Music In China: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture

Description:
Music in China is one of many case-study volumes that can be used along with Thinking Musically, the core book in the Global Music Series. Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusic for a list of case studies in the Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each study. Music in China offers a unique exploration of the rich, dynamic, and multifaceted Chinese musical landscape. In contrast with previous scholarship-which focused almost exclusively on the role of music in elite culture-this volume takes a balanced look at a variety of traditional and modern genres, including those performed among local and regional folk musicians, in academia, in the media, and on concert stages both inside and outside of China.Using the interrelated themes of identity, modernization, and ideology as a narrative framework, author Frederick Lau discusses the musical features of the selected genres, the processes through which they came into existence, and related socio-political issues. Lau draws on his own extensive fieldwork and performance experience in both mainland China and its diasporic communities to show how the ever-changing Chinese musical tradition takes on particular meanings in China, in overseas Chinese communities, and in diverse international settings. Enhanced by eyewitness accounts of local performances, interviews with key performers, vivid illustrations, and hands-on listening activities, Music in China provides an accessible and engaging introduction to Chinese music. It is packaged with an 80-minute audio CD containing examples of the music discussed in the book.

Table of Contents:
1. MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE; First Encounter: Teahouse Music in the Jiangnan Area; Second Encounter: Xianshi in Chaozhou Region; Amateur Music-Making in the People's Republic of China; Music Regionalism and the Meaning of Regional Music; 2. CONSTRUCTING NATIONAL MUSIC; Defining National Music Guoyue; Institutions and National Music Conservatory; The Chinese Orchestra; The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra; Solo Repertory in the Making; Solo Repertory for Dizi; Solo Repertory for Erhu; Solo Repertory for Pipa; Solo Repertory for Guzheng; 3. REGIONAL MUSICS WITH THE NATIONAL SOUNDSCAPE; The Canton Guangdong region; Instrumental Music: Guangdong yinyue; Opera: Yueju; Beijing Opera; Fujian: Narrative Nanguan Vocal and Instrumental Genre; The Jiangnan Area Ensemble Music: Jiangnan Sizhu; Regional Variants of a Widespread Ensemble Music: Luogu and Chuida; 4. MUSICAL INTERFACES BETWEEN EAST AND WEST; A Glimpse at Chinese Music in Europe and America; Western Music in China; Piano in China; New Voices in Chinese Music; Popular Music; Hong Kong Cantopop; Minority Pop in the Mainstream; 5. MUSIC AND IDEOLOGY; Confucianism and Music Through Time; The Seven-stringed Zither: Guqin; Amateur Music Clubs; Dongjing Music of the Naxi People; Music and Ideology in the People's Republic of China; Revolutionary Songs for the Masses; Model Opera: Yangbanxi; Conclusion; 6. CHINESE MUSIC BEYOND CHINA; Expressing Chineseness Musically; Traditional Music in the Diaspora; Cantonese Music Clubs in the New World; Expressing Chaozhouness in Bangkok, Thailand; Chinese Music Singaporean Style; Circulation of Popular Music of Various Sorts; Jon Jang, the Chinese Jazzman; Mandarin Song Singing Clubs; Chinese Chorus and Singing/Karaoke beyond Asia; Something New, Something Old: Chinese Music at a Crossroad; Conclusion