Chen Gang (b.1935) and He Zhanhao (b.1933)
The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto
The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto was written in 1959 by
Chen Gang, one of the leading composers in contemporary China, and his
fellow-student He Zhanhao, whose works have won similar fame. The two composers
were still students at the Shanghai Conservatory at the time when they
succeeded in creating one of the best known of all contemporary Chinese
compositions. The concerto follows an ancient legend that has served as the
basis for a number of Chinese operas, offering here a synthesis of East and West.
Scored for a solo violin and Western orchestra, the work makes use of themes
from traditional Shaoxing opera, popularised in a film of the 1950s, while the
solo violin part reflects something of the technique of the er-hu, the
two-string Chinese fiddle. The work is in one continuous movement, its three
sections corresponding to the demands of the narrative and to the divisions of
Western sonata form.
The story itself is well known in China, although there are
some variants in the tale as it is told. Zhu Yingtai, an intelligent and
ambitious girl, disguises herself as a boy and sets out for Hangzhou, to study.
On her journey she meets Liang Shanbo, a poor scholar, who is also going to
Hangzhou for the same purpose. They soon find much in common and swear to
become blood brothers. During their three years of study together, they develop
a deep friendship, but later Zhu Yingtai is urged by her father to return home.
During her years of study she has fallen in love with Liang Shanbo, but has
been too shy to admit it to him. He is reluctant to say good-bye to Zhu Yingtai
and walks with her on the first eighteen miles of her journey home, parting at
a pavilion, before she continues her journey. He is still unaware of Zhu
Yingtai’s true identity, in spite of the hints she has dropped, which the boy
has not understood. This forms the first section of the concerto. In the
central development Zhu Yingtai defies her father, who has arranged a marriage
for her with the son of a rich neighbour. Liang Shanbo decides to visit his
friend, and discovers, to his surprise and delight, that Zhu Yingtai is a girl.
Sadly she tells him of her father’s plan for her. Liang leaves her, in sorrow,
and soon dies of unhappiness. On Zhu Yingtai’s wedding-day, when the wedding
procession from the Zhu’s to the house of her new husband passes by Liang’s
grave, Zhu Yingtai insists on leaving the bridal palanquin, to mourn at the
grave. At that moment a thunderstorm breaks. In the heavy rain, Liang Shanbo’s
grave suddenly opens. Zhu Yingtai immediately leaps in, before the grave closes
again. After the storm, a rainbow appears. Among the flowers rise two
butterflies, said to be the souls of the immortal lovers, transformed and now
united for ever.
Songs and Dances of the Silk Road, a suite for solo violin
and Western orchestra, is based on traditional melodies to be heard in the West
of China, from where the famous Silk Road takes its course through Central Asia
to the Occident. These themes are used by the Slovak-born composer Peter
Breiner to form a suite that provides a further synthesis of East and West.
Well known internationally for his many recordings, broadcasts, telecasts and
concert appearances, Peter Breiner had his musical training at the Ko‰ice
Conservatory and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, where he was
a composition pupil of Alexander Moyzes. In 1992 he settled in Canada, where he
has continued his varied career as a composer, conductor and pianist. In his
suite he draws on Chinese melodies to create an attractive and skilfully
crafted addition to solo violin repertoire. A Beloved Rose, also known as Dao
Da’er and Ma Liya, is a Kazakh folk-song, celebrating the rose as it comes into
bloom. The Half Moon Climbs is an Uygur folk-song that became popular in the
1940s. When the half moon climbs up into the sky and shines onto the girl’s
dressing-table, the boy can no longer suppress his feelings towards her, and
serenades her through her window. Spinning is a folk-song from Gansu province.
The spinners rest their hope on the spinning-wheel, as they work day and night.
Work All Out is a well-known work-song from Northwestern China, suggesting
unity of purpose. Sa li hong ba is a folk-song, previously known as Where do
the camel caravans come from?, but re-arranged during the 1940s and 1950s. This
Uygur song depicts the merchants travelling from Xinjiang. The caravan
approaches from the distance, before the main theme emerges, the solo violin
leading the caravan forward in the vast surrounding desert. The song Lan Hua
Hua is widely known in Shanxi and the North of China. In a village in Shanxi
the beautiful Lan Hua Hua has been forced to marry a rich husband. She resents
this kind of marriage, and meets her lover secretly, her sadness reflected in
the music. Following Muslim custom, some women belonging to ethnic minorities
in Xinjiang wear the veil. The Uygur folk-song Lift Your Veil celebrates a
wedding. After lifting up the veil of his bride, the bridegroom sings in
happiness, the music a reflection of the man’s joy and the girl’s modesty.
Tulufan is based on Xinjiang folk-song themes, heard as grapes are harvested
and lovers united.
Keith Anderson