Singing in Mandarin

By Katherine Chu and Juliet Petrus - Foreword by Bright Sheng

Access audio files at: https://soundcloud.com/k-chu-j-petrus/sets/singing-in-mandarin-recordedThe success of Chinese artists internationally across many art forms has focused the world's attention on the developing cultural phenomenon in China, an emerging stage for the vocal arts. As one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, Mandarin is poised to become the next addition to lyric languages. Singing in Mandarin: A Guide to Chinese Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire is a comprehensive guide to unlocking the mysteries of Chinese contemporary vocal literature.In part one, Chu and Petrus focus on diction and language, providing detailed descriptions and exercises for creating the sounds of the language. They take a uniquely systematic approach, fusing together best practices from international music conservatories for diction study, with those for Chinese language learning. Part two outlines the historical context of Chinese vocal literature, chronicling the development of the language and its repertoire over the last one hundred years. Audio files narrated by native speakers demonstrating the sounds are also included.Singing in Mandarin provides guidance for both novices and those with previous experience singing or speaking Mandarin and is the first book of its kind to help bring the fascinating and previously inaccessible treasure of Chinese vocal music to Western audiences.

Part 1: The Fundamentals of Chinese DictionChapter 1: ConsonantsBeginning with consonants and progressing from familiar to unfamiliar sounds, this chapter usescomparative diction study to illustrate the differences and commonalities of Chinese diction toother, more familiar dictions. Unless readers can already recognize and pronounce Chinesecharacters, Pinyin will be a necessary step in transliterating, as currently it is the most commonmethod. Being that the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a standard method of identifyingphonemes, the book employs IPA to explain the Pinyin. Even in this early stage of Mandarinknowledge, by establishing the important connection between IPA and Pinyin, some studentsmay comfortably continue to use the IPA system, while others may eventually progress to usingonly Pinyin as their form of transliteration. In addition to being able to hear all of the soundspronounced by native speakers on the CD, there will be diagrams of tongue position,descriptions of how to physically create them, as well as exercises to help the readers acclimatethemselves to Chinese pronunciation.Chapter 2: VowelsContinuing the systematic approach from Chapter 1, this chapter thoroughly examines all thecategories including vowels, vowel clusters and vowel-consonant combination, many of whichare unique to the study of Chinese diction. It discusses the important subtleties which cannot becompared to any other type of lyric diction. The very last section will address the effect thatcertain groups of consonants and semi-vowels have on vowels and vowel clusters that followthem.Chapter 3: Chinese Semantics, Syntax and StressOnce the Chinese diction system is presented and explained in the most scientific mannerpossible, attention can be turned to important properties that characterize this language. EachChinese character is a monosyllable with a stand-alone meaning. Words in Chinese can bemade up of multiple syllables. Like in English, correct stress while singing in Mandarin isessential for comprehension of the lyrics, not only because the tonal aspect of the language iscompletely lost in music, but also because the musical stress begins to superimpose on thephrasal stress. This chapter examines how proper stress and inflection restore the syntactic andsemantic features of the Chinese language.Chapter 4: Stylistic ConcernsThe final chapter of Part 1 will be an overview of stylistic issues unique to Chinese diction, such other lyric dictions such as the peculiar and regional property of the final R, and the `rounding offof a syllable¿ and its effect on legato. There will be also an examination of widely spokendialects such as Cantonese and Taiwanese, and regional accents. These are stylistic elementsthat can transform mere diction into artistry, as they give nuance to interpretation.-----------------------------------------Part 2: Chinese Vocal RepertoireChapter 5: Overview of Modern Chinese Vocal LiteratureWith vocal traditions such as Peking and Kunqu Operas, Chinese vocal music spans centuriesin Chinese history. Despite this long and rich tradition, the body of work that is applicable toclassically-trained, lyric singers began emerging in the early 1900s. Modern Chinese vocalmusic mirrors the course of contemporary Chinese history, reflecting political milieu, motivatingnew genres, revolutionizing the language, and assimilating Western influences, which impactedthe stylistic development of vocal literature. The subsequent chapters are the examination of thetypes of repertoire developed from the last century to the present.Chapter 6: Modern Chinese Song RepertoireWhat can be identified as modern repertoire started in the decade after the Revolution of 1911.Art songs and folk song arrangements make up a significant part of the type of music accessibleto the classically-trained singer. However, songs with a popular influence and vocal chambermusic also make their way to the contemporary recital hall. This chapter will survey these works,as well as giving Pinyin and IPA for the most significant pieces. Composers represented willinclude the earliest pioneers such as HUANG Zi, QING Zhu, XIAO Youmei, and ZHAO Yuanren,as well as modern disciples such as CHEN Yi, LU Zaiyi, and composers from Hong Kong andTaiwan, illustrating their place and contributions to Chinese Art Song, the definition of whichleads to many fascinating questions and lively debates.Chapter 7: Concert and Opera RepertoireConcert pieces for voice with orchestra and modern opera represent a recent phenomenon inChinese compositional history. From the very earliest of cantatas to the first Chinese opera inthe 1930¿s, the variety of genres fashioned in the Western compositional models in the last twodecades is well evidenced by the remarkable output from composers, both Western-trained andhome-grown. Encouraged by the growing number of theaters built and productions staged inChina, opera is proving to be the epitome of creative expression, attracting many composers toturn their attention to writing for this multidisciplinary art form. Composers such as CHENQigang, CHOU Wen-chung, GUO Wenjing, Bright Sheng, TAN Dun, YE Xiaogang and ZHOULong, help to push these genres forward.