旋律神韵、原生态与民族精神--生茂音乐作品在当下中国的意义

Melody, Indigenousness and National Spirit:The Significance of Sheng Mao’s Musical Works in Present-Day China

在众多音乐体裁中，声乐作品对人情感世界的触动是最显而易见的，或者说也是最通俗易懂的，而声乐作品中渗入人心的则是它的旋律。然而，不知从哪时起，这个在音乐创作中的常识受到了冲击。一方面，在器乐创作界，人们在热哀于现代技法的同时，羞于旋律的写作；另一方面，在歌曲音乐创作中，那种感人至深、沁人心田的旋律似乎也越来越少见。甚至，这个按道理说很多元化、很民主的时代，却被反讽为一个声乐作品、甚至旋律被放逐的时代。为什么会出现这样一种现象？旋律已经被打入冷宫了吗？2006年9月21日，北京音乐厅“长征组歌暨生茂作品音乐会”那些经久不衰、朴实感人的旋律敲击了我们的神经，使我们不得不再次面对这个令人困惑的问题。

It is obvious that among various music forms, vocal music can more easily touch the feeling of humankind, or in other words, can be better understood. And the most striking part of vocal music is its melody. However, for some reason, this common sense has been twisted. On the one hand, composers are keen on modern composing techniques while ignoring the melody; on the other hand, good and touching melody is less and less seen in song writings. To some extent, this present age of pluralism and democracy is sometimes regarded as an age of exile for melody. Why is it so? What happens to melody? On September 21, 2006, the ″Long March Suite″ Concert of Works by Sheng Mao at the Beijing Concert Hall hit our nerves with his long -lasting and touching melody so deeply that we had to en- counter this question again. In discussing his music compositions, one inevitable subject is the melody in his vocal works. This is naturally not a theoretical issue in the first place, but rather a matter of practice and experience. Sheng Mao's vocal works had been popular in almost all the families in China throughout an entire age as the works represent the spiritual world of a whole generation. In spite of this fact, who is the very force that makes his songs so touching and so popular? Is there any secret in it? Such questions may inspire our thoughts. Apparently, melody does not ex- ist in all musical works, and not all melodies can be so unforgettable. Just as Sheng Mao said before, it is the spirit of melody that he is seeking for in his composition. It is in this context that this article attempts to discuss and artistic values of Sheng Mao's music composition and its significance in present-day China under such a tile ″Melody, Indigenousness and National Spirit″.