Preludes and fugues for piano in the polyphonic works of Chinese composers

Abstract

The objective of the study is to identify the role of the small cycle “Prelude and Fugue” in the piano work of Chinese composers in the field of polyphonic genres, to consider the most striking examples of Preludes and fugues from the standpoint of the interpretation of the genre, the use of musical and expressive means, performing implementation. The research methodology is based on an integrated approach that combines theoretical methods with historical ones, reflecting the evolution of musical thinking. All the issues raised in the process of analyzing fugues are considered in combination with certain artistic tasks generated by the internal content of the work. The analysis of piano Preludes and fugues by composers Ding Shande, Chen Zhi Ming, Wang Lisan, Rao Yu Yang, Lin Hua made it possible to deduce a number of features of their construction and musical language in connection with the issues of form formation, thematic content, tonal lighting, rhythmic features, polyphonic ways of development and qualitative transformation of the material. In the Preludes and fugues of Chinese composers, essential and fundamental factors come into close interaction: deep connections coming from the polyphony of the “strict style” and the fugues of J. S. Bach, the organic implementation of the principles of national folk melos and the polyphonic warehouse of instrumental folklore, innovation rooted in the incessant search for new means of expression and enrichment of the musical language. The latter is determined by the content of the composers' music, its fullness with a variety of moods, experiences, reflections on the meaning of human life, about our complex century, saturated with the most serious events and phenomena. In the fusion of these qualities, a subjective moment plays a primary role: the uniqueness of the composer's creative individuality, which leaves a certain imprint on all the compositions — in close-up and in detail.

Keywords

• Chinese piano music
• polyphony
• Prelude and fugue
• pentatonic scale
• performance

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