Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

DMA

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

School of Music

Committee Chair

Hope Koehler

Committee Member

William Koehler

Committee Member

William Haller

Committee Member

Peter Amstutz

Committee Member

Richard Dull

Abstract

This study aims to provide a repertoire guide of Chinese art songs for the pedagogical and research needs of musicians and scholars. Chinese art songs are derived from Western art songs. This work provides a valuable resource outside the scope of the standard art song repertoire. There are very limited studies with annotated lists of Chinese art song repertoire in English. Therefore, it is difficult for teachers to search for specific Chinese art songs to utilize with students who have different voice types and learning levels. This study will provide a practical tool that will meet these pedagogical needs.

All the Chinese art songs selected for use in this study were composed between 1920 and 1950. Most of these songs were original works; some were arranged with piano accompaniment at a later point. Most of the works included in this study were originally composed for solo voice and piano. Several chamber pieces are also included, but there are no songs included that have orchestral accompaniments. With each entry, there is an annotation providing information about the song. This information typically includes the work’s composer, title, publisher/year, poet, poem style, voice type (gender/classifications), tessitura, difficulty level (beginning/intermediate/advanced), duration, and brief comments.

Learning Chinese art songs is beneficial for singers, teachers, and music scholars. This study provides a new resource which aims to make this invaluable vocal repertoire more accessible to teachers and musicians. The unique tunes and musical styles of Chinese art songs also bring fresh varieties of sound for audiences. Moreover, Chinese art songs are mostly based on both Classical Chinese poetry and modern Chinese poetry written by renowned Chinese poets. The Chinese art songs analyzed in this study also reflect important historical and cultural revolutions in China. This study provides a channel for western scholars and musicologists to study Chinese art and culture through music and poems, making a new field for scholarly exploration more readily available.

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