辰河高腔源流考略

An Study of the Origin of Chenhe Opera Characteristic of High-pitched Singing

辰河高腔脱胎于江西弋阳腔,是流行于湖南泸溪、沅陵、溆浦、辰溪等县的一大地方戏。唱是其主要特色,锣鼓和唢呐是其主要乐器,表演程式经历了由不成熟到成熟的过程,按曲牌分为23类七大母调,剧目形成了下河、中河、上河三个流派。它不仅再现了沅水流域古代佛、道、傩文化画图,更再现了辰河高腔艺术产生源头的农耕画图辰河戏,它在其产生与发展过程中对中国戏剧艺术发展作出了积极贡献。

Chenhe Opera, characteristic of high-pitched singing, originated from an opera style of the Yiyang Tune in Jiangxi Province,which was a famous local opera popular in Luxi, Yuanling, Xupu and Chenxi of Hunan Province. It is noteworthy for the use of singing, and gongs and drums are its major instruments. Its performance formula, grouped into 23 classes under seven original tunes, has undergone a period from unripe to ripe. Three schools of performance have formed its repertoires, namely, Lower Reaches, Middle Reaches and Upper Reaches. It reproduces not only the picture of the ancient Buddhist, Taoist and Exorcizing cultures of the Yuan Reaches but also the picture of the Chenhe Opera characteristic of farming which originated the art of the Chenhe Opera characteristic of high-pitched singing, and its birth and development has contributed a great deal to the development of Chinese operas.