of 21st century. Liu traces this development by reflecting on various compositional techniques and examining the effect of social and political forces on various musical styles. Although this book does not focus solely on choral music development, it includes a detailed section on the school songs movement, the beginning of Chinese choral music development in the early 20th century, about which I write in Chapter 3 of this dissertation.

Yip’s (1994) dissertation, The Emergence and Development of Chinese Choral Music in the

Twentieth Century, provides a clear overview of the evolution of choral music in China. Her research includes historical references for multi-voice folk songs in their indigenous forms. Yip provides 12 musical examples illustrating different styles, reflecting on the development stages that Chinese choral music has undergone in the last century. Yip includes five transcriptions, each piece supported by detailed analysis which includes the original scores with added pinyin by authors, pronunciation guides, program notes, and English literal translations. A two-page general pronunciation guide for Mandarin is included in this dissertation. This brief guide only includes basic vowels and the English approximation of difficult consonants. Yip failed to include IPA transcriptions and explanation of diphthong and triphthong treatments in this brief guide. Although this is a well-written document on the development of Chinese choral music, for current readers this 1994 dissertation seems dated. My goal is to provide more relevant repertoire written within the last decade (2007-2017).

Yu’s (2017) DMA dissertation, Finding a Voice: A Closer Look at Chinese Choral Music

Development in the Early Twentieth Century Through Chao Yuan-Ren, Huang Zi And Xian Xing-

Hai provides comprehensive research focused on three significant Chinese choral works, Haiyun

9 (Song of the Ocean), Chang Hen Ge (Song of the Everlasting Sorrow) and the Yellow River

Cantata. The author’s thorough analyses of these three large choral works illustrates that Chinese choral music of today utilizes both Western and Chinese musical elements while highlighting compositional techniques that are unique to Chinese choral music. These three iconic compositions prove that Chinese choral repertoire holds high artistic value.

Although the aforementioned documents include an abundance of information on choral music of China, much of the research is dated. My goal is to build on the historical facts presented in the documents mentioned above and to add current examples of Chinese choral music, especially those with international exposure. I have gathered additional information from various publications written in Chinese. Within the last decade, Chinese music scholars and choral pedagogues have expressed growing interest in sharing their vast knowledge of Chinese choral music and therefore have turned to publishing scholarly articles, method books, and research literature. A variety of these sources are referenced in this document including Tian (2013), He

& Zhu (2014), Ma (2013), Yang (2013), and Zhu (2014). These publications are all written in

Chinese. The only translated publication is He Chang Xue (The Study of Choral Music) by Ma

(2013).

2.2 Lyric Diction in Standard Chinese

In order to introduce Chinese choral music to non-native speakers, one must tackle the challenge of the language, especially pronunciation. It is my goal to break down the complexity of

Mandarin diction and through this document, provide a helpful guide for conductors.

10 Currently, there are few diction resources to help conductors teaching Chinese choral music.

Editor Duane Richard Karna (2012) compiled The Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet in the Choral Rehearsal. This book provides pronunciation tutorials for more than 20 languages.

For the first time, English-speaking choral directors have a brief introduction to Standard

Chinese as a choral lyric diction from a source designed strictly for lyric diction; however, the book dedicated only four pages to this complex language. Not only is the section very brief, but it also lacks clarity in terms of specific applications.

Sun’s (2012) DMA dissertation, A Performance Guide to Mandarin-Chinese Diction and

Selected Art Songs, recognizes IPA as a good tool to break down the challenges of Mandarin diction for singers; however, as a Taiwanese author, Sun uses Zhuyin Fuhao, a phonetic system with its own set of symbols instead of pinyin, a phonetic system using the familiar Latin alphabets. In my opinion, this creates another set of barriers, as singers would have to learn different symbols rather than the accessible letters which are used in all European languages.

Furthermore, Sun’s dissertation targets readers who are solo vocalists, with examples focusing on solo art songs rather than choral music.

In January 2015, Editions Peters Group published the first Mandarin choral anthology for

English speakers. Dr. John Winzenburg compiled Half Moon Rising (2015), an anthology of choral music from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. This anthology includes not only choral works but also a general overview of choral music history in China and a detailed and helpful guide to performance practice. The anthology also contains a condensed pronunciation chart for singers; however, this anthology specifically targets 24 specific sompotions, thus limiting its usefulness beyond that context.

11 Based on my review of the literature, I found no studies that provide a comprehensive Standard

Chinese diction guide for choral singers. Through informal communications with fellow conducting colleagues, I find there are many questions and concerns regarding programming

Chinese choral repertoire, especially related to diction challenges. In order to prepare the first extensive lyric diction guide in Standard Chinese, I have sought out a wide array of sources including method books published in Chinese: Feng (2012), Ma (2013), Yang (2013), Zou

(2012, 2015) and linguistic books: Chen (2007), Duanmu (2007), and Sun (2006). Chapters 4 and 5 of this document provide detailed explanations on every consonant and vowel sound, in order to assist conductors and singers with no previous experience in Standard Chinese.

2.3 Language guides accompanying selected repertoire

Teaching a song in a foreign language is typically a challenging task; however, with excellent materials such as a good edition with strong supportive resources (program notes, translations, and pronunciation guides), conductors can succeed in doing so. Currently some of the significant hindrances of programming Chinese choral music are not knowing where to find music and being unfamiliar with the language and its choral culture. This became a springboard to my extensive research into finding available repertoire for choral ensembles. JW Pepper

(www.jwpepper.com), one of North America’s largest music distributors, lists few pieces written in Standard Chinese. Available Chinese choral music primarily consists of folk song arrangements, the most common of which is “Jasmine Flower,” a traditional folk song from the

Jiangsu area with a beautiful lyric melodic line. There are more than 18 renditions of this melody written for choral ensembles, but no original Chinese choral compositions to be found. In this

12 section, I have chosen seven arrangements to review. Within the seven selected compositions, there are significant differences among publications, especially regarding the text: literal versus poetic translation, singing in English or singing in the original language, different phonetic schemes, and so forth. For each selected piece, I include the first line of the lyrics to show the transcriptions used in each edition. Underlined syllables indicate differences from pinyin transliteration.

Below are the first two lines of “Jasmine Flowers” in pinyin, accompanied with the Chinese characters:

hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mòlihuā

好⼀朵美麗的茉莉花

Chen Yi is one of the most well-known Chinese-American composers. In 1998, she published three volumes of Chinese folk songs for mixed chorus and optional piano, which included arrangements of ten folk songs. Published by Theodore Presser Company, each volume comes with detailed program notes by the composer, an extensive biography, and texts in traditional

Chinese characters with poetic translation in English. The sheet music itself includes only phonetic transliteration similar to pinyin but with modifications. Without Chinese characters or translated texts inserted, even native-Chinese speakers would not be able to discern the meaning of the sung syllables (because pinyin transliteration is only a tool to transcribe sounds, not the meaning of words; see section 1.5). Each of these volumes is produced with a one-page pronunciation guide to pinyin transliteration. The list is concise with many English examples.

Many of the sounds are modified to facilitate pronunciation for singers. For example, in pinyin, x is pronounced like an ich-laut in German /ç/ but in Chen’s pronunciation guide the description is

13 rather ambiguous. It says “x = similar to English, but with the tongue arched up (in between

English s and sh).

Chen Yi’s “Jasmine Flower” (“Mo Li Hua”), first line:

Hao yit duo mo li hua

Also in the late 1990s, Taiwanese-American composer Jing Ling Tam published three separate folk song arrangements through Alliance Music Publications in the Jing Ling Tam Choral series.

These arrangements, “Flower Drum Songs,” “Jasmine Flowers,” and “Magnificent Horses,” include “singable” English translations and Mandarin phonetic transliteration. The phonetic transliteration does not follow any existing phonetic system, neither Zhuyin fuhao nor pinyin. I suspect the phonetic Romanization included in these arrangements is created by the arranger herself, in order to create more ease for non-Chinese speakers singing Chinese folk songs. These publications include a very brief pronunciation guide explaining only a few vowel sounds, for exam a= ah, e=eh, i=ee, o = oh, u = oo, u = ə in “fun,” “juh,” & “jun” and j = je (as in French).

Jing Ling Tam “Jasmine Flower” (“Mwo li hwa”), first line:

How I duo mei li di mwo li hwa

Oh how_ love-ly_ jas-mine flower!

British composer Bob Chilcott published an anthology Mo Li Hua: Five Arrangements of

Chinese Songs in 2015 through Oxford University Press. The sheet music includes English words by Chilcott, traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters. This is a dual-language publication suitable for Mandarin- or English-speaking choirs. Readers are

14 instructed to visit the companion website for pinyin transliterations and pronunciation guide; however, these guides are presented as supplementary material and not added into the printed sheet music. (As of December 30, 2017, this website is not working, listed as “page not found.”)

Chilcott’s “Mo Li Hua” (“Jasmine Flower”) 茉莉花

1. 好⼀朵茉莉花

1. Oh, my jas-mine flow’r, ______

1. 好⼀朵茉莉花

In 2006, Canadian composer Jon Washburn arranged “Chinese Melodies” using the melody of folk song “Kang Ding Love Song.” His arrangement includes “singable” English text and phonetic transliteration of the original text using the official pinyin system. This publication by

Walton Music Corp includes program notes, poetic translations, and the composer’s biography.

Although no Chinese texts were included, this arrangement is very accessible and serves as an excellent educational source for non-Chinese speakers.

Jon Washburn’s “Chinese Melodies” first line:

Hor-ses wan-der up-on the hill,

Pau ma liu liu di shan___ shang

15 Also in 2006, arranger B. Wayne Bisbee published yet another setting of “Jasmine Flower” with

Santa Barbara Music Publishing. Similar to the arrangement by Tam, Bisbee’s edition includes a phonetic transcription of the original text that seems to be a self-created phonetic transliteration, not using any pre-existing phonetic systems such as pinyin nor Zhuyin fuhao.

Wayne Bisbee’s “Moh Lee Hwah” (“Jasmine Flower”) first line:

How ee doh may_lee dee moh lee_ hwa

In 2009, American arranger Rollo Fisher published “Emerald in Green Grass” (“Mu Ge”) through Walton Music Corp. This arrangement once again includes a phonetic transliteration that does not follow any standardized phonetic schemes. Poetic translation is included on top of the staff in small italic fonts as a reference for singers. The Chinese text and translation is included at the back of the octavo. There is no pronunciation guide in this edition.

Rollo Fisher’s “Emerald Green Grass” (“Mu Ge”) first line:

SWAYN lui____ di CHAO___ di shang ____ lay PAO troh PAY_ yang____

Arranger Philip Lawson arranged Five Chinese Folksongs and published them in an anthology under The King’s Singers series published by Hal Leonard in 2009. Amongst the five folk songs, familiar melodies such as “Jasmine Flower” and “Kang Ding Love Song” are included in this publication. Supported materials here include poetic translations, phonetic spellings of original texts and a very brief pronunciation guide specific to each of the five folk songs––identifying 3-5 foreign sounds per piece. For example, “mei” and “gei” rhyme with “may” and “gay” (Lawson

2009). The phonetic transliteration in this edition appears to be a combination of the pinyin

16 system and some re-created phonetic spellings. There are quite a few modifications; for example, happiness 喜 in pinyin is spelled as xi /tsi/, and Lawson has modified this as hsi. Similarly the word small 小 in SC, xiao /tsiao/ is replaced by hsiao, and the phrase beautiful scent 香 xiang

/tsiang/ is replaced by shiang.

David Lawson’s “Mo Li Hu” (“Jasmine Flower”) first line:

Hao yi duo mei li di mo li hua

I strongly believe this discrepancy in existing published works creates unnecessary confusion for conductors and choristers, especially for those who have limited experience with the Chinese language; therefore, it may deter them from programming this repertoire. Although arrangements in English may make the music seem accessible, they do not honour the music’s origins the way including the original language would. However, arrangements using inconsistent and confusing phonetic transcriptions may cause mispronunciations. Clearly there is a need to identify good

Chinese choral repertoire for choruses. In Chapter 6 of this dissertation, I include five examples of original Chinese choral repertoire with editions and program notes accessible to both Chinese and non-Chinese speakers. My goal is to encourage composers and publishers to use the standardized phonetic system, i.e. pinyin, and to also promote the use of original compositions rather than only folk song arrangements. Furthermore, I would like to stress the importance of strong supporting materials such as program notes and detailed pronunciation guides when creating an edition that is geared towards non-native speakers.

Chapter 3: Overview of Choral Music Development in China

China’s new international stature is stimulating interest in all its cultural forms, both old and new; Chinese choral music offers a recent yet vibrant addition to these forms. Until a century ago, choral singing was relatively rare in China. Many scholars believe choral music was introduced in China through exposure to western culture and religion. Missionaries introduced hymns as a way to spread their messages (Wang, 2014, p. 3). Local music educators in China began to develop schoolhouses and promoted music classes, thus providing a foundation for choral culture in China. Throughout Chinese communities everywhere, choral music has become an integral part of school activities, ceremonies, concerts, and festivals. New Chinese compositions and arrangements have been central to the growing choral culture in China.

3.1 Introduction of Christianity and Its Impact on Choral Music

The introduction of Christianity and hymn singing may be traced as far back as the Tang

Dynasty (618-907 AD). During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), Catholic missionaries came to China and shared their messages of Catholicism along with knowledge of astrology, science, and technology. In 1601, the Italian Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci, brought to China a cache of

European gifts such as mechanical clocks, religious objects, and a musical instrument: the clavichord (Young, 2013, p. 208).

17 18

Although evidence of the first western musical influences existed early in Chinese history, transmission was limited. A seed had been planted, however, but no examples of original

Chinese choral compositions before 1900 have been found (Wang, 2014, p. 3).

3.1.1 Hymns

Hymns are among the most accessible tools often used to spread the words of the gospel. Liu

(2010) states that the existence of Christian music from Europe dated back to as early as the 8th century, during the Tang dynasty. Music was shared by western missionaries as the mean to disseminate Christianity (Liu, 2010, p. 23). Historical documents reveal that there are more than six hymnals dated before the 19th century (Wang & Hu, 2006, p. 33).

Dr. Robert Morrison (1782-1834) published the first hymnal in China in 1818 (Hsieh, 2009).

This words-only hymnal contains 30 psalms in 27 pages, with both English and Chinese text for readers. In 1833, Dr. Morrison collaborated with the Chinese missionary 梁發 Liang Fa and published a second hymnal Prayers and Hymns《祈禱文讚神詩》. Along with psalm translations, this hymnal also contains prayers written by Liang. Additional hymnals by other missionaries have also been published since then. Some of these were published in different dialects and catered to local residents of the respective region:

19 In 1852, Dr. Y. Williams published Soulful Hymnal《養心神詩》in the Xiamen topolect; in

1861, Dr. B. Williams published the Rong qiang Hymnal《榕腔神詩》in the Fuzhou topolect; in 1872, the Blodgot and Goodrich Hymnal was published in Beijing (Strandenæs, 2009).

The most influential hymnbook was Hymns of Universal Praise 《普天頌讚》. Published in

1936, this hymnal took seven years to complete. A successful collaboration among six churches, this hymnbook comprised traditional and new hymns, some translated from other foreign languages to Chinese, but many others used original Chinese texts. Nowadays, many churches still use the 2006 edition of Hymns of Universal Praise, which includes 916 hymns and 144 psalms (Leung, 2015, p. 111).

Hymns not only left a great impact on people’s religious faith, but also introduced western musical conventions to Chinese worshippers, such as staff notation, bel canto singing, instruments and western harmonies. The impact of these hymns reached farther than big cities in mainland China (such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai), and also affected other minority groups such as those in Mongolian regions. In 1989, researchers Yang Min Kong and Tao Ya Bing from

Central Conservatory of Music conducted a three-month study of minority groups in Yunnan.

During this time, they discovered many Christian hymn sheets from that region. (Wong, 1962)

Sacred music singing was not restricted to worship services and gatherings, as churches also hosted choral concerts to celebrate sacred festivals at which western sacred music such as

Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation were performed. Christian schools also developed

20 music classes and group piano lessons. These new music offerings attracted many youths, some of whom eventually furthered their studies overseas (Zhu, 2014, p. 3).

3.2 School Songs Movement (Xue Tang Yin Yue)

Although many scholars acknowledge the introduction of western art music in China by missionaries, musicologist Wang Yu-he argues that the emergence of Chinese choral music should be credited to local scholars and community efforts (Wang & Hu, 2006, p. 25). The forerunner of this emergence is the important educational reform movement of Xue Tang Yin Yue

(the school songs movement), a movement that advocates music as one of the subjects incorporated into the syllabi of new schools (Liu, 2010, p. 30).

The abolition of the old imperial teaching practice is one of the biggest social changes that occurred during the modernization of China (Yip, 1994, p. 43). In the old practice, few people were able to receive education because the system favoured wealthy families and their male descendants. In 1905, the Qing dynasty officially removed the imperial education system. New schoolhouses began to develop, marking the beginning of modern education with the goal of reaching a bigger demographic, aiming for greater accessibility regardless of financial status.

Music education was an integral part of the schoolhouse curriculum. Music classes in schoolhouses and community singing events represent one of the biggest contributing factors to the growth of the Chinese choral art form. Records indicate that, in fact, as early as 1886,

Shanghai Jiao Tong University (formerly known as Nanyang Public School) was one of the first schools to include music in the general curriculum (Zhu, 2014, p. 84). Music classes become more and more popular in the 20th century. By 1912, general music classes could be found in all

21 public elementary and secondary schools, and colleges. Although unison singing predominated at the time, it provided support and a foundation for future multi-voice part choral singing.

Educators recognized the benefit of choral activities: to foster literacy, to strengthen morality, and to encourage team work. Music education tools became highly sought after by teachers and students alike. Choral activities became recognized as affordable for the community because they did not require special equipment such as musical instruments (Zhu, 2014, p. 85).

3.2.1 Emerging composers in early years

In order to promote music education, choral enthusiasts such as composers, arrangers, publishers, and educators gathered together to lead the School Songs movement. Shen Xin-Gong (1870-

1947), Zeng Zhi-Min (1879-1929) and Li Shu-Tong (1880-1942) represent three prominent figures who played a crucial role in spreading choral music to their communities. They were the first generation of singing teachers and musicians to engage in New Music (Liu, 2010, p. 23).

Each of them had studied overseas and returned to mainland China in the early twentieth century, bringing back choral music from around the world acquired through their studies. They were instrumental in providing materials for supporting the music curriculum, by publishing various collections such as Songbooks for Schools《學校唱歌集》(1904) by Shen, [Songbooks for

Education]《教育唱歌集》(1904) by Zeng, and Song Collection for the Nation《國家唱歌集》

(1905) by Li (Zhu, 2014, p. 82).

22 3.2.1.1 Shen Xin-Gong (1870-1947)

Shen Xin-Gong, also known as Qinghong, was originally educated in the imperial system. He was a professor at St. John’s College in Shanghai in the late 19th century. In 1896, he decided to start from the beginning in order to gain access to modern knowledge and further his own personal development by enrolling in the education faculty of Shanghai Nanyang Public School

(which was later to become Jiaotong University). In April of 1902, he funded himself and left for

Japan to observe their music education curriculum. He enrolled in Kobun College (Kobun gakuin) in Tokyo and studied with renowned Japanese music educator Suzuki Yonejiro (1864-

1940). After Shen returned from Japan early in 1903, he became a strong advocate for music education. He enthusiastically promoted school songs at various schools, starting at his alma mater, Nanyang Public School, and its feeder primary school, followed by Shanghai Longmen

Normal School and Shanghai Wuben Women’s College. He spent 25 years developing music curriculum and providing school songs for the aforementioned institutions (Liu, 2010).

In 1904, Shen began to publish song sets. He published more than 13 works in his lifetime, including Xuexiao changgeji [Songbook for schools], Guomin changgeji [National songbook], and Xin-gong changeji [The Songs of Xin’gong]. Shen arranged more than 180 school songs and composed six original songs (Wang & Hu, 2006, p. 52) His greatest contribution was the writing of new texts for old tunes (Yip, 1994, p. 46). His lyrics are positive and accessible and were popular amongst youth choristers at the time.

23 3.2.1.2 Zeng Zhi-Min (1879-1929)

Zeng was born into a prosperous and progressive family (Liu, 2010, p. 34), a fact that played a significant role in his education. In 1901, he was sent abroad to study law at Waseda University in Japan (Wang & Hu, 2006, p. 57). While there, he became entranced by the new and vibrant music culture of Japan’s Meiji Restoration and decided to further his study at the Tokyo School of Music. In 1907, he returned to China and set up a “Summer Music Study Group” in Shanghai.

In 1908, he started a music faculty at his father’s Shanghai School for Poor Children (Shanghai pin’eryuan) to foster music education amongst the underprivileged children in the community.

Through this school, Zeng and his father sought to give poor children the opportunity of employment. Zeng was the director of a 40-student western orchestra at the school.

Zeng is recognized not only as a composer but also as a theoretician, pedagogue, and activist

(Liu, 2010, p. 36). He played a remarkable role in sharing music activities for all walks of life in the community. This was significant at the time, especially since the old imperial system had restrictions on who was able to receive education. Zeng founded several organizations such as the Asian Classical Music Association and the aforementioned orchestra. Zeng’s extensive list of publications provides ample proof that his publications and compositions played a huge part in popularising school songs in China (p. 36).

In 1903, he arranged more than half a dozen school songs and published them in the Jiangsu magazine. In the same year, he published the jiaoyu changgeji [Educational songbook] including

16 of his own arrangements. His impressive achievement also includes publishing a significant number of articles in Jiangsu magazine on curriculum, theory and pedagogy. Zeng advocated for

24 music education because he believed that music could enhance the development and prosperity of the country. (Yip 1994, 67).

3.2.1.3 Li Shu-Tong (1880-1942)

In 1897, at the early age of seventeen, Li Shu-Tong was already actively involved in the arts. As a member of the Chengnan Literacy Society, Li showed talents in literature, calligraphy, and painting. Amongst the three leading figures of the school songs movement, Li was the one whose compositions were regarded as having the highest artistic value (Zhu, 2014, p. 86). Li showed his sophisticated knowledge of texts and poetry within his musical compositions through use of word painting and expressive long phrases. His choral compositions are accessible. His works such as 《送別》(“Farewell”), 《憶兒時》 (“Memories”), 《夢》 (“Dream”), 《春景》

(“Spring Time”) and 《西湖》(“West Lake”) are still performed widely nowadays.

Li studied abroad in Japan for six years in the early 20th century. During his time away, his focus was in the arts: creating visual arts, writing scripts for theatre, and composing. He also assumed the role of editor of 《音樂小雜誌》(The Little Music Magazine). In 1911, upon his return to

China, Li was a professor in Hangzhou Normal school for seven years. His teaching has influenced many composers, artists, and composers such as Wu Meng-Fei (music educator) and

Pan Tian-Sho (painter and art educator) (Zou, 2015).

Li’s musical approaches are very diverse compared to other musicians at his time. His style ranges in response to various subject matters. His compositions can be divided into three main categories:

1. Patriotic songs

25 Li composed and arranged a lot of repertoire for the nation, praising the home of the brave and free. This shows the composer’s utmost devotion for the love of his nation, offering his homage through songs. Some of the examples in this category include: 《祖國歌》(“Song of the Homeland”),《大中華》(“The Greater China”), and《國學唱歌集》(“Patriotic

Songbook Collection”).

2. Expressive repertoire

Li explores the relationship of art and nature through his choral repertoire. The leading

example of this genre is 《春遊》(“Spring Morning”). Written in 1913, this original

composition for three-part mixed chorus uses the composer’s own text. In the early 20th

century, composers rarely used their own texts, choosing to use existing poetry. Thus,

“Spring Morning” was regarded at the time as a significant work representing a new

genre. The simplicity of this composition is appropriate to the purity of the text, evoking

the images of a spring morning. The melody has a linear flow, with full harmonic

support. This work is very accessible for amateur choirs and is still performed often by

choirs nowadays (Zhou, 2014, p. 87)

3. Repertoire with philosophical themes

Li’s composition style was ahead of his time. His songs were neatly constructed with

musical themes that developed smoothly and naturally. His goal to educate students and

composers is apparent from the characteristics of his composition. Li was a scholar with a

26 passion for poetries. When choosing texts for musical settings, he selected poems that

were philosophical and meaningful, encouraging choristers and educators to reflect upon

the texts. When arranging existing melodies, he chose well-known western and Japanese

melodies to share with and educate Chinese audiences. His original music is sensitive and

accessible. His compositional style focuses on long lyrical melodic lines and text-driven

phrases.

3.2.2 Summary

The birth of the school song movement made a positive and significant impact on society in several ways. First, the development of school song repertoire had an impact on children and youth at that time, encouraging singers to unite through ensemble singing. This provided a foundation for a future choral music movement based on patriotic songs and revolution repertoire. Second, the introduction of western musical influence was shared with musicians in the nation, especially the use of staff notation and jianpu (simplified) notation as a means to transcribe and record music. Through borrowed melodies, musicians became familiar with western choral styles and harmonies, and composers were eager to explore and experiment with new choral forms. Finally, the school song movement has changed the education curriculum in schools. Choral music has become an integral part of the curriculum, and many of the first- generation school songs were sung by students throughout the 20th century.

27 3.3 Mass Songs (war songs, army songs)

Aside from choral music as an educational tool in schools, choral music also became a medium to unite the community during the cultural revolution. Composers with western music training began to explore using the “choral mentality” to compose. They believed songs could unite a nation; patriotic themes were strongly represented in both lyrics and melodies. Multi-voiced choral compositions such as 《八路軍大合唱》(“The Chorus of the Eight Route Army”),《秋

收》(“Harvest”), and 《渡長江》(“Crossing the Yangtze River”) embodied strong patriotism.

These mass songs have distinct characteristics: a march-like pulse with simple harmonic progressions and thematic motives imitating fanfares or bugal calls. This style of writing is reflected in the current national anthem of China, “March of the Volunteers,” which was written in 1935 by composer Nie Er and lyricist Tian Han.

3.4 Large-scale Works

As choral culture rapidly developed during the beginning of the 20th century, composers were keen to explore the creation of musical arts that utilized both western and Chinese musical elements. Modelled after the structure and form of large-scale choral works such as Handel’s

Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haiyun, Song of Everlasting Sorrow, and Yellow River

Cantata represent three of the most significant choral compositions written within the last century.

28 3.4.1《海韻》 (Haiyun)–– “Song of the Ocean”

Although Haiyun is only a one-movement, stand-alone work, it is one of the most significant examples of Chinese choral repertoire of the early 20th century. Composed in 1927, Haiyun

(translated as “Song of the Ocean”) is written for SATB choir and piano accompaniment. This dramatic choral composition (Yu, 2017, p. 21) fully allows ensembles to achieve choral artistry and demonstrate their strong choral technique as an ensemble.

Haiyun was composed by Chao Yuen-Ren (1892-1982) using a poem of the same title by a famous poet at the time, Xu Zhi-Muo (1897-1931). This was first published in Chao’s 1928 publication 《新詩歌集》(New Songbook). This composition was featured later in a movie with the same title. It was rearranged for solo voice and was made famous in the 1970s by popular singer, Teresa Teng 鄧麗君 (Zhu, 2014, p. 92).

Chao experimented with many different western choral composition styles while writing Haiyun, including a soprano solo, a TTB section, unaccompanied writing, lush piano accompaniment, and instrumental interludes. This provides different textures within a composition to depict the various characters in the lengthy poem. With a beautiful melodic line supported by rich harmony, and a musical language accessible to choristers, Haiyun demonstrates a sophisticated level of composition skill, setting a high standard for choral works.

3.4.2《長恨歌》(Chang Hen Ge)––Song of Everlasting Sorrow

Written in 1932, Song of Everlasting Sorrow was the first Chinese Cantata ever written. This was composer Huang Zhi’s only major choral work. This oratorio uses texts of the well- known poem

29 by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi (Li Bai). The original text was written in 806 and for the purpose for this oratorio, it was re-worded by 19th century lyricist Wei Hanzhang.

The text of The Song of Everlasting Sorrow details the heart-wrenching love stories between the ninth emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Xuangzong of Tang, and his beloved concubine, Yang

Guifei. The poem records historical events surrounding the death of Yang Guifei during the

Anshi Rebellion in 755. Wei, the lyricist of the 19th century Cantata with the same title, states that it was his hope to use this historical event to reflect upon current political issues. (Zhu 2014,

96)

Described as “China’s Schubert,” Huang’s approach to vocal composition was considered to be similar to that of Schubert (Liu, 2010, p. 14). Huang Zi experimented with different voicings in each movement in order to express the texts in its dramatic form. For example, he alternated between SATB, TTBB, SSAA, Soprano/Baritone duet, and solo movement. These voicing combinations created unique timbres featuring various characters and narrations in this larger work. Movement 3 (TTBB) and Movement 8 (SSAA) are the most well-known movements in this cantata. Both of these movements are often extracted as stand-alone pieces, and they are significant amongst other same-voice repertoire. Composer Huang Zi intended this work to be a ten-movement choral cantata but unfortunately died before the completion of the work.

Movements 4, 7 and 9 were completed by composer Lin Shengxi in 1972.

30 3.4.3《黃河大合唱》—Yellow River Cantata

Written in 1939 by composer Xian Xing-Hai (1905-1945), Yellow River Cantata is an eight- movement cantata that features vocal soloists, one poetry reader, SATB chorus, and a small ensemble comprised of traditional Chinese instruments such as Dizi (a bamboo flute), Erhu (two- stringed bowed instrument), Dahu (a bass stringed instrument), and various percussion instruments. In 1941, the second edition of The Yellow River Cantata was released. Xian expanded some of the chorus movements and added larger musical forces, including a full western orchestra.

The SATB chorus is very active throughout this cantata. Movements 1, 4, 7, and 8 are chorus numbers. The chorus also has accompaniment sections in Movements 5 and 6, providing harmonic support for featured soloists. Speech art is a unique art form commonly practiced in

China. The poetry recitation section adds a unique timbre to captivate audiences with the text.

Xin received his education from Paris Conservatory as the first Chinese composer ever admitted to the school. Yu quoted that the late Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev played an important role of Xin study during his time in Paris. (Yu 2017, p. 103) The impact of his study is apparent in movement 7 and 8 of this work, demonstrating strong western influence in the composition style. Movement 7 features a pentatonic melody influenced by traditional Chinese folk songs mixed with canon style. In movement 8, Xin utilizes fugal style, proving his understanding of counterpoint and his extensive knowledge of music theory.

31 3.4.4 Summary

These three works provided exemplary foundations for future composers. After the 1940s, although there are only a handful of works modeling the oratorio style, such as 《河梁話別》

(He Liang Farewell), many composers have continued to experiment with writing large-scale choral works, particularly choral cantatas. The most notable ones are 《民主》(Democracy),

《祖國》(Motherland), and《春天》(Spring) by Ma Si-Cong (1912-1987) (Tian, 2013, p. 4)

3.5 Professional Development in Choral Conducting

In addition to a large body of choral compositions produced in the 20th century, a vibrant choral community was fostered and promoted by many active professional educators and choral conductors. Post-secondary institutions, such as the Central Conservatory of Music and the

Shanghai Conservatory of Music, established conducting faculty for potential music teachers and conductors so that they might gain professional development in choral education. Teachers’ colleges also added beginning conducting classes into their curricula to teach music literacy and basic conducting skills (Tian, 2013, p. 28). In the early 1980s, under the tutelage of renowned conductors such as Ma Ge-Shun, Yang Hong-Nian, and Wu Ling-Fun, a surge of talented conductors emerged who are currently active as directors of high school music programs or semi-professional choral ensembles (Zhu, 2014, p. 7).

32 3.6 Chinese Choral Music in the 21st Century

In 1999, in order to welcome the new millennium, choral musicians initiated many choral events in China. The China International Choral Festival (CICF) changed its structure from once every four years to once every two years. This festival aims to highlight outstanding talent in the choral arts and further encourages excellent choral compositions. The festival includes conducting master classes, keynote performances, competitive events, workshops, and a prize ceremony.

Performances are held at the Great Hall of People, located right next to the iconic Tiananmen

Square. The prize ceremony is recorded live and broadcast on China Central Television. Having the opportunity to perform in the Great Hall is recognized as an honour (equivalent to performing at Carnegie Hall in New York, USA) and hence, the festival attracts choral enthusiasts (amateurs and professionals) from across the nation. The Beijing Provincial Senior

Choral Festival, another competitive choral event, highlights the development of community choral activities, particularly those engaging elderly singers. In November 2016, the festival celebrated its tenth anniversary with sixty-six ensembles involving hundreds of senior choral enthusiasts (Tian, 2013, p. 30).

As the millennium arrived, semi-professional and professional choral ensembles also began to perform internationally, showing the world the excellent quality of Chinese choral ensembles. In

2000, the inaugural Choir Olympics took place in Linz, Austria. There were seven choral ensembles representing China. In 2002, Chinese representation increased to 21 ensembles. China received five first-place rankings, earning a total of 16 gold, 16 silver, and five bronze medals. In the third Choral Olympics, thirty-nine Chinese ensembles participated, and similar to previous years, achieved exceptional results with two first place awards, and a total of 16 gold medals, 18 silver medals, and one bronze medal. In 2006, China hosted the 4th World Choir Games

33 (formerly known as Choir Olympics) in Ximen, China, attracting choirs from all around the world (Tian, 2013, p. 33)

Chinese choirs and conductors also have a prominent representation in international choral organizations, such as the American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA), Interkulture,

International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM), and others. Student conductors and professional educators are especially active participants at conferences, as they can gain valuable knowledge through attending workshops, collecting resources, and connecting with other choral enthusiasts from around the world. At the Choir Olympics in Linz, in addition to various performance prizes, Chinese representatives brought home another special award––the award for the outstanding organization was given to the China Chorus Association (CCA) for their work to promote outstanding choral music through supporting choral ensembles and professional developments (Tian, 2013, p. 32) Since its inception in 1986, CCA has played an important role in the development of Chinese choral music. At the time of this writing, the organization is under the leadership of chairman Li Pei-Zhi, with an active board of 13 professionals made up of musicologists, composers, and conductors. CCA is active in providing outreach programs such as mass choral activities and international choral art exchanges which strive to promote choral excellency (China Chorus Association, 2018).

3.7 Musical Characteristics of Chinese Choral Music of the 21st century

Based on the foundations developed through hymns, the school songs movement, and original repertoire like “Spring Morning” by Li Shu-Tong, Chinese choral composition has developed

34 tremendously in the last century. Composers have adopted western choral approaches such as multiple voice parts, bel canto style, harmony, and structure, but most of the choral repertoire retains Mandarin texts. A unique feature of 21st century Chinese choral music in comparison to

North American or European repertoire is the fusion of western art styles and original folk melodies. This phenomenon was inspired by the Inner Mongolian Children’s Choir and its conductor, Yalungerile. In the 2000 Olympic Choral Games, the ensemble received three gold medals. They won with an exceptional rendition of a Mongolian folk song <<八駿贊>> (“Ba

Zun Zan”). Their performance combined elements of western choral art with traditional

Mongolian style, elevating choral art to a new height through the unique style (Tian, 2013, p.6).

Furthermore, since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and its political restrictions, many choral composers have also turned to using simple folk melodies as inspiration. One might suggest that the innocence of texts in folk melodies is considered “safer” in a highly political environment. Others simply consider this a logical development of the

Chinese choral art form. China is a nation with 56 different ethnic groups, and original Chinese choral compositions combining unique folk elements are a perfect medium to share folk cultures to the world.

As mentioned in previous sections, Chinese choral artists have ventured out internationally for various choral activities such as festivals, conferences, choir exchanges, and conducting masterclasses. In order to achieve an outstanding level in performances, Chinese conductors, composers, educators, and choristers turn to leading international choral ensembles and model themselves after them, such as the Eric Erikson Chamber Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber

Choir, Robert Shaw Festival Singers, Tallis Scholars, and The Cambridge Singers, and others

(Tian, 2013, p.105) By observing choral ensembles from other countries, Chinese choral artists

35 became aware of the standard of choral excellence everywhere, and therefore mindful of western choral aesthetics, modelled their performances accordingly. Many choral ensembles demonstrate their expressive understanding by being sensitive to balance, blend, and attentive to poetic texts.

Conductors and educators emphasize the importance of music literacy and listening skills when leading their community or school choral ensembles. Chinese choral professionals aim to develop their own leading professional ensembles in order to establish a secure status in the international choral context.

To encourage further compositional developments, various Chinese choral agencies initiated composition competitions, the most significant being the Golden Bell Prize in Choral

Composition. In March 2005, Chinese choral conductors formed the first choral federation in the country, catering to choral musicians both professional and amateur, as well as to educators, composers, and choral administrators. These various organizations led to a growing body of works. Chinese choral compositions of the 21st century began to reflect new elements, such as more complex harmonic languages, body/vocal percussion, vocal jazz style with amplification, and the popular vocal a cappella style. Composers are free to experiment with diverse styles.

Many composers focus on choral art repertoire, composing pieces that showcase ensembles’ particular skills. This repertoire is used mainly for competition purposes. Other composers experiment with choral arrangements of pop songs like “Moon Reflecting My Heart.” These compositions are well received at concerts. One can also find choral works being performed outside of conventional concert venues, such as in market places, plazas, flash mobs, and elsewhere.

Chapter 4: Overview of the Chinese Language

The Chinese language is actually a group of related languages used by the people of China or those of Chinese descent. Within this language, the variations between different forms of spoken

Chinese can often be unintelligible. All of these various spoken forms, however, share a single system of writing that constitutes a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family (Merriam-

Webster Dictionary). Based on a 2017 census done by Ethnologue, there are almost 1.2 billion

Chinese native speakers around the world, making Chinese the most widely-spoken language of today (Simons and Fennig, 2017).

4.1 Standard Chinese

Home to 1.35 billion people comprising 56 different ethnic groups, China has developed various forms of its language. The Chinese term fāngyán is a compound of fāng (方), meaning “place, region, or area” and yán (言), meaning speech. Fāngyán is commonly translated to the word topolect, defined as the language of a particular place. Different ethnic groups often speak mutually unintelligible topolects. The major topolect groups are in China are Beifanghua

(Mandarin), Wu, Yue (Cantonese), Min, Kejia (Hakka), Xiang, and Gan, of which Mandarin is by far the largest group with its native speakers accounting for the majority of the Chinese population (Chen, 2007, p. 3).

36 37 Over the centuries, many of these dialects have evolved and become even more unintelligible amongst different regions. There is a need to standardize spoken Chinese for both social and also formal reasons. Mandarin became the lingua franca across dialects, unifying communications, as there were more and more administrative, diplomatic, cultural, and military exchanges between the central government and local states, and among the states themselves (Chen, 1999, p. 3)

Standard Chinese, commonly known as Mandarin, became the official national language for

China in 1911 after the Qing Dynasty. Nowadays, Standard Chinese (SC) is recognized as a prestige norm throughout the Chinese-speaking world, even though it has different names in different places (Wheatley, 2015, p.1) It is also often referred to as Pǔtōnghuà (common dialect) and Guó Yǔ (the national language).

According to the 2017 Ethnologue census, of the 1.2 billion of Chinese speakers in the world, roughly a billion claim Standard Chinese as their mother tongue (Simons and Fennig, 2017) This figure would increase if speakers of SC as a second language were included, such as many speakers of regional languages like Cantonese, who are fluent in Standard Chinese as a second language (Wheatley, 2015, p. 3) SC is the official language of mainland China and Taiwan. It is one of the two official languages in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also one of the four official languages of Singapore.

Unlike some standard European languages, such as the Received Pronunciation of British

English, SC does not carry a superior social prestige. Instead, many Chinese see SC as a practical tool, not a symbol of status. Many people including government leaders and academics will make an effort to learn and speak SC as means of communication; however, without trying to

38 modify their personal accents. (Duanmu, 2007, p. 4). The purpose of Standard Chinese is merely to unify the people of one nation, all communicating with the same spoken language.

4.2 Chinese Writing System

The Chinese writing system is one of the oldest writing systems in the world and is the only one that has been in continuous use for more than three millennia. (Chen, 2007, p. 131) Unlike

English and many European languages which are considered phonetic languages, Chinese is a pictorial language, also known as a logographic writing system. Each character has its own meaning, and is made up of many individual strokes. This writing system is constantly evolving, and there are currently over 56,000 characters (Chen, 2007, p. 136) An average Chinese person will know about 5000-8000 characters. A person needs only about 2000-3000 to read a newspaper.1 In a pictorial language, each character conveys an idea based on its shape, but it has no relationship to pronounciation (Huang, 1969, p. xi). For instance, Mandarin speakers and

Cantonese speakers use the same written system, but individual characters can have very different pronunciations. The word for music in Chinese is 音樂; in Mandarin it is pronounced as yin yue (Pinyin), while in Cantonese it is pronounced as jam ngok (Jyutping).2

1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/real_chinese/mini_guides/characters/characters_howm any.shtml

2 Jyutping is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK), an academic group, in 1993

It is definitely challenging and time consuming for anyone to develop literacy in written Chinese.

Fortunately, every single Chinese character in Standard Chinese can be easily and accurately translated into its phonetic transcription, pinyin, through many online resources and dictionaries such as Google Translate, a free online translation tool accessible to North American audiences in the 21st century. This can certainly ease pronunciation challenges. In fact, many Romanization systems exist for transliterating Mandarin. Pinyin is the most common one used in China and

Hong Kong, and is used for teaching Chinese as a second language.

4.3 Hànyǔ Pīnyīn: Phonetic System for Standard Chinese

Hànyǔ pīnyīn (漢語拼音), commonly referred to as pinyin, is the official phonetic system designed and standardized by the government of the People’s Republic of China to unify different fāngyán (topolects) within the country into the common language of Mandarin (also known as Pǔtōnghuà and Standard Chinese). Pinyin is a phonetic transliteration system for transcribing the Standard Chinese pronunciation of Chinese characters into the Latin alphabets.

(This is equivalent to the use of transliteration for the Cyrillic alphabet in Russia). By the time of the Qing dynasty (1662-1722), the number of characters exceeded 40,000 (Dong, 2014, p. 37)

There was no sound-notating system, however, to sort them phonetically. Although the idea for a phonetic system began to develop, it was not until 1958 that a standardized phonetic system utilizing Romanized spelling was officially introduced by the government of the People’s

Republic of China.

Pinyin is widely used in most Chinese-language teaching materials, dictionaries, reference books, library catalogues, road signs, and even URL addresses (Wheatley, 2015, p. 15). Pinyin is now used domestically and internationally; it is the new bridge for information exchange between China and foreign countries (Dong, 2014, p. 56) One must note that Pinyin is a system designed in China that is applicable to all educated Chinese in mainland China as well as in

Hong Kong; however, Taiwan, for which the official spoken language is also Standard Chinese, uses a different system called Zhuyin Fuhao.

Once learned, Pinyin consistently represents pronunciation of a Chinese character. In English, different spellings of words like pair and pear have the same pronunciation, but in pinyin, there is no such ambiguity. It should be emphasized, however, that because pinyin was originally intended as a tool for Chinese speakers, it is not always transparent to English or other foreign speakers. Furthermore, because pinyin represents only the sound of the word but without the original Chinese characters, it is difficult to determine the definition of the word through pinyin.

With pinyin, many letters have the same sound as in English: b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l. Others, such as c, q, x, z and complex consonants are treated quite differently. A good way for English speakers to become familiar with the pinyin system is to compare it to a familiar phonetic notation system such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). In the following chapter, I break down the complexity of each sound by analyzing each vowel and consonant in detail: where the placement of the vowel/consonant occurs within the oral cavity, how the sound is produced, and the English approximation along with its IPA symbol.

Chapter 5: Singing in Standard Chinese

5.1 Choral Diction

Choral music comprises music and texts. When singing a choral work, musicians strive for excellence not only in musical details but also in unifying diction within the ensemble. Diction includes the use, choice, and arrangement of words and the manner of expressing these words in speech or song. Artistic choral singing depends upon beautiful diction (Wilson, 1951, p. 121).

Responsibility for the text of a choral composition lies with the poet, but the manner of expressing the words in performance is the responsibility of the conductor and the chorus

(Wilson, 1951). It is a goal for the ensemble to ensure that the text is intelligible to the audience, while achieving other choral virtues such as blend of voices, choral unity, variety in tone quality or color, proper use of resonation and even intonation (Pfautsch, 1971, p. 2). Table 1 below, extracted from Lloyd Pfautsch’s English Diction for the Singer, summarizes the above descriptions.

Table 1. A Diagram Summarizing the Importance of Diction

Diction Vocal Expression Utterance of Words

PRONUNCIATION ENUNCIATION ARTICULATION

Sound Fullness Distinctness

Accent Clarity Correctformations

41 42 5.2 International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is the standard source used for phonetic notation

(Grases, 2011, p.1) Many of the IPA symbols are the same as the letters in the Roman alphabets, which makes the IPA easy to learn (Wall, 1989, p. 3). The study of IPA is valuable to singers, as

IPA offers a unique one-to-one correspondence between a symbol and a sound which provides accurate phonetic information for pronunciation (Lin, 2007, p. 123). Therefore, with the help of

IPA, singers can learn to pronounce words in any foreign language. IPA is also beneficial in choral rehearsal to help cultivate excellent tone quality and good intonation in the choir by unifying vowels and consonants.

From this point onward, IPA symbols will be represented by their enclosure in brackets [ ] or slashes / /. For example, the symbol for the pinyin consonant b, as in the word ba 八 (eight) is

[pa] or /p/ /a/.

5.3 Standard Chinese in Choral Singing

Much of the choral art repertoire exists in languages other than English. When possible, directors are encouraged to use the original foreign texts with singers (Philips, 2016, p. 309) Teaching a song in a foreign language, whether working with vocal soloists or within the choral practice, is typically a challenging task. Canadian vocal coach Leslie De’Ath states that vocal pedagogues should strive not only to provide the correct approach to a text from the standpoint of vocal technique (clarity of the text and musical line), but also spend time simply teaching

“linguistically” correct pronunciation (De’Ath, 2006, p. 119).

43 Standard Chinese is a monosyllabic language. The basic unit of Standard Chinese pronunciation is a “syllable,” and each word is a syllable. Every syllable is further divided into one or more

“phonemes,” but not more than four. A phoneme is the smallest unit of Chinese phonetics (Ma,

2013, p. 416). For example, the Chinese word ge (song) is composed of two phonemes: “g” and

“e.” Another word, tian (sky) includes four phonemes: t, i, a and n. In addition, some syllables are formed by one phoneme only, such as: a, e, i, o, yi and wu (Yang, 2013, p. 411).

In Standard Chinese, syllables consisting of three phonemes are diphthongs, and those with four phonemes are known as triphthongs. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2017) definition follows:

Diphthong. Noun diph·thong \ˈdif-ˌthȯŋ, ˈdip-\

1. linguistics: a gliding monosyllabic speech sound (as the vowel combination at the end

of toy) that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or

toward the position of another.

When singing in Standard Chinese, one must be aware of the duration of each phoneme while holding a long note. If the emphasis is put on the wrong phoneme, the singing style will be changed drastically. For instance, in the choral tradition, one treats a diphthong in this matter:

“tai” [tʰa]- -[ɪ] and a triphthong: “tiao” [tʰja]- - [ʊ] placing the final vowel sound at the very end of the pitch and sounding it quickly. In the traditional Beijing Opera style, however, the emphasis is put on a different phoneme: [tʰai] and [tʰi]--[aʊ] (in both cases, sustaining the [i] vowel). Therefore, it is important to analyze each syllable in detail in order to achieve the

44 accurate treatment of each phoneme. For the purpose of this document, I examine only the diphthong and triphthong treatments of the choral singing style.

Renowned 20th century Chinese choral pedagogue Yang Hong-Nian (2013) emphasizes that unification in choral diction directly affects the colour and tone of the ensemble. The key to clear diction can be achieved by practicing the following rules:

聲母（字頭）準而緊

Initials – accurate (Keep consonants crisp)

韻母（字腹）長而潤

Main vowel – tall and round (Keep consonants round)

收聲（字尾）齊而清

Finals – clear (distinct)

5.4 Phonology

Due to the syllabic structure of the language, when analyzing the phonology of Standard

Chinese, most linguists find it more effective to analyze with three major component parts of syllables, called initials, finals, and tones. This structure is also widely used in Chinese choral resources in order to break down the treatment of each syllable within the musical setting. In order to unify the diction in an ensemble singing Standard Chinese, it is important for the conductor to be aware of the process of phonating each syllable, including how to articulate the

45 initial (字頭 zìtoú), holding the main vowel/ the ‘belly’ of the syllable (字腹 zìfù), and tapering the finals (字尾 zìweǐ), as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. The phonating process of one syllable (Yang, 2013, p. 413)

字的結構及發音過程 Syllable Structure and Pronunciation Process

字頭字腹字尾 initial main vowel/belly inal （起聲，出字階段）（保持，入韻階段）（收聲，歸位階段）（The Stage of Starting the （The Stage of Keeping the （The Stage of Tapering the sound） sound） end）

In Standard Chinese, many syllables include the complete three categories––initial, belly and final––but some syllables do not (Chen, 2007, p. 35). Initials are made up of consonants. The

“belly” of a syllable is made up of one or more vowels. Finals can be either consonants (e.g. ng or n) or vowels, depending on the word.

According to the above structure, we can divide syllables into four categories:

1. With initial, belly, and final:

• 明 míng (bright)，槍 qiāng (gun)，邊 biān (edge)，高 gāo (height)，光

guāng (light) etc

2. Without initial nor belly, but with final:

• 安 ān (comfort)，愛 ài (love)，澳 ào (bay)，歐 ōu (Europe)

3. With initial, belly; without final:

• 八 bà (eight)，他 tā (he)，路 lù (road)，瓜 guā (melon)

4. Without initial nor final; single vowel:

• 鵝 é (goose)，啊 ā，烏 ū (dark)

5.4.1 Initials: Consonants

In order to strive for clear diction when singing, consonants must be articulated with more energy than in speech. (Moriarty, 1975, p. 79) “ If vowels make the beauty of the tone, then consonants make the sense of the word. Without well-articulated consonants, the intelligibility of language is compromised. Regular attention to consonant production helps a choir to use good articulation habitually”. (Philips, 2016, p. 309)

In Standard Chinese, there are 21 consonants: b p m f d t n l g k h j q x zh ch sh r z c s. Often not listed as consonants, y and w are considered as semi-vowels or glides, but they function as initials in a way similar to consonants. There is also ng, but that consonant belongs in a separate category, however, as it can never act as an initial sound; it is always final.

There are many ways to categorize these consonants. Table 3 shows consonants grouped by their oral placement.

Table 3. Chinese Consonants Based on Oral Placement (Chen, 2007, p 36)

Category Category in Pinyin IPA Sample Words

Chinese

Labials 唇部聲母 b /p/ bā 八 (eight) beǐ 北 (north)

p /pʰ/ pā 怕 (afraid) peǐ 陪 (accompany)

m /m/ mā 媽 (mother) meǐ 美 (beautiful)

f /f/ fā 發 (send) fēi 飛 (fly)

Alveolars 舌部聲母 d /t/ dī 滴 (drop) deǐ 得 (should)

t /tʰ/ tī 踢 (kick) taí 台 (stage)

n /n/ ná 拿 (take) naǒ 腦 (brain)

l /l/ lù 路 (road) luò 落 (fall)

Dentals 齒部聲母 z /ts/ zī 資 (capital) zeí 賊 (thief)

c /tsʰ/ cì 次 (time) caí 裁 (cut)

s /s/ sī 絲 (silk) suì 歲 (year)

Retroflexes 半齒部聲母 zh /tʂ/ zhù 住 (live) zhuī 追 (chase)

ch /tʂʰ/ chù 處 (place) choǔ 丑 (clown)

sh /ʂ/ shù 樹 (tree) shuaì 帥 (smart)

r /ʐ/ rì 日 (day) roú 柔 (soft)

Palatals 牙部聲母 j /tç/ jiē 街 (street) jiā 家 (home)

q /tçʰ/ qī 七 (seven) qué 缺 (lack)

x /ç/ xī 西 (west) xuě 血 (blood)

Velars 喉部聲母 g /k/ gē 歌 (song) gaǐ 改 (correct)

k /kʰ/ kē 棵 (piece) kaī 開 (open)

h /x/ hē 喝 (drink) haǒ 好 (good)

The above categorization system was developed during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in the historic thesis Rules of Singing Qu, a treatise specifically focused on singing and lyric diction.

The Singing of Qu (melody) calls for excellence in three things: excellence in clearly presenting all the phonetic elements to be sung; second, excellence in correctly mouthing and shaping the sung zi so they match the musical notes; third, excellence in accurately capturing the beat and rhythm. (Fu, 2006, p. 67)

This categorization system named Wu yin (Five Sounds) is quoted in many text books and is still widely used today. Contemporary text books further develop this categorization and add a sixth category, separating Dentals and Retroflexes, as seen in Table 3.

49 This system helps to explain how consonants are produced. Labial sounds b, p, m, f are produced with both lips. Alveolars d, t, n, l are articulated by pressing the tongue to the ridge just behind the top front teeth. Velars consonants g, k, h, are articulators which focus at the back of the oral cavity close to the throat. Dental z, c, s are produced by putting the tongue against the upper teeth.

Retroflexes zh ch sh r consonants require retraction of the tongue. Palatals, j, q, x, are produced by the raising of the tongue with lips slightly spread, creating a narrow space in the oral cavity similar to the space when pronouncing /i/. The last three categories of consonants are particularly difficult for English speakers, as these sounds do not exist in our everyday language. For further elaboration on these consonants, please see Chapter 5.4.1.9 on page 62.

In the following sub-sections, I divide these consonants in the following system designed by 20th century renowned Chinese educator and conductor, Ma Ge-shun (2013), in The Study of Choral

Music 合唱學. Categorization is based on the nature of the consonants. I further examine each consonant using the IPA system, with examples comprising words commonly sung in European languages. Section 5.4.1.9 is specifically dedicated to the ten most challenging sounds unique to

Standard Chinese.

5.4.1.1 Aspirated plosive consonants: p, t, k

In phonetics, a plosive consonant is produced by completely closing the oral passage and subsequently releasing it, producing a burst of air (Grases, 2011, p. 4) In IPA, aspirated consonants are indicated with a small “h” notated top right following the fundamental phonetic symbol. Ma states that singers have to pronounce the consonant strongly before the vowel

50 carrying the note. For instance, the word pa (怕) should be pronounced in the same manner as

but not like . (Ma, 2013, p. 421) p /pʰ/ - p in pinyin is an aspirated consonant at the labial position. The treatment of this consonant in SC is similar to the Germanic languages (English and German) and differs slightly from the treatment in the Romance languages (Italian and French). In SC, this consonant is produced by a burst of air breaking through closed lips. In Italian and French there is no puff of air.

SC Pinyin English German

怕 pa (scared) Pow! Pauken

t /tʰ/ - Similar to the previous consonant, the treatment of the pinyin t is more similar to the

Germanic languages than the Romance languages. In Germanic languages, air is compressed behind the tongue and then released sharply (Moriarty, 1975, p. 83) In Romance languages, [t] is dental, which produces a dryer sound than SC and in Germanic languages.

In SC, t is a stop-plosive consonant. The consonant is pronounced by the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth ridge to stop air flow. The singers need to relax the jaw in order to avoid tension.

SC Pinyin English German

他 ta (he) Tap Tot (dead)

k /kʰ/ In SC, k is not a simple plosive consonant like the [k] as in cop. The superfix h in the IPA symbol indicates that a stronger burst of air is required when pronouncing this consonant.

SC Pinyin English German

看 kan (look) Kick Kinder (children)

5.4.1.2 Un-aspirated plosive consonants: b, d, g

The pinyin b, d, g, indicate unaspirated stops (or no release of airflow for the stop sounds), closely equivalent to the phonetic values of p, t, k sounds in English words such as span, store and ski (Sun, 2006, p. 35). All of these un-aspirated plosive consonants are unvoiced.

The sounds b /p/ are pronounced with closed lips and raised soft palate. Light air pressure escapes through release of the lips. When articulating this consonant, it is important to keep lips soft and without tension.

SC Pinyin English Spanish

八 ba (eight) span padre (father)

The sounds d /t/ are produced by the top of the tongue touching the upper teeth ridge. In SC, unlike English, d is always an initial and never an ending consonant. The treatment of this consonant is a dental /t/ in a forward position similar to that in French or Italian. It is not an aspirated t commonly spoken as “wet” t in English, but is more like the “d” of “deaf” in English and “dante” in Italian.

SC Pinyin English French

東 dong (east) deaf tante

The sound g /k/ is produced at the back of the oral cavity, with the back of the tongue touching the soft palate. This is similar to the g in the English word gallop or in Gott (God) in German.

SC Pinyin English Italian

光 guang (light) school Caro (dear)

53 5.4.1.3 Nasal consonants: m, n

Moriarty (1975) states that a nasal consonant is one in which the air stream is directed through the nasal passages rather than through the mouth (p. 93).

The consonant m /m/ is produced in the labial position, meaning both lips touch to let out airflow.

The treatment of this consonant is the same as /m/ in English and many Romance languages; examples include momento (moment in Spanish), mademoiselle (miss in French), and dominum

(master in Latin). Singers should avoid pressing the lips too tightly together, thus creating tension.

SC Pinyin English Latin

媽 ma (mother) Man Dominum

Another nasal consonant is n /n/, produced in the alveolar position by touching the tip of the tongue near the upper teeth ridge. Producing this consonant feels like humming through the nose in speech as well as in singing (Wall, 1991, p. 152)

SC Pinyin English Italian

你 ni (you) Noon niente (nothing)

54 5.4.1.4 Lateral consonants: l

In SC, l /l/ is pronounced exactly the same as English, but unlike in English or other European languages, the l in SC can only be an initial of a syllable, meaning in the beginning of the syllable and never in the body or at the end. l always occurs before a vowel. It should be pronounced with a relaxed tongue, slightly curled, and touching the upper back of the teeth ridge.

SC Pinyin English German

來 lai (come) Long Lieb (dear)

5.4.1.5 Fricative consonants: f, h, s, x, sh, r

A fricative is a consonant caused by the friction of air against teeth, tongue or palate (Moriarty,

1975, p. 87).

The sound for f /f/ is pronounced as in the English word of feet or flow. This consonant is pronounced with upper teeth gently resting on top of the lower lip, with air flow releasing through the passageway (Wall, 1991, p. 162). This is an unvoiced consonant.

SC Pinyin English Italian

風 feng (wind) flower fresca (fresh)

55 h /x/– In table 3 – Chinese consonants based on oral placement, Chen stated that the SC pinyin of the letter h is translated as /x/, a voiceless velar fricative as in ach in German. However, for choral diction, a slight modification could be adopted for this initial consonant in order to achieve clarity of text in singing, treating it as /h/ similar to how in English. This modification is also seen in John Winzenburg’s Mandarin Pronunciation Guide (Appendix A).

SC Pinyin English [h] German [h] [x]

花 hua (flower) How Bach [x] / haus [h] (house)

The sound s /s/ is pronounced the same as English sea or in Italian sale (salt). This consonant is produced with the tip of the tongue touching the upper gum ridge, also known as the alveolar ridge. The tip of the tongue gently touches the bottom front teeth. Air flows between the teeth and tongue (Wall, 1991, p. 170). /s/ is an unvoiced consonant. In speaking or singing this consonant, the space behind the tongue forms an oral cavity which is similar to a schwa /ə/.

SC Pinyin English Italian

四 si (four) Sea sale (salt)

x /ç/: The IPA symbol ç is commonly referred as the German ich-laut. In German, this consonant is usually an ending syllable such as mich (me/my) and in SC, this is always an initial consonant.

56 To pronounce this sound, the tongue should be in the position for the vowel sound [i] (Wentlent,

2014, p. 31), and air is allowed to pass from the tip of the tongue similar to [s]. The tongue pushes forward and lips are shaped laterally. The difference between the pinyin s and x is subtle.

X combines ich-laut and [s]. If singers have no German diction experience, explain that [ç] is a consonant sound we produce when pronouncing huge and human in North American English.

SC Pinyin English German

謝 xie (thanks) ------Mich (me/my)

sh /ʂ/: The pronounciation of sh is somewhat similar to the English she, except with the tongue curled back. The articulation involves the underside of the tip of the tongue, with the oral cavity positioned as if one is pronouncing [ɹ]. This is a foreign sound for English speakers, and in the

Winzenburg pronounciation guide, this sound is modified to [ʃ], simplified to a more recognizable symbol for singers..When producing this sound, the tongue retracts into the back of the cavity, making it feel like a more “swallowed” consonant. Hence, the IPA symbol has a diacritical marking to show that this is a retroflex sound.

SC Pinyin English Ecclesiastic Latin

上 shang (up) Shock excelsis (high)

57 r / ʐ /: In SC, r is one of the most frequently mispronounced consonants. As there are variables in pronouncing this consonant, there are therefore various ways to transcribe r into IPA. Chen

(2007) suggests r be pronounced as [ɹ] in Modern Chinese, while Sun (2006) uses [ʐ] in Chinese-

A Linguistic Introduction. Winzenburg uses [ɾ] in his pronounciation guide in Half Moon Rising.

For singing purposes, I favour Winzenburg’s suggestion, as [ɾ] creates a crisp consonant to articulate while singing. To produce this [ɾ] sound, the tip of the tongue touches once very quickly at the top of the mouth (hard palate), which is like saying the words very and spirit in

Received Pronunciation. This is also commonly known as “a flipped r” colloquially (in singer’s terms). This flipped “r” in its medial position can sometimes be heard when a North American pronounces latter/ladder, daughter, betting/bedding.

The authentic way to pronounce this consonant is [ʐ], however. Singers can add an onset of [ʐ] before the [ɾ]. It is possible that singers would feel a buzzing sensation at the blade of the tongue.

SC Pinyin English (received pronounciation) Latin

人 ren (person/people) merry miserere (mercy)

5.4.1.6 Aspirated affricate consonants: c, ch, q

In phonetics, aspirated sounds are indicated by adding the superscript [h] next to the initial voiceless consonants symbols (Ashby, 2011, p. 215). An aspirated sound is produced by a burst of air escaping through the articulators.

58 c /tsʰ/: In SC, the aspirated consonant of c is an aspirated [ts]. This unvoiced consonant of [ts] is quite commonly seen in English when combining t & s, like tarts, tsunami or tse-tse fly. [ts] is pronounced by combining [t] and [s] into one sound. The additional superfix h in the IPA symbol indicates that this consonant is an aspirated [ts], with a stronger burst of air. When pronouncing this consonant, the oral space feels like [ə]

SC Pinyin English Latin

猜 cai (guess) Cats Gratia

ch /tʂʰ/ is similar to the fricative consonant of sh, indicated as [ʂ] by Sun (2006) and Chen

(2007), and as [ʃ] by Winzenburg (2015). A discrepancy of transcriptions is seen here as well;

Sun (2006) and Chen (2007) transcribe ch [tʂʰ], and Winzenburg uses [tʃʰ]. To produce this consonant, one would pronounce [tʂʰ] by first combining [t] and [ʂ], making the sound ch as in cha-cha or chore in English and adding more air pressure behind the teeth, releasing a burst of air. Once again, the added superfix h makes this consonant extra aspirated.

SC Pinyin English Italian

唱 chang (sing) cha-cha caccia (hunter)

q /tçʰ/ represents a foreign sound for non-Chinese speakers that does not exist in any European languages. This affricated consonant is the aspirated version of j /tç/. Lips are lateral, spread

59 wide like an [i] vowel. To pronounce q, one should combine [t] and [ç] into one sound. By bringing the upper and bottom teeth close together (but not biting down), a narrow air passage way allows air to burst through behind an [i] positioned vowel and the tip of the tongue. The front part of the tongue pushes forward and the position of the tongue is flat parallel to the lower jaw. The superfix ʰ indicates that this consonant is heavily aspirated.

SC Pinyin English Latin/ Italian/German

輕 qing (light weight) ------

5.4.1.7 Un-aspirated affricate consonants: z, zh, j

These three un-aspirated consonants are affricates: they begin with a stop, followed by the release of air flow from the same place of articulation. An affricate consonant is a combination of a plosive and a fricative (Moriarty, 1975, p. 101) z /ts/: This sound combines [t] and [s] together, somewhat similar to the ending of the English word kids; however, in SC, this is an un-aspirated voiceless consonant. Another approximation example would be tse-tse fly, taking away the aspiration. When pronouncing this consonant, the oral space feels like [ə].

SC Pinyin English (approximation) Latin/ Italian/German

坐 zuo (sit) Kids, yards -----

60 zh /tʂ/: Sun (2006) and Chen (2007) transcribe the SC zh as [tʂ] while Winzenburg (2015) has modified this consonant to [dʒ] for familiarity and clarity for non-Chinese singers. Although [dʒ] is indeed easier to pronounce for English speakers, as the [dʒ] consonant exists in English as jaw or jock (Wall, 1991, p. 202), it is more accurate to transcribe it as [tʂ]. Like [dʒ], the blade of the tongue touches the teeth ridge. But unlike [dʒ], [tʂ] is produced by retracting the tongue: the middle part of the tongue retracts back, forming an arch at the back of the oral cavity. The two sounds are extremely similar and modification is acceptable if singers have difficulty pronouncing [tʂ]; in fact, the difference is so minor that when singing, it is easy to overlook.

SC Pinyin English Latin/ Italian/German

中 zhong (centre) ------

j /tç/: Although this IPA symbol might be foreign to most singers, the pronunciation of this sound is approximated as the English sound of j as in gin and ginger; however, unlike when producing those sounds, the lips should not be rounded. Lip position should be wide and spread similar to an [i] vowel. The tongue should not curl back but rather be pressed down against the back of the bottom teeth. Upper and bottom teeth should be relatively close together (without biting down). This unaspirated consonant is pronounced by combining a dental [t] and a German ichlaut [ç]. The [t] is a dental [t] in a forward position similar to that in French or Italian, not an aspirated t commonly known as “wet” t in English.

SC Pinyin English Latin/ Italian/German

家 jia (home) ------

5.4.1.8 Semi-vowels: y and w

Y and w in SC are the two initial sounds that are not included in the above categorization, as they are considered as semi-vowels or glides. These are short sounds followed immediately by a long, strong dominant vowel. y /j/: this j glide occurs frequently in SC. When a pinyin starts with the letter y, it is pronounced as a [j] glide similar to yellow and yoke in English. You can also use the j glide to replace an i when i is the first vowel of a diphthong or a triphthong. For more detailed description, refer to section 5.4.2.2.

SC Pinyin English German

葉 ye (leaf) Yellow jauchzen (exalt)

w /w/ is pronounced like the English [w]. It is a bilabial consonant, produced by gathering and rounding both lips. Similar to the above consonant, [w] is also a glide that is frequently use to substitute for the u vowel when the vowel is followed by another vowel in a diphthong or triphthong. You may find more information on [w] glide at section 5.4.2.4.

SC Pinyin English French

我 wo (I/me) water oui (yes)

5.4.1.9 Further explanations of consonants unique to Standard Chinese z, c, s, j, q, s, zh, ch, sh, r

In summary, most SC consonants can be explained using examples of English words. The 10 consonants which appear to be more challenging to non-native speakers are the following:

Un-aspirated Aspirated affricate Fricative affricate consonants consonants Consonants

Palatals j [tç] q [tçʰ] x [ç]

Dentals z [ts] c [tsʰ] s [s]

Retroflexes zh [tʂ] ch [tʂʰ] sh [ʂ] (aspirated)

r [ʐ] (un-aspirated)

I recommend practicing these consonants altogether, following the above chart, from left to right, top row to bottom row. That way, choristers can accurately feel the change in the oral cavity, and the placement of the articulators. The physical sensation from transforming from one oral space to another will help to differentiate each of the sounds accurately.

63 J, q, x, are palatal sounds. The articulators are the blade just behind the tip of the tongue and the hard palate. The tip of the tongue itself is inactive. J and q are both voiceless affricates, unaspirated and aspirated, and x is a voiceless fricative. When pronouncing these three consonants, the lips are spread wide like a smile, creating a narrow pathway to release the sound.

It is helpful to sound out these consonants by adding a [i] vowel after each consonant to prepare for the accurate space.

Moving from the palatal consonants to the dental consonants z, c, s, simply release the widened lips into a more neutral position. Release the jaw and create an oral space as if you are adding a schwa [ə] after the consonants. One must not forget that the s in SC is pronounced exactly like the s in English and many other European languages.

Zh, ch, sh and r are retroflexes, meaning “bent back,” referring to the position of the tip of the tongue just behind the alveolar ridge. The tongue is retracted and the sound is produced from the underside of the tongue. Zh and ch are both voiceless, unaspirated and aspirated affricates. Sh is a fricative consonant. Its retroflex articulation gives it a slightly deeper and less hissing quality than the English sh. R is the counterpart of sh, an unaspirated fricative consonant. It is helpful to pronounce these consonants pairing with a [ɹ] in order to create a retroflex position in the oral cavity.

5.4.2 Vowels

In Standard Chinese, there are 36 vowel combinations in total. These make up the belly and the final of each syllable:

64 a o e i u ü ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong ia ie io iao iou ian in iang ing iong ua uo

uai uei uan uen uang ueng üe üan ün

Generally there are three types of vowels:

1. Single Vowel: a o e o i u ü (Lei, 2016, p. 35)

2. Diphthong: ia ie ua uo üe in ing üe ai ei ao ou an en ang eng ong

3. Triphthong: uai uei iao iou ian üan uan uen iang uang iong ueng

Diphthongs and Triphthongs are sounds formed by the combination of two or more vowels in a single syllable. (Davids and LaTour, 2012) The treatment of these vowels in Standard Chinese can be unusual to English speakers. Some of them are treated similarly to diphthongs in English where as the sound begins with the first vowel and moves toward another, as in coin, main, and pair. In Standard Chinese, some of the examples of the aforementioned vowel movements include ia, ie, ua, uo, ing iao, ang, iong and iang. However, a few of these diphthongs and triphthongs are slightly modified when vowels are combined together: ui becomes [uɛi] (one syllable) rather than [u]+[i].

Furthermore, when singing in Standard Chinese, it is important to recognize which vowel to sustain when diphthongs or triphthongs land on a long note. Phonetic and linguistic sources state that Chinese syllable can be divided into an onset and rime. For example, the pinyin for the character 快 (quickly, fast) is kuai; however, as ku [kʰw] is the onset, the IPA transcription for this pinyin can be written as either [kuaɪ] or [kwaɪ]. By replacing [u] with a glide [w], this shows the duration of the treatment of each vowel in this diphthong, also showing which is the main vowel, in this example, [a] followed by [ɪ]. For the purpose of this document, I will not go

65 into detailed analysis of each phoneme; rather, the IPA will show all the glides for the diphthongs and triphthongs, in order to direct singers to the main vowels.

In the 15th century treatise by Wei Liang-Fu (2006), Rules of Singing Qu, Fu categorized the vowels based on the mouth shapes. These vowels are call Si Hu (四呼): four exhalations positions. The following chapters will be based on his categorization.

5.4.2.1 Opening exhalation (開口呼)

Opening exhalation vowels are produced with a relaxed open jaw. These vowels are all considered low vowels (Lin, 2007, p. 56) The placements of these vowels could be in a forward, central or back position, with the tongue resting flat against the bottom teeth.

SC Word examples IPA Description (when Examples SC singing…) Pinyin 八 (ba) eight [a] A brighter “ah” vowel. Italian - cara a 馬 (ma) horse Spanish - boca 拉 (la) pull

波 (bo) ball When pairing o with a English – o [wɔ] 婆 (po) grandmother consonant, there is bought always a glide before French – 摸 (mo) touch the [ɔ] Laurier 特 (te) unique This vowel is called [ʌ] as in up e [ɤ] 樂 (le) happiness ram’s horns. A voiced and [ə] as in velar fricative that is a celebrate 課 (ke) class close-mid-back-central vowel, in between an [ə] and [ʌ] 白 (bai) white [aɪ] Diphthong – produced English – ai 買 (mai) buy by combining [a] and high [i]; sustain on [a] close German – 台 (tai) stage

on [i] Mai 背 (bei) back [eɪ] Diphthong – produced English – ei 美 (mei) beauty by combining [e] and bait, may [I]; sustain on [e] 飛 (fei) fly

保 (bao) protect [aʊ] Diphthong – produced English – ao 跑 (pao) run by combining [a] and lounge, round [u]; sustain on [a] 貓 (mao) cat

漏 (lou) drip [ou] English – ou 週 (zhou) week low, tow

班 (ban) class [an] Sustaining [a] vowel, an 南 (nan) south close syllable subtly with [n] tip of tongue at 山 (shan) mountain teeth ridge 門 (men) door [ən] Sustaining [ə] vowel, en 分 (fen) separate close syllable subtly with [n] tip of tongue at teeth ridge 忙 (mang) busy Sustaining [a] vowel, ang [ɑŋ] 放 (fang) release close syllable subtly with [ŋ] using back of

tongue touching soft palate 風 (feng) wind eng [əŋ] Sustaining [ə] vowel, 燈 (deng) light close syllable subtly 聲 (sheng) sound with [ŋ] using back of tongue touching soft palate 兒 (er) son [ər] Singer modification to er an [ahr] as in arsenic

67 5.4.2.2 “Biting” (Forward) exhalation (齊口呼)

In the English version of The Study of Choral Singing by Ma Ge-Shun (2013), the translator coined the term Biting Exhalation for the vowels discussed in this section; however, I would translate this category as Forward Exhalation, as the term “bite” could elicit tension in the production of these vowels, something to avoid when singing.

All of the following vowels involve the forward vowel of [i] as in beet in English or venti in

Italian. To produce this vowel, the high point of the tongue is forward in the mouth, close to the teeth ridge, which makes [i] a close, forward vowel. The tip of the tongue touches the back of the bottom front teeth. The sides of the tongue laterally touch the inside of the upper molars (Wall,

1991, p. 20).

The glide [j] is used here for all the diphthongs and triphthongs, when i is followed by a vowel and preceded by a consonant. For example 家 jia (family) can be transcribed as either [tçia] or with a [j] glide, [tçja].

SC Word examples IPA Description Examples SC Pinyin 滴 (di) drop [i] Closed “I” English – i 筆 (bi) pencil beet Italian – venti (twenty) 十 (shi) ten [ɹ] When i is i* 詞 (ci) lyrics following z, c, s, zh, ch, r 家 (jia) family [ia] quick and ia 夏 (xia) summer [ja] short [i], sustain on [a] 別 (bie) farewell Italian – pieta ie [iɛ] quick and 謝 (xie) thank you (pity) short [i],

sustain on [ɛ] [jɛ]

(an exclamation sound) io [iɔ] quick and short [i], [jɔ] sustain on [ɔ] 聊 (liao) chat [iaʊ] quick and meow iao 小 (xiao) small [jaʊ] short [i], sustain on [a] and closes with [ʊ] vowel at the end of note 甜 (tian) sweet [iɛn] quick and ian 棉 (mian) cotton [jɛn] short [i], sustain on [ɛ] 戀 (lian) love and end with light [n] 民 (min) people/nation [in] Sustain on [i] in 緊 (jin) tight and end with a light [n] 香 (xiang) scented iang [iaŋ] quick and 涼 (liang) cool short [i], [jaŋ] sustain on [a] and end gently on [ŋ] 冰 (bing) ice ing [iŋ] Sustain on [i] 星 (xing) star and end with a light [ŋ]

69 5.4.2.3 Gathering exhalation (撮口呼)

Gathering exhalation vowels are forward vowels produced with rounded lips. Most of the vowels in this category consist of the pinyin ü. Similar to the German umlaut, this pinyin sound has two dots ¨ over the letter, such as ü in the German word für (for). Sometimes the dots are omitted; however, the [y] sound is expected, especially when u follows consonants j, q, x.

SC Word examples IPA Description Examples SC Pinyin [y] Same as a German – ü 魚 (yu) fish German über umlaut: French - sur Shape [i] vowel as lips round and create [u] shape [yɛn] Short [y] and üan 圈 (quan) circle sustain on [ɛ], gently close [n] at the end

üe 月(yue) moon [yɛ] Starts with [y] Sustain on [ɛ] [yn] Sustain ü and ün 雲 (yun) cloud close [n]

熊 (xiong) bear [iʊŋ] Short [i] and iong [jʊŋ] sustain on [ʊ]; close on [ŋ] at the end

70 5.4.2.4 Closing exhalation (合口呼)

As mentioned in the above section, there is one exception with the pinyin syllable u. In SC, when u is following consonants j, q, and x, u should be pronounced as ü [y]. When following most consonants, however, u is pronounced as [u], similar to English word zoo.

The [w] glide is used in this category, when u is followed by a vowel and preceded by a consonant. For example, 花 (flower) hua, is transcribed as [xua] and [xwa]. The later transcription shows that the direction of this syllable leads to the [a] vowel.

SC Word examples IPA Description Examples SC Pinyin [u] This is a back Italian – u 步 (bu) step vowel, subito 譜 (pu) music score however, one (suddenly) 路 (lu) road must keep lips forward English – and round loon 瓜 (gua) melon [ua] Keep [u] ua 誇 (kua) exaggerate [wa] short and sustain on [a] 花 (hua) flower vowel 多 (duo) plenty [uɔ] Keep [u] uo 說 (shuo) speak [wɔ] short and sustain on [ɔ] vowel 快 (kuai) quick [uai] Starts with English- way uai [wai] [u], sustain on [a] and gently closed with [i] at the end of the note 吹 (chui) blow Starts with ui [uɛi] 推 (tui) push [u], sustain on [ɛ] and gently

SC Word examples IPA Description Examples SC Pinyin closed with [wɛi] [i] at the end of the note

圓 (yuan) round [uan] Starts with uan [wan] [u] and sustain on [a]; close on [n] at the end 吞 (tun) swallow [uən] Starts with un 滾 (gun) boil [wən] [u] and sustain on [ə]; close on [n] at the end 光 (guang) light [uaŋ] Starts with uang 床 (chuang) bed [waŋ] [u] and sustain on [a]; close on [ŋ] at the end 東 (dong) east [ʊŋ] Sustain on ong 龍 (long) dragon [ʊ]; close on [ŋ] at the end 共 (gong) together

5.4.3 Tones

One must note that Standard Chinese is a tonal language. The pinyin system uses diacritics to mark the four tones. The diacritic, which looks like an accent, is placed over the letter to indicate the tone for the particular syllable. There are four standard tones in Standard Chinese, and one extra, neutral tone (Zhang, 2010). Different tones change the meaning of the words. These diacritics can be omitted when transcribing Standard Chinese from characters to its phonetic

72 system (pinyin), but they are very useful for accurate pronunciation and poetic reading. Here is an example of how each pitch changes the meaning of a character that shares the same syllable ma: Mā 媽 (mother), Má 麻 (hemp), Mǎ 馬 (horse), Mà (scold).

When singing in Standard Chinese, the tone of each syllable is already embedded within the musical intervals of the melodic line; therefore, tones are not important in this document. For the purpose of introducing lyric diction in Standard Chinese to beginners and non-native speakers, the understanding of tones can most definitely be omitted. To set SC text to music, however, a composer should be aware of the inflections in order to set the music accordingly. When learning the text of a Mandarin choral work, chant the lyrics in monotone. Tonal inflections can sometime impede and affect the choral tone (Winzenburg, 2015, p. ix), not to mention that this can be highly confusing to English speakers, as English is a monotonal language.

5.5. Summary

To conclude, when singing in SC, there are several important points to remember:

1. The pronounciation of most SC consonants are similar to the pronunciation of English or

European languages, except for r, j, q, x; z, c, s; and zh, ch, sh.

2. When sustaining a SC syllable or a long note, it is important to identify the belly of the

sound. For a note with longer duration, the belly is where the long note is sustained, i.e.,

the dominant vowel or the vowel that sustains the longest.

3. The finals in SC lyric diction are handled very subtly. One must not exaggerate ending

consonants by over enunciating [ŋ], brightening [i], or adding any shadow vowel after

[n]. Some of these above treatments are often used in choral performance when singing

in European languages, as an effect to achieve clear diction while singing. In Mandarin

73 choral performance, however, this is not a common practice. When singing in Standard

Chinese, simply release all finals gently without any extra emphases or stresses.

4. Tones do not matter as much when singing in Mandarin as the musical intervals dictate

the inflections of the text. Therefore the introduction of tones could be omitted in order

to eliminate confusion for non-native speakers.

Chapter 6: Chinese Choral Music of Today

In this chapter, I analyze five original compositions which provide excellent representations of original choral works in Standard Chinese. My descriptions include the composer’s biography, program notes, and analytical information that may be helpful in score preparation. These analyses are not meant to be comprehensive studies of each piece but rather a start to begin one’s exploration of original Chinese choral works. In Appendix D, there are sample pages of newly edited scores with pinyin transliterations. My goal is to show examples of music and editions that are accessible for both native and non-native speakers.

In addition to the aforementioned resources, for each piece I provide audio and visual aids (see

Appendix C). These sound files include lyrics being chanted and intoned. These aural models will help with clarity of the pronunciation of each syllable, while eliminating the confusion of various tones due to the nature of Standard Chinese as a tonal language. I also provide YouTube links to recent recordings of each piece.

I felt it was important to select choral works by current composers for the examples to be included in this dissertation. I have chosen to present composers of different geographical backgrounds: Shanghai, Yunnan, Hong Kong, and two from North America: Canada and the

United States respectively. All of the selected pieces were written within the last decade. I also felt it was important to select original compositions rather than folk song arrangements. As mentioned in Chapter 2, there are many folk song arrangements available through North

American publishers; however, there is a lack of original repertoire available.

74 75

Current Chinese choral music adopts Western choral approaches such as voice type (SATB), structure (verse/chorus), harmony (tonality: major/minor/pentatonic), and singing style (bel canto); hence, this type of choral composition is very accessible to North American choirs. I have observed that a unique characteristic of original Chinese choral music is the lush piano accompaniment, especially noticeable with music written in the 20th century. An elaborate piano part emulates the sound of a symphonic orchestra, providing a foundation which supports the choral ensemble. This writing technique enables choristers to produce a fuller sound; similarly, it facilitates large choruses. Composers of the 21st century, however, seem to be slowly moving away from this trend. Millennial composers such as Aaron King and Pan Xingzimin enjoy composing for smaller ensembles and creating a more intimate musical language.

All of the pieces chosen are within the level 1 and level 2 categories based on the Repertoire

Resource Guides in Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir (Buchanan & Meaffey,

2007, p. 137) (Appendix E). These pieces all have melodic vocal lines with manageable range and tessitura, straightforward rhythms, and predictable tonality. My goal is to select pieces that are musically accessible, so singers and conductors can focus on the language as they embark on a new journey with Chinese choral music.

I was mindful of the language challenges of the selected repertoire. I have chosen accessible repertoire that uses texts that are not too complicated or lengthy, thus friendly to singers who might be singing in Standard Chinese for the first time. I have chosen compositions that use only

Standard Chinese and have avoided those in different Chinese topolects. There are repeated texts

76 in all of the pieces, a fact which eases the learning. In addition, many neutral syllables are used as vocal accompaniment throughout some of the pieces

Finally, it was important for me to select texts and themes that are understandable and relevant to singers no matter their cultural background. All five pieces are secular works with relatable themes such as unity and nature.

I present these compositions as a small sample of some of the high quality music written by

Chinese composers and to promote their noteworthy contribution to the 21st century choral community. I hope to encourage readers to explore and learn about Chinese repertoire. (Please note that permission was granted by each composer to include their repertoire in this dissertation for educational purposes.)

77 6.1 Ho, Alice: 靜夜思 “Thoughts on a Still Night”

Composer: Alice Ping Yee Ho 何冰頤(b. 1960) Text Source: 李白 Li Bai (701-762AD)

Voicing: SATB Accompaniment: piano Duration: 2’45”

Year published: 2010

Language: Standard Chinese

About the Composer:

Hong Kong born Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho is acclaimed for her “organic flow of imagination” and “distinctly individual style.” She is the recipient of 2016 Louis Applebaum Composers’ Award, the 2014 PEI Symphony Composers’ Competition Award, the 2013 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Original Opera, and M. Hunter’s Award for “best classical composer.” Her works have been performed by many acclaimed ensembles, including the China National Symphony, the Polish Radio Choir, the Finnish Lapland Chamber Orchestra, and the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Victoria Symphonies. A 2015 Juno nominee for classical composition of the year, her discography includes releases on the Centrediscs, Marquis Classics, Blue Griffin, Electra and Phoenix labels (Biography by composer). (Ho, personal communication, January 14, 2018).

About the Poet:

A Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, Li Po (also known as Li Bai, Li Pai, Li T’ai-po, and Li T’ai-pai) was probably born in central Asia and grew up in Sichuan Province. He left home in 725 A.D. to wander through the Yangtze River Valley and to write poetry. In 742 A.D., he was appointed to the Hanlin Academy by Emperor Xuanzong, though he was eventually expelled from court. He then served the Prince of Yun, who led a revolt after the An Lushan Rebellion of 755 A.D. Li Po was arrested for treason; after he was pardoned, he again wandered the Yangze Valley. He was married four times and was friends with the poet Tu Fu.

78 Li Po wrote occasional verse and poems about his own life. His poetry is known for its clear imagery and conversational tone. His work influenced a number of 20th-century poets including Ezra Pound and James Wright (www.poetryfoundation.org, retrieved February 17, 2018).

Program notes:

“Thoughts on a Still Night” 靜夜思 is one of the most popular Chinese poems by the beloved Chinese poet 李白 (Li Bai, 701-762AD) of the Tang Dynasty. Like many others, I was taught to recite the poem at a very young age. Setting this beautiful poetry to music naturally became my first goal when I started to compose many years ago. The piece itself is romantic and sentimental in style. The choral setting is lyrical and not melismatic. The vocal line stresses the natural rhyme of the words, such that it echoes the simplicity and hyperbolic language of the poem. The piano accompaniment is impressionistic and at times elaborate. It serves as both the harmonic pillar and the backdrop that highlights the imaginative scenario of the poem. The theme depicts the wandering feeling of the poet at his time; in a contemporary sense, the music conveys certain nostalgia for those who travel and settle abroad (Program note by composer). (Ho, personal communication, December 21, 2009).

Range and tessitura: Tempo/Style: very sentimental ♩= c. 65

Soprano = E♭ 4 – F5

Alto = B♭3 – F5

Tenor = F3 – G4

Bass = A♭2 – E♭4

79 Musical characteristics:

• Beautiful ballad features a virtuosic piano part with simplistic choral lines. • Simple rhythms with mostly quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, creating long linear vocal lines, perfectly capturing the stillness depicted in this classic poetry. • The form and structure of this piece follows the structure of the poetry, four lines separated with piano interludes to reinforce the imagery.

Technical considerations:

• Expressive piano part with room for artistic expression. This will be a good piece to feature a virtuosic pianist. • Some big interval leaps and disjunct movements such as m. 11 and m. 28 • Unpredictable harmonic movements challenge the ear

Form and Structure

SECTION MEASURES

Introduction (piano solo) 1 – 8

A 9 – 17

Piano interlude 18 – 21

A1 22 – 30

Piano interlude 31 – 37

B 38 – 47

C 48 – 58

Coda 70

80 Text:

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

床前明⽉光 Moonlight shine into my bed chuáng qián míng yuè guāng tʂʰwaŋ tçʰjɛn miŋ yɥe kwaŋ

Perhaps frost on the ground 疑是地上霜

yí shì dì shàng shuāng

yi ʂɤ di ʂaŋ ʂwaŋ

舉頭望明⽉ Lift my head and see the moon jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè tçy tʰou waŋ miŋ yɥe

低頭思故鄉 Lower my head and dream of home dī tóu sī gù xiāng ti tʰou sɤ ku çjaŋ

Supplementary information: • Alice Ho’s complete biography and repertoire listing with the Canadian Music Centre: https://www.musiccentre.ca/node/37481/biography • Performance: https://youtu.be/DqVH93oAaTE • Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/thoughts-on-the-still-night-text-intone

6.2 Pan, Xingzimin: 蒲公英 “Dandelion”

Composer: 潘⾏紫旻 Xingzimin Pan (1986) Lyricist: 李皓 Li Hao

Voicing: SATB Accompaniment: piano Duration: 5’33”

Year published: 2016

Language: Standard Chinese

About the Composer:

Xingzimin Pan’s music has been performed in the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Australia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He is the award recipient of several composition competitions including the 4th China-ASEAN Music Week Composition Competition, the 1st Flute New Music Consortium (FNMC) Composition Contest, and 2nd International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM) nternational Composition Competition. Pan’s works have been published by Fudan University Publishing House and Schott Music.

As one of the most active choral music composers in China, Pan has collaborated with many outstanding choirs including the Sydney Chamber Choir, the Echo Chamber Singers, the Renwen Philharmonic Choir, the Peiyang Chorus, and the Shanghai Spring Children’s Choir. His works: “Poem I” (IFCM Competition winning composition), “Everlasting Love” (Fudan University the 110th Anniversary Celebration commission), “Dandelion” (Echo Chamber Singers commission, from Choral Suite What Flowers Tell You), and Wuxi Sights (Wuxi Children’s Palace Choir commission) received strong reviews from both critics and audiences.

Pan received the BA in Music from Central China Normal University and the MM in Composition from the University of Northern Iowa. He is now studying for the Ph.D

82 degree in Composition at the University of Utah. Pan has served as Composer-in- Residence at Echo Choirs since 2015 (Pan, personal communication, March 14, 2017).

Program notes:

What Flowers Tell You is the longest and most expansive work I’ve composed so far. It consists of four movements, each of which centers on a species of flower and tells a distinctive story or mood.

“Dandelion,” the last movement, tries to tell that though they are weightless and can fly afar, dandelions in fact have no grip over their fate and destiny. It is not up to them to decide where to stay, whom to be with, and for how long to linger. In fact, at some point after they embark on the flight, they will have realized that they can no longer return to the origin. That is how I feel about myself in recent years. I left my hometown at the age of 18. And it has been 6 years since I left China at 24. In retrospection, I realized that there are many things one cannot control. Neither does one know in which direction he or she will drift when looking into the future. Eventually, we are all pushed along by our destiny. (Text by Xingzimin Pan. Translated by Kai Sun. Edited by Xingzimin Pan). (Pan, personal communication, March 14, 2017).

Range and tessitura: Tempo/Style: ♩.= 50-55;

Soprano = B♭3 - F5 (G5 for Soprano 1)

Alto = B♭3-C5

Tenor = E♭3-C4

Bass = B♭2-B♭3

Musical characteristics:

• Flowing melody in 6/8, evoking the imagery of dandelions floating freely in the air. • The simplicity of the melodic line followed by predictable harmonic patterns is a distinctive stylistic feature of this piece. This piece is therefore accessible for high school or community choir ensembles of any size.

• Piano accompaniment has consistent “wave-like” movements throughout, providing a moving pulse and dance-like momentum.

Technical considerations:

• The tuneful melody line should be sung lightly without excessive vibrato to support the simplicity of the music • Measures 55-67 should be treated freely. This multi-meter section uses word painting to show that “wind suddenly stopped.” Conductors should take this section freely and be attentive to the gentleness of the text. Each note should be sung with tender care. • Be careful not to alter the [e] vowel at measure 3 when trying to achieve the dynamic effect of sfp < . • Releases of sustained notes on text such as 飛(fly) fei (m. 4, m. 9), and 回 (return) hui (m. 88) should be treated with relaxed jaw, open oral cavity, and almost no movements with the tongue. Add a little bit of breath at the release, almost like a sigh. Be careful not to emphasize on the final [i] vowel. • Be aware of the rhyming schemes, which will help to secure pronunciations: o –ian = [iɛn] (as in pian m. 13, dian m. 27, jian, m. 29) o –ui = [wɛi] also rhyms with –ei [ɛi] (as in shui m. 14, fei m. 15, gui m. 22,shui m. 35, shei m. 37) o –ing = [iŋ] (as written, just remember a bright [i] vowel is required)

Form and Structure

SECTION MEASURES

Introduction (a cappella) 1 – 4

Verse 1 5 – 39

Chorus 40 – 54

Interlude (mostly a cappella) 55 – 67

Verse 2 68 – 88

Bridge 89 – 96

Chorus 97 – 107

Coda 108 - 123

84 Text. (Poetic translation by Kai Sun, edited by Xingzimin Pan)

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

⾶輕輕⾶ Fly, ever so tenderly.

Fēi qīng qīng fēi feɪ tçʰiŋ tçʰiŋ feɪ

⾵吹我過這座⼭ I fly over the hill in the wind. fēng chuī wǒ guò zhè zuò shān feŋ tʂweɪ wɔ kwɔ tʂɤ tswɔ ʂan

I fly over the river in the wind. ⾵吹我過這⽚⽔

fēng chuī wǒ guò zhè piàn shuǐ feŋ tʂweɪ wɔ kwɔ tʂɤ pʰjɛn ʂweɪ

⾶慢慢⾶ Fly, ever so slowly,

Fēi màn man fēi

feɪ man man feɪ

Over the hill, over the river, 這座⼭這⽚⽔ zhè zuò shān zhè piàn shuǐ tʂɤ tswɔ ʂan tʂɤ pʰjɛn ʂweɪ

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

不知何時歸 Knowing nothing about when to return. bù zhī hé shí guī pu tʂɤ xe ʂɤ kweɪ

⾶輕輕⾶ Fly, ever so tenderly.

Fēi qīng qīng fēi feɪ tçʰiŋ tçʰiŋ feɪ

I cannot discern the glittering lights. 看不清點點燈⽕

kàn bù qīng diǎn diǎn dēng huǒ

kʰan pu tçʰiŋ tjɛn tjɛn təŋ xwɔ

只聽⾒潺潺溪⽔ I can only hear the murmuring creeks. zhǐ ting jiàn chán chán xī shuǐ tʂɤ tʰiŋ tçjɛn tʂʰan tʂʰan çi ʂweɪ

Fly, ever so slowly, ⾶慢慢⾶

fēi màn man fēi feɪ man man feɪ

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

靜夜裏⼈安睡 In the silent night, over those in slumber,

jìng yè lǐ rén ān shuì tçiŋ je li ʐən an ʂweɪ

有誰伴我⾶ Knowing none who’d fly with me yǒu sheí bàn wǒ fēi jou ʂeɪ pan wɔ feɪ

忽然⾵停 The wind ceases suddenly,

Hū rán fēng ting xu ʐan fəŋ tʰiŋ

Dropping me right beside you. 我飄落你⾝旁

wǒ piāo luò nǐ shēn pang

wɔ pʰiaʊ lwɔ ni ʂhən pʰaŋ

多想⾧留此處 How I want to stay here for long, duō xiǎng zhǎng liú cǐ chù dwɔ çjaŋ tʂaŋ ljou tsʰɤ tʂʰu

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

結束漫漫旅途 Ending my never-ending journey.

jié shù màn màn lǚ tú tçjɛ ʂu man man ly tʰu

無奈⾵再起 But the wind starts again,

Wú nài fēng zài qǐ wu naɪ fəŋ tsaɪ tçʰi

帶我離開⼤地 Taking off the ground with me, dài wǒ lí kāi dà dì taɪ wɔ li kʰaɪ ta ti

Flying towards the unknown. ⾶向未知⽅向 fēi xiàng wèi zhī fāng xiàng feɪ çaŋ weɪ tʂɤ faŋ çjaŋ

⾶⾃在⾶ Fly, ever so freely.

Fēi zì zài fēi feɪ tsɤ tsaɪ feɪ

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

⽩雲在腳下來回 The white clouds wander below me.

bái yún zài jiǎo xià lái huí paɪ yn tsaɪ tçjaʊ çya laɪ xweɪ

清⾵是我的翅膀 I have the breeze as my wings. qīng fēng shì wǒ de chì bǎng tçʰiŋ fəŋ ʂɤ wɔ tɤ tʂʰɤ paŋ

Fly, with the wind. ⾶隨⾵⾶

fēi suí fēng fēi feɪ sweɪ fəng feɪ

The journey goes on and on. 漸⾏漸遠⾶揚

jiàn xíng jiàn yuǎn fēi yáng

tçjɛn çiŋ tçjɛn ywan feɪ yaŋ

那座⼭那⽚⽔ The hills, and the river, nà zuò shān nà piàn shuǐ na tswɔ ʂan na pʰjɛn ʂweɪ

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

只有在夢裏回 They are only found in the dream. zhǐ yǒu zài mèng lǐ huí tʂɤ you tʂaɪ meŋ li xweɪ

漸⾏漸遠 On and on, I fly forward,

Jiàn xíng jiàn yuǎn tçyɛn çiŋ tçjɛn ywan

The memories belong only to my dreams. 只有在夢裏回

zhǐ yǒu zài mèng lǐ huí tʂɤ you tʂaɪ meŋ li xweɪ

Supplementary information: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqe27vvTv7Y • Composer’s website: https://www.xingziminpan.com/ • Purchase link: https://wj.qq.com/s/592460/2990?from=message&isappinstalled=0 • Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/dandelion-text-intone

90 6.3. Ng, Cheuk-Yin: Huxi

Composer: 伍卓賢 Ng Cheuk-Yin (b. 1977) Lyricist: 游思⾏ You See Hand (b.1977)

Voicing: SATB Accompaniment: piano Duration: 4”40’

Year published: 2015

Language: Standard Chinese and English

About the Composer:

Ng Cheuk-yin is Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s first Artist Associate, the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s first resident composer and the music director of the fusion group SIU2, Artistic Director of the professional a cappella choral theatre organisation “Yat Po Singers”, a member of a cappella group “The Gay Singers”. He is also the founder of the music label Flower Music and the publishing company for Hong Kong Composers – Apple Tree Music. After receiving a post-graduate degree from the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he went on to study Japanese at the International Christian University in Tokyo and Jazz Music at Codarts in the Netherlands (Biography by composer). (CU Chorus, The Choral Music of Ng Cheuk-Yin, June 11, 2017)

About the Lyricist:

游思⾏，known professionally as You See Hand, graduated from the School of

Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, You See Hand worked as an advertising copywriter and radio programme host (Jessie) at Commercial Radio Hong Kong, active in online exchanges with young people.

You See Hand collaborated with Ng Cheuk-Yin on a number of theme songs for various choral festivals in Hong Kong and mainland China, writing touching lyrics that resonated with young people. One of their collaborations, Singing Voices of the World for the

91 Global Outstanding Children and Youth Chinese Singing Festival, won popular acclaim in Hong Kong and mainland China (Excerpted from lyricist’s biography) (CU Chorus, The Choral Music of Ng Cheuk-Yin, June 11, 2017)

Program notes:

I wrote the music of “HuXi” with You See Hand’s lyrics on hand. The creative process evoked many past memories of choral singing, which is reflected in the music. “HuXi” is a fusion of musical styles from foreign to Chinese choral music, with a twist of my own.

“HuXi” (“Breathing”), commissioned by the Hong Kong Treble Choir Association in 2015, is the theme song for that year’s World Youth & Children’s Choir Festival Hong Kong. This piece starts with the sound of breathing. The tender melody leads through the piece above the flowing piano accompaniment. Similar to “Fly Me to the Moonlight,” the lyrics consists of both putonghua and English, which enables choristers from different parts of the world to sing this piece. Through breathing and singing, singers can express to each other a gesture towards unity among humankind (Note by composer). (CU Chorus, The Choral Music of Ng Cheuk-Yin, June 11, 2017)

Range and tessitura: Tempo/Style: ♩= c. 52

Soprano = B3 – A5 (Soprano 1 B5)

Alto = G#3 – D5

Tenor = D2 – G4

Bass = F2 – C#4

Musical characteristics:

• Since this piece was commissioned for a choral festival, the music is very accessible for choirs of all ages. • This piece is not difficult. With an elaborate and rhythmic piano accompaniment, the vocal lines are singable and tuneful. • Positive theme and text with affirmative meaning, appropriate for a massed choir anthem.

• Because half of the piece is written in English, this piece is a good introduction to Chinese choral composition, as it does not tax singers’ language skills.

Technical considerations:

• Syncopated rhythm should be relaxed and not pushed forward • Measures 1-2; choristers are asked to inhale and exhale together. By breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth, choristers can produce audible breaths for noticeable effect. • This piece calls for warmth and unified choral tone. A shallow, bright sound combined with the simplicity of the tune might create a more pop-style performance than desired. • Modulations require careful tuning. • Change of style at verse 2 requires quiet soprano and tenor line to balance with the alto melody. • M. 39 creates a suspension in time. Staggered fp entries must be rhythmically accurate and precise in tuning.

Form and Structure

SECTION MEASURE

Introduction (Breathing Sounds) 1 – 2

Verse 1 3 – 10

Transition 11 – 14

Chorus 15 – 27

Interlude (Piano) 28 – 31

Verse 2 32 – 39

Transition 40 – 44

Chorus 45 – 56

Coda/ Tag 57 – 68

93 Text

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

(吸) (呼) (inhale) (exhale)

Simultaneously 不知不覺

Bù zhī bù jué

pu tʂɤ pu tçyœ

⼀呼⼀吸 Together we breath yī hū yī xī ji xu ji çi

Breathing in your stories 吸入你的故事

xī rù nǐ de gù shì

çi ʐu ni tɤ ku ʂɤ

呼出我的記憶 Breathing out my memories hū chū wǒ de jì yì

xu tʂʰu wɔ tɤ tçi ji

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

吸入你的語⾔ Breathing in your language xī rù nǐ de yǔ yán

çi ʐu ni tɤ y jɛn

呼出我的道理 Breathing out my philosophy

hū chū wǒ de dào lǐ

xu tʂʰu wɔ tɤ taʊ li

天⼤地⼤ In this world tiān dà dì dà tʰjɛn ta ti ta

同呼同吸 Together we breath

tóng hū tóng xī

tʊng xu tʊng çi

Breathing in your smile 吸入你的笑容 xī rù nǐ de xiào róng

çi ʐu ni tɤ çjaʊ ʐʊŋ

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

呼出我的善意 Breathing out your kindness

hū chū wǒ de shàn yì xu tʂʰu wɔ tɤ ʂan ji

Breathing in your passion 吸入你的激情

xī rù nǐ de jī qíng

çi ʐu ni tɤ tçi tçʰiŋ

呼出我的動⼒ Breathing out my inspiration hū chū wǒ de dòng lì xu tʂʰu wɔ tɤ tʊŋ li

Supplementary information: • Composer’s website: http://www.ngcheukyin.com/ • Purchase online: https://www.appletreemusic.hk/catalog/huxi-for-satb-choir/ • SSA version: https://www.appletreemusic.hk/catalog/%E3%80%8Ahuxii%E3%80%8B- for-ssa-chorus-or-treble-choir/ • Recording featuring the world premiere of this performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRWNbGqNThg&feature=youtu.be • Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/huxi-text-intone

96 6.4 King, Aaron: 夕燒”The Last of the Summer Sun”

Composer: ⾦承志 Aaron King (b. 1987)

Voicing: SATB Accompaniment: a cappella Duration: 3’11”

Year published: 2015

Language: Standard Chinese

About the Composer:

Born in 1987, Aaron King (Jin Chengzhi) is an active composer and conductor, contributing to the vibrant music community in Shanghai, China. A graduate of the China Conservatory of

Music, Aaron founded the Rainbow Chamber Singers with a few of his classmates from the conducting faculty in 2010. This ensemble has grown within the last seven years. The current 40- voice professional ensemble is recognized for their unique approach to choral music. In addition to well-executed performances of beautiful modern a cappella choral works, the ensemble often delivers theatrical and comedic performances of choral pieces written by Aaron King. The

Rainbow Chamber Singers became a household name, popularizing choral music with their creative rendition of Aaron King’s “Zhang Shi-Chao, Where did you leave my house key last night?” Known for their diverse repertoire, this ensemble is currently recognized as one of

China’s finest chamber ensembles.

Program notes:

This collection, a set of seven a cappella pieces, was written during a holiday up Ze-ya mountain. The difficulty level is medium, or I can say that I have purposely made it more accessible, for performance purpose.

97 I have been composing choral work since university; that’s seven years ago. Within the last seven, the purpose of my compositions has switched. I am no longer writing for the purpose of competitions, but more so, for the effect of the music and for concert performance. This is a good change (Ze ya collection program note by composer, translated by Elaine Choi). (Ze ya collection, 2007)

Xi shao (“The Last of the Summer Sun”) is the third piece of the anthology Ze ya Collection, although it was the first piece written for this collection. This piece is a strong visualization of memory imagery. “The Last of the Summer Sun” was written at midnight after a summer rain. In the past, Aaron King’s writing style was a mixture of colloquial dialogue (conversation) and poetry. In this work, he experiments with a more poetic style evoking imagery.

Range and tessitura: Tempo/Style: ♩= 65;

Soprano = C4 – G5

Alto = A3 – A4

Tenor = F3 – E4

Bass = F2 – G3

Musical characteristics:

• Lyrical a cappella style evokes imagery of a peaceful simple village • Straightforward rhythm with room for slight rubato, particularly between sections and at the end of measures 8- 9, measure 17, measures 30-32. • Wide dynamic range, clearly marked in the score. • Homophonic texture throughout • Major pentatonic tonality with some tone clusters

Technical considerations:

• This piece has many challenging consonants for non-native speakers. Singers must practice the palatals and retroflexes such as x, ch, zh, and become familiar with those foreign sounds. • Word stresses are important here, highlighting some of the key words in the piece such as gan zhe (sugar cane) (m. 2), sha chuang (window screen) (m. 3), shan (fan) (m. 4), qiao

98 bian (edge of bridge) (m. 6), bai lu (white crane) (m. 10-11), xi yang (sunset) (m. 14). By following the clear dynamic markings, singers will be able establish appropriate word stress. • Tone clusters require acute listening skill from singers. Conductors must listen carefully for balance. • Because of the tuning challenges and the homophonic texture in this piece, I recommend minimal vibrato.

Form and Structure

SECTION MEASURES A 1 – 9

B 10 – 26

A2 27 – 32

Text (Poetic translation by Janet Mason)

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic translation

也種些⽢蔗 One sees fields of golden sugar cane

Yě zhǒng xiē gān zhè ye tʂʊŋ çjɛ kan tʂɤ

恰逢撤紗窗 The wind blows softly through the window screen

qià féng chè shā chuāng

tçʰja fɛŋ tʂʰɤ ʂa tʂʰwaŋ

鄰家⼩妹輕搖蒲扇 A girl next door waves a leafy fan

lín jiā xiǎo mèi qīng yáo pú shàn

lin tçja çjaʊ mei tçiŋ yaʊ pʰu ʂan

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic translation

偶有個三兩孩童 Sometimes a few children

ǒu yǒu gè sān liǎng hái tóng ou jou kɤ san ljaŋ xaɪ tʊŋ

在橋邊當著腳丫 With their pants rolled up

zài qiáo biān dāng zhe jiǎo yā

tsaɪ tçʰjao pjɛn daŋ tʂɤ tçjao ja

捲起褲腿⼤⼜吃⽠ Relax by the bridge eating melon

juǎn qǐ kù tuǐ dà kǒu chī guā

tçwan tçʰi kʰu tʰweɪ ta kʰou tʂʰi kwa

A white crane glides overhead 掠過的⽩鷺 lüè guò de bái lù lyœ kwɔ tɤ paɪ lu

Skimming the lush green mountains and silky, 青⼭雲霄 white clouds qīng shān yún xiāo tçʰiŋ ʂan yn çjao

100

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic translation

天邊⼣陽 A fiery, red sun sets on the horizon tiān biān xī yang tʰjɛn pjɛn çi yaŋ

湖畔青草（輝映在湖畔） Tall, green grass gros by the pond (Its image reflected in the water) hú pàn qīng cǎo (huī yìng zài hú pàn)

xu pʰan tçʰiŋ tʂʰaʊ (xweɪ yiŋ tsaɪ xu pʰan)

⽥間的⽔稻 The crops ripen in the field

tián jiān de shuǐ dào

tjɛn tçjɛn tɤ ʂwɛi taʊ

棚下葡萄 Grapes hang heavy on the vines péng xià pú táo pʰɛŋ çja pʰu tʰaʊ

樹上陣陣知了 Birds sing sweetly in the trees shù shàng zhèn zhèn zhī liǎo

ʂu ʂaŋ tʂən tʂən tʂi ljaʊ

101

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic translation

炊煙裊裊在樹梢 Smoke is rising through the distant branches chuī yān niǎo niǎo zài shù shāo tʂʰweɪ jan njao njao tsaɪ ʂu ʂaʊ

(那是這夏天的尾巴） (All foretell the end of summer)

(nà shì zhè xià tiān de wěi bā)

na ʂi tʂɤ çja tʰjɛn tʌ weɪ pa

I can see the sunset enflaming the clouds beyond) (我看⾒⼣陽在雲端）

(wǒ kàn jiàn xī yáng zài yún duān) wɔ kʰan tçiɛn çi jaŋ tʂaɪ yn twan

Supplementary information: • Performance featuring composer’s own ensemble, conducted by the composer himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvPpzIybLRs

• Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/the-last-of-the-summer-sun-text-intone

102 6.5 Liu, Xiao-Geng: 七彩云南 Colourful Yunnan

Composer: 劉曉耕 Liu Xiao Geng (b. 1955) Lyricist: 凌粼 Ling Lin

Voicing: SATB Accompaniment: piano Duration: 4’00”

Year published: 2007

Language: Standard Chinese

About the Composer:

Professor Liu Xiao-Geng is an award-winning composer in China. He has composed music of many different genres, including symphonies, ballet, choral music, and vocal and instrumental solo music. He has also composed music for different media such as film, television, and public square music. Many compositions, such as Double Trapeze Achang Shoot the Sun and Fantasia in 2000 have received high praise in the USA, Spain, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. In 1997, the 18th Festival of Asian Composers commissioned him to compose for the opening ceremony. This commission, Tattoo, a composition for choir and percussion instruments, achieved great success. His composition Wang Fu Yun Suite for chamber orchestra, which combined western compositional techniques with Chinese ethnic musical elements, received wonderful reviews from fellow composers during the ZhengLü-Cheng International Music Festival, in July of 2008, South Korea.

For the past several decades, Liu’s footsteps covered every corner of Yun Nan Province. One of his compositional signatures is to utilize ethnic languages for his choral compositions. His choir, YunNan Po Ya Songbook Chorus, obtained First Prize in the a cappella folk music category during the 9th World Choir Games in Sochi in July of 2016. His representative pieces include: Do Sha A Bo Symphony; “A nest full of birds” for vocal trio; “Water Strider,” “Salilo,” “Going Home,” and “Running Brook” for chorus. His compositions are published in several collections such as Echo of Yun Nan, Song of the River, Devotion to Long Blade, and PoYaSongbook.

103 Professor Yang Hong-Nian, a famous Chinese choral conductor once said, “Xiao- Geng collected the essence of musical elements of many ethnicities that reside in YunNan Province, and released into the musical river of world music, providing the world with much richer and refreshingly new resources. When we listen to his music we can almost experience the crisp air in the highlands. His music will continuously receive new life” (Biography by composer; translated by Elaine Choi). (Liu, personal communication, February 25, 2017)

About the Lyricist:

Ling Lin is the pen name of Governor Qin Guangrong. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1972. In 2007, he was appointed as the Governor of Yunnan Provincial People’s Government, a position he held until 2011. He later served as the secretary of the Yunnan chapter of the

China’s Communist Party (2011-2014).

Program notes:

On January 31, 2007 at the 10th Yunnan Provincial People’s Congress, Mr. Qin Guangrong was elected as the Governor of the Yunnan Provincial People’s Government. On February 1, 2007 at the grand opening of the Kunming World Expo, Yunnan Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau hosted the Colourful Yunnan Conservation Action Plan. On behalf of the provincial party committee and the provincial people’s government, Governor Qin presented his opening speech, exclaiming, “Colourful Yunnanis is my home! Yunnan is the ideal place to foster and develop ecological environmental protection.”

Yunnan’s renowned composer Liu Xiogeng was then commissioned to set Governor Qin’s poetry to a choral work. “Colourful Yunnan” was dedicated to the Colourful Yunnan Conservation Action Plan. This composition has produced a wide range of social influences. It was made popular by singer He Shi. Her genuine yet powerful performance of this piece has touched the hearts of millions of listeners.

104 Colourful Yunnan also coined the phrase beautiful clouds of the north. This is truly a great reputation of Yunnan Province. Amongst all the thirty provincial administration regions in China, none of the other provinces have names as richly poetic as Yunnan. Yunnan has beautiful nature, many historic sites, colourful artefacts, vibrant ethnic customs, and a deep heritage of history and culture. Yunnan (literal translations include “cloud-south,” “south of the cloud,” “the southern tip of colourful clouds,”); these names evoke indulging in pleasures (Notes by composer, translated by Elaine Choi). (Liu, personal communication, February 25, 2017)

Range and tessitura: Tempo/Style: ♩= c. 50;

Soprano = F4 – G5

Alto = G3 – D5

Tenor = D2 – G4

Bass = G2 – C4

Musical characteristics:

• Romantic in style: Long sweeping phrases create expressive verses. Homophonic texture creates powerful refrains • Introductory section: grand opening, emulating a folk song and mountain call • The piano is a good guide for mood throughout the piece, particularly leading to the climatic section because of the rapid rhythmic movement and dynamic shapes. • Minor pentatonic tonality. • Wide dynamic range.

Technical considerations:

• Sixteenth notes in the melody must be treated very lightly, as an ornamented lilt. • Neutral syllables should be articulated clearly and sung quietly as a vocal accompaniment. • Demanding and lush piano accompaniment, emulating a symphonic sound. • Some syncopated rhythm in vocal accompaniment part requires careful rhythmic subdivision from the singers. • Although most of the phrases in the verses are only 2-bars long, singers need to feel the broad arc of the entire verse which leads toward the choruses.

105 Form and Structure

SECTION MEASURES

Introduction 1 – 8

Verse 1 9 – 26

Refrain 27 – 42

Tag 43 – 47

Short interlude 48 – 49

Verse 2 9 – 26

Refrain 27 – 42

Extended ending 50 – 55

Text (Poetic translation by Elaine Choi)

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

我爱你的白云蓝天 I love your white cloud blue sky

Wǒ ài nǐ de bái yún lán tiān wɔ aɪ ni tɤ paɪ yn lan tʰjɛn

我爱你的红土高原 I love your red clay plateau wǒ ài nǐ de hóng tǔ gāo yuán wɔ aɪ ni tɤ xʊŋ tʰu kaʊ ywɛn

106

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

我爱你的四季如春 I love your four seasons like spring wǒ ài nǐ de sì jì rú chūn wɔ aɪ ni tɤ sɤ tçi ʐu tʂʰwən

我爱你的气象万千 I love your ever changing climate wǒ ài nǐ de qì xiàng wàn qiān wɔ aɪ ni tʌ tçʰi çiaŋ wuan tçʰjɛn]

我爱你的三江流水

I love your three rivers flowing Wǒ ài nǐ de sān jiāng liú shuǐ

wɔ aɪ ni tɤ san tçjɑŋ ljʊ ʂweɪ

I love your abundance of flowers 我爱你的百花草旬

wǒ ài nǐ de bǎi huā cǎo xún

wɔ aɪ ni tɤ paɪ xwa tsʰaʊ çyn

我爱你的热带雨林 I love your tropical rainforests wǒ ài nǐ de rè dài yǔ lín wɔ aɪ ni tɤ ʐɤ taɪ y lin

107

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

我爱你的湖泊冰川 I love your lake glacier wǒ ài nǐ de hú bó bing chuān wɔ aɪ ni tɤ xu pʰwɔ piŋ tʂʰwan

七彩云南我的家乡 Colourful Yunan is my hometown

Qī cǎi yún nán wǒ de jiā xiāng tçʰi tʂʰaɪ yn nan wɔ tɤ tçia çjaŋ

Colourful Yunnan is my paradise 七彩云南我的乐园

qī cǎi yún nán wǒ de lè yuán

tçʰi tʂʰaɪ yn nan wɔ tɤ lɤ ywan

My heart is touched by you 我的心啊为你感动

wǒ de xīn a wèi nǐ gǎn dòng

wɔ tɤ çin a weɪ ni kan tʊŋ

守望着你的秀美山川 Watching your beautiful mountains and rivers shǒu wàng zhe nǐ de xiù měi shān chuān

ʂou waŋ tʂʌ ni tɤ çyʊ meɪ ʂan tʂʰwan

108

Original text/ Pinyin/ IPA transliteration Poetic Translation

七彩云南我的母亲 Colourful Yunnan, my mother

Qī cǎi yún nán wǒ de mǔ qīn tçʰi tʂʰaɪ yn nan wɔ tɤ mu tçʰin

七彩云南我的依恋 Colourful Yunnan, my love qī cǎi yún nán wǒ de yī liàn tçʰi tʂʰaɪ yn nan wuɔ tɤ yi ljɛn

我的手啊为你高举

I raise my hands up to you Wǒ de shǒu a wèi nǐ gāo jǔ

wɔ tʌ ʂou a weɪ ni kɑʊ tçy

Protecting your bright tomorrow with the palms 保护着你的灿烂明天 of my hands bǎo hù zhe nǐ de càn làn míng tiān

pɑʊ xu tʂʌ ni tɤ tʂʰan lan miŋ tʰyɛn

Supplementary information: • Published in: Yun Nan Hui Sheng (ISBN 978-7-81096-342-8) • Purchasing link: https://www.amazon.cn/dp/B004T0HBLI • Performance: https://youtu.be/zG7eZmpQ-X8 • Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/colorful-yunnan-text-intone

Chapter 7: Conclusion

This dissertation set out to serve two purposes: first, to provide an introduction to Chinese choral music to educators, conductors and singers in North America, and second, to mediate the difficulty for non-speakers teaching Standard Chinese lyric diction. This study was motivated by the need to share high quality Chinese music to the choral community in North America.

Despite the large quantity of original choral music written by Chinese composers all over the world, these compositions are not published by North American or European publiahers and are seldom performed by non-Chinese choirs. One goal of this study is to generate interest in this sub-genre of choral music that is underrepresented in North America despite large Chinese populations in both Canada and the United States. To that end, this dissertation provides an overview of Chinese choral music, including repertoire examples, with an aim to increase the general understanding of the choral culture and provide pedagogical strategies for conductors.

The second goal relates to the need for non-speakers of Standard Chinese to know how to approach lyric diction in teaching this music. It can be daunting to teach any foreign language, but when the symbols are not in a familiar alphabet such as Roman alphabets, it can be even more challenging. At the time of this writing, there existed no concise pronunciation guide to lyric diction in Standard Chinese available to non-native speakers. A number of articles, books, and videos are available to those who would like to learn the language, as well as to linguistic students and scholars; however, a guide to lyric diction for conductors and singers is lacking.

As the interest in learning Chinese is growing exponentially due to China’s international status, there are a few online resources that are helpful to non-Chinese speakers to break down the complexity of the language. One of the most used online translators, Google Translate, provides

109 110 an easy way to translate Chinese characters into both the official Romanization system of

Standard Chinese (pinyin) and the desired language such as English. Another useful tool is a phonetic transcription translator provided by https://easypronunciation.com. This free online tool converts Chinese characters into pinyin and IPA by simply pasting the Chinese characters in the search box and clicking “submit” to receive the transliterations within a few seconds. AllSet

Learning Pinyin (http://www.allsetlearning.com/products/allset-learning-pinyin/) is a free mobile app designed to help with pinyin pronounciation. Along with the IPA transcriptions of every syllable in an extensive chart, there are also sound files supporting each syllable. It is my belief that as the global interest and importance of studying and learning Standard Chinese increases, a similar trend will manifest itself within the digital educational realm, as evidenced through the creation of multiple applications and online translation sites.

This particular dissertation focused on an introduction to Chinese choral music by explaining in detail Standard Chinese (Mandarin) lyric diction, and as such, did not include music written in other dialects, such as Cantonese, or music from other regions of China. Therefore, I would like to propose three suggestions for further research emerging from this study: (1) A conductor’s guide to Cantonese lyric diction: As the second-most spoken language in China and the official language of Hong Kong and Macau, how does Cantonese differ from Mandarin with respect to lyric diction? What kind of choral repertoire is currently available in Cantonese? What is the level of accessibility to non-native speakers? (2) Exploration of Taiwanese choral music: Choral music in Taiwan has flourished tremendously within the last century (Weng, 1995). Currently there are a few emerging choral composers in Taiwan such as Jan Tian-Hao and Tsai Yu-Shan, who are creating a large body of work that is familiar to many choral ensembles within Asia.

(Ku, 2012) Much like the musical examples I have chosen in Chapter 6, the growing repertoire

111 by modern Taiwanese composers uses compositional techniques rooted in western European musical traditions, thus facilitating their accessibility for North American singers. Stemming from this observation, it is my hope that Taiwanese choral music becomes better represented in the future. (3) A detailed analysis of the characteristics of Chinese choral music in the twentieth and twenty-first century with an accompanying anthology: Through my exploratory research in this area, I have found that Chinese choral music has undergone an immense evolution within the last century. The previous century saw the emergence of several different choral trends such as patriotic styles with elaborate piano accompaniment in the mid 20th century, folk song arrangements in the late 20th century, and now, a cappella compositions and theatrical choral performances. Furthermore, the different regions within China demonstrate their own unique characteristics, which become embodied in the compositional style. The music from the mainland seems to have a more prominent folk influence, in comparison to music by composers in Hong Kong, which tends to be more contemporary and sometimes esoteric. Music from

Taiwan appears to be very accessible, with a musical language applicable to a diverse range of audiences. These are all interesting topics to explore.

Currently there are a few international and local publishers that distribute Chinese choral music.

In North America, J.W. Pepper (https://www.jwpepper.com/) has now become the largest sheet music distributor. This company is especially successful due to their sophisticated online platform. When searching for “Chinese music,” it appears that they have more than 500 titles available for different ensemble configurations such as choral, band, chamber groups, and orchestra. Despite a result showing an abundance of music, the quality of these works varies drastically. All of the Chinese choral music available through J.W. Pepper are folk song arrangements. Indeed there are excellent arrangements and editions such as A Set of Chinese

112 Folk Songs by Chen Yi, or Half Moon Rising by John Winzenburg, but there are also examples of poor arrangements and transcriptions. As mentioned in Section 2.3, conductors and educators need to be mindful when picking editions that the musical representation is accurate and of high quality. One of the leading Asian choral distributors in the world is Pana Musica International, a choral specialist publisher based in Japan. I have observed that within the last few years they have gained an increasing representation in North America. They have sponsored reading sessions and set up retail booths at various choral conferences such as the American Choral

Directors Association (ACDA) national conference (Salt Lake City, 2015, and Minneapolis,

2017). Apple Tree Music is a publishing house managing music written by Hong Kong composers (http://appletreemusic.hk). Founded in 2015, this corporation is still in the beginning stage of its development; however, it is certainly exciting to see an agency dedicated to promoting the works of Hong Kong composers. Taiwan has two leading choral publishers and one major retail distributor: Chorphila Inc. (http://choralphilia.blogspot.com), the Taipei

Philharmonic Foundation, and Taipei Musiker House (www.musiker.com.tw). These organizations actively promote music by local Taiwanese composers and choral music from different parts of Asia. Unfortunately, many of these publishers do not currently offer copies with pinyin or IPA transcriptions; thus, they are not accessible to non-native speakers. It is my hope to contact some of these Asian publishers in the future and propose that they consider adding diction resources in their editions in order to make original Chinese choral music more accessible in North America.

As mentioned in Chapter 2, there are huge discrepancies with respect to phonetic transliterations and textual translation in the current publications of Chinese choral music. This inconsistency creates unnecessary confusion for singers and conductors. Throughout my study, I provide

113 multiple exmples with which publishers could create a more standardized template to facilitate the dissemination of Chinese choral compositions. I believe that in order to teach this repertoire successfully, choral conductors should be equipped with strong supportive material. That includes clear editions with pinyin transliterations and Chinese characters within the music, program notes, composer’s biographies, and poetic translations to accompany each piece. From my personal experience in teaching these pieces to non-native speakers at my graduate recital, I found the pronounciation guide in Appendix B was very helpful for singers to use for reference.

In addition, the sound files listed in Appendix C were also crucial in helping with independent practice. Publishers can consider developing media files to help ease the learning of the language. I would like to see the creation of a media file for each work, including an audio aid with lyrics intoned, accompanied by a visual representation of the text with original characters, pinyin, and IPA. What I have learned through my teaching experience is that singers can also benefit from pictorial representations of the anatomical oral positions to help understand some of the foreign sounds unique to Standard Chinese; for example, showing where the tongue is in relation to the teeth within the oral cavity.

As a proud Chinese-Canadian choral conductor, my goal is to bridge the gap between Chinese choral music and the North American choral community, aiming to champion choral excellence by promoting original compositions written by modern Chinese composers. This dissertation is only the beginning step of a life-long mission. These diverse, high quality compositions deserve to be learned, appreciated, and shared by choral lovers, regardless of singers’ ethnic backgrounds and mother tongues.

114

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121 Appendices

Appendix A: IPA Chart from Half Moon Rising (Winzenburg, 2015, p. X)

122

123 Appendix B: Pronunciation Guide Developed by Elaine Choi

Standard Chinese Pronunciation Guide (Consonants) Prepared by Elaine Choi (Feb 14, 2018)

Category Pinyin IPA Sample Words Description

Labials b /p/ bā (eight) beǐ (north) Same as English p /pʰ/ pā (afraid) peǐ (accompany) Same as English m /m/ mā (mother) meǐ (beauty) Same as English f /f/ fā (send) fēi (fly) Same as English

Alveolars d /t/ dī (drop) deǐ (should) Same as English t /tʰ/ tī (kick) taí (stage) Same as English n /n/ ná (take) naǒ (brain) Same as English l /l/ lù (road) luò (fall) Same as English

Dentals z /ts/ zī (capital) zeí (thief) Combine /t/ & /s/ c /tsʰ/ cì (time) caí (cut) Aspirated combination of /t/ & /s/ s /s/ sī (silk) suì (year) Same as English *These vowels required slightly spread lips, creating a space like an [i] vowel

Palatals j /tç/ jiē (street) jiā (home) Combine /t/ & /ç/ q /tçʰ/ qī (seven) qué (lack) Aspirated x /ç/ xī (west) xuě (blood) German ich-laut *These vowels are more relaxed in comparison to the dental vowels, oral cavity space similar to [ə]

Retroflexes zh /tʂ/ zhù (live) zhuī (chase) These retroflex consonants are ch /tʂʰ/ chù (place) choǔ (clown) produced with the tongue curled sh /ʂ/ shù (tree) shuaì (smart) back; creating an oral cavity space of [ɹ]. The articulation involves r /ʐ/ rì (day) roú (soft) the underside of the tongue

Velars g /k/ gē (song) gaǐ (correct) Similar to English k /kʰ/ kē (piece) kaī (open) Similar to English h /x/ hē (drink) haǒ (good) German ach-laut

! ! ! ! !

124

Standard Chinese Pronunciation Guide (Vowels) Prepared by Elaine Choi (Feb 14, 2018) 1) Opening Exhalation SC Pinyin SC Word examples IPA Description (when Examples singing…) a (ba) eight [a] A brighter ‘ah’ vowel. Italian - (ma) horse cara (la) pull Spanish - boca o (bo) ball [wɔ] When pairing o with a English – consonant, there is (po) grandmother bought always a glide before French – (mo) touch the [ɔ] Laurier e (te) unique [ɤ] In between an [ʌ] as in up and [ə] as in (le) happiness celebrate (ke) class ai (bai) white [aɪ] Diphthong – produced English – by combining [a] and high (mai) buy [i]; sustain on [a] close (tai) stage on [i] German – Mai ei (bei) back [eɪ] Diphthong – produced English – by combining [e] and bait, may (mei) beauty [I]; sustain on [e] (fei) fly ao (bao) protect [aʊ] Diphthong – produced English – by combining [a] and lounge, (pao) run [u]; sustain on [a] (mao) cat round ou (lou) drip [ou] English – (zhou) week low, tow an (ban) class [an] Sustaining [a] vowel, close syllable subtly (nan) south with [n] tip of tongue at (shan) mountain teeth ridge en (men) door [ən] Sustaining [ə] vowel, close syllable subtly (fen) separate with [n] tip of tongue at teeth ridge ang (mang) busy [ɑŋ] Sustaining [a] vowel, close syllable subtly (fang) release with [ŋ] using back of tongue touching soft palate eng (feng) wind [əŋ] Sustaining [ə] vowel, close syllable subtly (deng) light with [ŋ] using back of (sheng) sound tongue touching soft palate er (er) son [ər]

125

2) Forward Exhalation

SC Pinyin SC Word examples IPA Description Examples i (di) drop [i] Closed ‘I’ English – (except beet (bi) pencil followed by z, c, s, zh, ch, Italian – sh, r) venti (twenty) i* (shi) ten When i is following z, (ci) lyrics c, s, zh, sh, ch, r ia (jia) family [ia] quick and [ja] short [i], (xia) summer sustain on [a] ie (bie) farewell [iɛ] quick and Italian – [jɛ] short [i], pieta (pity) (xie) thank you ɛ sustain on [ ] io [iɔ] quick and [jɔ] short [i], sustain on [ɔ] iao (liao) chat [iaʊ] quick and meow [jaʊ] short [i], (xiao) small sustain on [a] and closes with [ʊ] vowel at the end of note ian (tian) sweet [iɛn] quick and [jɛn] short [i], (mian) cotton sustain on [ɛ] (lian) love and end with light [n] in (min) [in] Sustain on [i] people/nation and end with a light [n] (jin) tight iang (xiang) scented [iaŋ] quick and [jaŋ] short [i], (liang) cool sustain on [a] and end gently on [ŋ] ing (bing) ice [iŋ] Sustain on [i] and end with (xing) star a light [ŋ]

126

3) Gathering Exhalation

SC Pinyin SC Word examples IPA Description Examples ü (yu) fish [y] Shape [i] vowel as lips round and create [u] shape üan (quan) circle [yɛn] Short [y] and sustain on [ɛ], gently close [n] at the end üe (yue) moon [yɛ] Starts with [y] Sustain on [ɛ] ün (yun) cloud [yn] Sustain ü and close [n] iong (xiong) bear [iʊŋ] Short [i] and [jʊŋ] sustain on [ʊ]; close on [ŋ] at the end

127

4) Closing Exhalation

SC Pinyin SC Word examples IPA Description Examples u (bu) step [u] This is a back Italian – vowel, (pu) music score subito however one (suddenly) (lu) road must keep lips forward and roud English – loon ua (gua) melon [ua] Keep [u] [wa] short and (kua) exaggerate sustain on [a] (hua) flower vowel uo (duo) plenty [uɔ] Keep [u] (shuo) speak [wɔ] short and sustain on [ɔ] vowel uai (kuai) quick [uai] Starts with English- [wai] [u], sustain on way [a] and gently closed with [i] at the end of the note ui (chui) blow [uɛi] Starts with [wɛi] [u], sustain on (tui) push [ɛ] and gently closed with [i] at the end of the note uan (yuan) round [uan] Starts with [wan] [u] and sustain on [a]; close on [n] at the end un (tun) swallow [uən] Starts with [wən] [u] and (gun) boil sustain on [ə]; close on [n] at the end uang (guang) light [uaŋ] Starts with [waŋ] [u] and (chuang) bed sustain on [a]; close on [ŋ] at the end ong (dong) east [ʊŋ] Sustain on [ʊ]; close on (long) dragon [ŋ] at the end (gong) together

128 Appendix C: Sound Files for Each Musical Selection

Ho, Alice: 靜夜思 “Thoughts on a Still Night”

Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/thoughts-on-the-still-night-text-intone

Full performance: https://youtu.be/DqVH93oAaTE

Pan, Xingzimin: 蒲公英 “Dandelion”

Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/dandelion-text-intone

Full performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqe27vvTv7Y

Ng, Cheuk-Yin: Huxi

Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/huxi-text-intone

Full performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRWNbGqNThg&feature=youtu.be

King, Aaron: 夕燒”The Last of the Summer Sun”

Text intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/the-last-of-the-summer-sun-text-intone

Full performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvPpzIybLRs

Liu, Xiao-Geng: 七彩云南 Colourful Yunnan

Text Intone: https://soundcloud.com/elaine-choi-302278235/colorful-yunnan-text-intone

Full performance: https://youtu.be/zG7eZmpQ-X8

129 Appendix D: Musical Examples

Thoughts on a Still Night 靜夜思 Music: Alice Ping Yee Ho 何冰頤 Poem : Li Bai 李白

very sentimental A Tempo q = 96 poco rit. q = 96

molto espress.

3 3 3 3 333 Piano p

A 6 p 床前明ー月ー chuang qian ming yue

p 床前明ー月ー chuang qian ming yue

3333 mp p pp

130

2016 Composed by Xingzimin Pan Text by Hao Li q. = 50 q. = 55 p sfp mf mf Soprano ° b6 j U &b 8 œ œ™ ˙™ œ ‰ ‰ Œ™ ∑ ∑ ˙™ œ œ™ ™ Mm™ fei fei

p sfp mf mp Alto b6 j U &b 8 ˙ ˙ œ ‰ ‰ Œ™ ∑ ∑ ˙ œ™ œ™ ™ ™ œ™ œ™ Mm fei fei p sfp mp mf U Tenor bb6 œ™ œ™ ˙™ ˙™ œ ‰ ‰ Œ™ ∑ ∑ & 8 J ˙™ Mm ‹ fei fei sfp mf mp Bass ? 6 œ™ œ™ œ™ œ™ ˙™ œ U bb8 J ‰ ‰ Œ™ ∑ ∑ ˙™ ¢ fei fei q. = 50 q. = 55 œ œ b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ &b 68 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ Piano mp simile ? 6 œ™ bb8 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ œ™ Œ™ ° ad lib. mp = 8 { S. ° bb œ™ j ‰ ‰ j j Œ j & œ œ ˙™ œ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ A i qing qing fei feng chui wo guo zhe zuo shan feng mf A. bb j ‰ ‰ j j Œ j & œ™ œ œ ˙™ œ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ™ œ ™ A i qing qing fei feng chui wo guo zhe zuo shan feng T. bb Œ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ & œ™ ™ ‹ B. ? bb œ™ Œ™ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ¢

b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ &b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

? bb ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑

131

Huxi 詞游思行 Lyrics by Youseehand 曲伍卓賢 Ng Cheuk-Yin A1 q = 52 Con moto (Breathing sounds) mp Soprano (吸) (呼) (吸) (呼) We come to (inhale) (exhale) (inhale) (exhale)

(Breathing sounds) mp Alto (吸) (呼) (吸) (呼) 不知不覺ー不知不覺 We come to (inhale) (exhale) (inhale) (exhale) Bù zhī bù jué Bù zhī bù jué

(Breathing sounds) mp Tenor (吸) (呼) (吸) (呼) We come to (inhale) (exhale) (inhale) (exhale)

(Breathing sounds) mp Bass (吸) (呼) (吸) (呼) We come to (inhale) (exhale) (inhale) (exhale)

Piano

132

夕燒澤雅集七之三 The Last of the Summer Sun 詞曲金承志 From Mvmt. 3 of Ze Ya Collection Music and Lyrics by Aaron King

q = 65 p pp Soprano 也種些甘蔗恰逢撤紗窗鄰家小妹輕搖ーー蒲 Yě zhǒng xiē gān zhè qià féng chè shā chuāng lín jiā xiǎo mèi qīng yáo pú

p pp Alto 也種些甘蔗恰逢撤紗窗鄰家小妹輕搖蒲ー Yě zhǒng xiē gān zhè qià féng chè shā chuāng lín jiā xiǎo mèi qīng yáo pú p pp Tenor 甘蔗紗窗鄰家小妹輕搖著 gān zhè shā chuāng lín jiā xiǎo mèi qīng yáo pú

p pp Bass 紗窗鄰家小妹輕搖著 shā chuāng lín jiā xiǎo mèi qīng yáo pú

4 mp S. 扇ーー偶有個三兩孩童在橋邊捲起褲腿大口吃 shàn ǒu yǒu gè sān liǎng hái tóng zài qiáo biān juǎn qǐ kù tuǐ dà kǒu chī

mf legato A. 扇ー偶有個三兩孩童在橋邊蕩著腳丫捲起褲腿ー shàn ǒu yǒu gè sān liǎng hái tóng zài qiáo biān dāng zhe jiǎo yājuǎn qǐ kù tuǐ mf legato T. 扇ーー偶有個三兩孩童在橋邊蕩著腳丫捲起褲腿ー shàn ǒu yǒu gè sān liǎng hái tóng zài qiáo biān dāng zhe jiǎo yājuǎn qǐ kù tuǐ mp legato B. 扇ー偶有個三兩孩童在橋邊捲起褲腿ー shàn ǒu yǒu gè sān liǎng hái tóng zài qiáo biān juǎn qǐ kù tuǐ

133

七彩云南

詞凌粼 Colourful Yunnan Lyrics by Ling Lin 曲劉曉耕 Music by Liu Xiao Geng

q = 60 f Soprano a a f Alto a a f Tenor a a f Bass a a q = 60 Piano

4 S. a a oo

A. a a a T. a a o o B. a a

Pno.

134 Appendix E: Teacher’s Resource Guide

LEVEL VOCAL TONAL/RHYTHM 1 • Short, simple vocal lines with limited ranges • Major or minor tonality with • Conjunct vocal lines prevail little to no chromaticism • Comfortable vocal range • No modulation to other keys or • Manageable tessitura tonalities • Straightforward rhythms within simple or compound meter 2 • Phrases of moderately challenging length • Major or minor tonality with • Slightly disjunct vocal lines brief, obvious chromatics • Brief, yet negotiable forays into extreme ranges • Brief modualation are obvious • Basic dynamic range and move to closely related • Basic diction challenges in languages commonly tonalities encountered in choral music (e.g., English, Latin, • Modal passages German) • Dissonances are approached and resolved by step • Short passages of challenging rhythm within simple or compound metric structure 3 • Short passages requiring advanced vocal technique • Major/minor/modal tonality • Short passages of challenging tessitura • Concrete or implied modulations • Long phrases requiring good breath control to different tonalities or • Vocal melismas of moderate length requiring modalities martellato technique • Dissonances approached by leap • Wide dynamic range • Added-note harmonies • Extended crescendos and decrescendos • Imitative and nonimatitive • Wide range of languages encountered counterpoint • Difficult rhythms may occur but are usually repetitive • Simply constructed mixed meter 4 • Long phrases requiring excellent breath control • Extended modal passages • Extreme ranges • Passages in non-diatonic • Vocal lines requiring subtlety of shape, dynamics harmony and expressivity • Frequent chromaticism • Long vocal melismas • Challenging rhythmic passages • Alternative coal technique (i.e., non-Western may be extended and non- techniques) repetitive • Refined diction required as stylistic vehicle • Full compositions in mixed meter 5 • Vocal maturity required • Atonal passages or passages of • Extreme ranges and tessituras extreme dissonance • Repertoire at this level will provide numerous • Unprepared/unresolved dissonant challenges for the experienced choral ensemble harmonies • Very complex rhythmic/metric structure • Repertoire at this level will provide numerous challenges for the experienced choral ensemble

135 Appendix F: Photo/Video Release form

Photo/ Video Release Form

I hereby give Elaine Choi, doctoral candidate, all rights to use my image/audio/video taken on February 12, 2018 for the purpose of her doctoral dissertation titled “A Conductor’s Guide to lyric Diction in Standard

Chinese”. I understand that video and audio files may be included in her dissertation for educational purposes only.

Date: ______

Participant: ______

Signature: ______