Liu Tianhua - Erhu Solos - 1929-1932

Liu Tianhua - Erhu Solos (composer)

Art Tune Company Hong Kong - COL 3011 - P. 1970's

(most recordings played by various artists most likely between 1960's-1970's)

劉天華二胡演奏 - 二胡獨奏

香港藝聲唱片公司 - COL 3137 - P. 1970's

第 1 面

1. 空山鳥語 - 張韶

2. 彈樂 - 孫文明

3. 燭影搖紅 - 張銳

4. 悲歌 - 張銳

5. 月夜 - 張銳

6. 良宵 - 張銳

第 2 面

7. 病中含 - 蔣風之

8. 苦中樂 - 蔣風之

9. 閒居含 - 蔣風之

10. 獨弦操 - 甘柏林

The titles of songs are often hard to render into english, and as all the tunes here are standards, there may be other, more common translations. These are all my stab at giving some english titles to the songs, but if someone, more familiar with the Erhu repertoire has better suggestions, please don't hesitate to tell me so. Not that I don't listen to chinese instrumental music, but I am more familiar with the Qin, and the various opera repertoires. I will post some of that later as I find time.

Side A

A1 Birdsong in the empty mountains (1931) - Zhang Shao

A2 Plucked music - Sun Wenming

A3 Amorous shadows in candlelight - Zhang Rui

A4 Elegy - Zhang Rui

A5 Moonlight - Zhang Rui

A6 Peaceful evening - Zhang Rui

Side B

B1 Lamenting illness - Jiang Fengzhi

B2 Music in the bitterness - Jiang Fengzhi

B3 Residence leisure lament - Jiang Fengzhi

B4 Single string exercise - Gan Bolin

Liu Tianhua composed ten erhu solos, the LP has but nine of them but is missing

guāng míng xíng 光明行 (March towards brightness). Comment by Huqinblogger

Liu Tianhua (1895-1932)

Liu Tianhua (1895-1932) who is known as the "father of the Chinese Erhu" one of the most well known composers of the early generation, performer and music educator. He contributed greatly to reform and modernize traditional Chinese music and folk music. The pieces on this LP are all standards and are often the repertoire played for grading and competitions of students and young musicians. Even thou he was only 37 when he died of scarlet fever 1932 June 8 he has greatly influenced the chinese attitude towards folk music and elevated both the music and the position of the instrument. He improved both the pipa and the erhu before his solopieces more associated with beggars and he was the first to introduce erhu as a solo instrument in higher musical education.

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Hong Kong - Musical Atlas vol. 9 - Unesco Collection

Hong Kong - Musical Atlas - Unesco Collections

EMI Italiana - C 064-17968 - P. 1974

Side A

A1 Liu Pui-Yuen, p'i-p'a, Pa Wang Shih Chia - The Warrior Takes off His Armour

A2 Tsung Seung, yang-ch'in. Shu Mu Mu Yang, Shu-Muu as Shepherd

A3 Tsung Seung, yang-ch'in, Wong Kuen, hsiao. Duet: Chiang Ho Shui, Widow Mourning beside the Murmuring River

A4 Wong Kuen, ti. Ko Tzu Fei, Pigeons Flying

Side B

B1 Tong Kin-Woon, ch'in. I Ku Jên, Thinking of an Old Friend

B2 Hsiao Ming, shêng. Pu Pu Chiao, Graceful Steps of a Lovely Lady

B3 Tsui Wah-Nam, êrh-hu. Huan Lo Ts'ao Yuan, Happiness upon the Grassy Plain

B4 So Chun-Po, chêng. Kao Shan Liu Shui, High Mountain and Running Water

B5 Lui Pui-Yuen, p'i-p'a. Kao Shan Liu Shui, High Mountain and Running Water

Dolls from shadow play, piyingxi 皮影戲

Lotus painting on fan

Despite the adornments from Piyingxi 皮影戲 (shadowplay)

(the above pictures turned upside down on the cover)

there is unfortunately no music from this once so popular entertainment form.

Wong Kuen, ti, dizi 笛子

Usually my ears are very sensitive to flute and I often find it painful to listen but then again some of the best pieces I know are played on the flute. Pieces played on the Xiao, Nay, Bansuri & Shakuhachi in the lover register and slowly, usually give much satisfaction and pleasure. The piece on this record and is not my favourite but as it depicts the pigeons flying with whistles attached to their hind feathers it does give me an excellent opportunity to show you some nice pictures of the doves and the paraphernalia used. It makes a wonderful sound when they fly over in huge flocks and fading away as they fly further away from you and growing in volume as they come back overflying the roof of your house. Unfortunately this is almost impossible to enjoy any more after most of the hutongs 衚衕 (narrow alleys in Beijing) has been torn down. Nowadays the wonderful magical sound is almost completely drenched by the thick traffic and was almost dependent upon the silence of a 9 million inhabitant city that all were either on foot walking, or on bicycle. One could hear dogs barking and roosters crowing in the middle of the city and the biggest noise there was, were the bicycle bells at rush hour. You could hear the occasional lorry minutes before it showed up.

ill. How to attach thin reed whistles to the tail of pigeons.

Pigeon whistles made of reed, bamboo, and calabash

Female pigeon in full concert attire

Some of music on this record is rather nice but it was made at a time when it was really hard to get good recordings from China. I will remedy this in later posts as I have started to prepare some of my old Chinese LP's and other media recordings. It is not the first post I had intended to present good music from China, (which is increasingly hard to find for other reasons that I will dwell upon later), but it will have to suffice for now, and because it fills a place in the catalogue of the EMI Italiana Unesco Collection. It is still a mainstream traditional pleasant listen.

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