The Qin exists in a realm beyond time. Its limpid tones echo through the centuries. Even its origins shrouded in a mythical past, claiming both Fuxi, (the progenitor of all living things) and Huang Di, the “Yellow Emperor” as its creators. In truth, the actual origins remain a matter of controversy, though archeologists have found similar instruments in Central Asia what is present- day Mongolia.
Descriptions of the Qin and its performance in China date back as more than 3000 years and examples more than 1500 years old have been found in playable condition. One such instrument, a Tang Dynasty Qin, can be heard on this recording. The oldest musical notation written for a specific musical instrument ever found was the piece "Solitary Orchid" , dating from before 903 AD was composed for the Qin.
The Qin is a type of zither, constructed from two pieces of wood; the bottom piece is flat and the top piece is convex. While modern Qin have considerable variety in shape and form, traditional Qin construction was deeply influenced by mystical and symbolic correspondences. For instance, the instrument’s length (in Chinese measurements) was said to represent the number of days in the year. The original Qin had only five strings (two strings were added at later dates by various Qin masters), representing the Five Chinese Elements: Wood – mu, Fire - huo, Earth – tu, Metal - jin, and Water – shui.
The Qin’s simple construction and intimate tonal qualities were not only a canvas for musical expression but became a medium for spiritual growth, or as Robert van Gulik wrote in his essential study of the cult and culture of the Qin, The Lore of the Chinese Lute “…it is the only instrument the playing of which has been considered from ancient times as a means of reaching enlightenment.”
As early as the Tang Dynasty, playing the Qin had established itself as one of the “Four Gentlemanly Skills” – or siyi, and was included along with chess, (or Go), calligraphy, and painting as suitable leisure pursuits for a scholar. The great sage himself, Confucius (551-479 BC) was reputed to be an exceptionally gifted Qin player. From accounts that have come down to us, it appears that Confucius not only saw the Qin as a musical instrument but as a mirror to the soul, a means of attaining spiritual enlightenment and a model of good governance and a harmonious society.
The Qin reached the zenith of its popularity during the Ming Dynasty, as is evidenced by the large number of surviving Qinpu (Qin Handbooks) published. In addition to containing performance instructions and the music tablature, these “handbooks” contained voluminous essays on a wide range of subjects, including speculative philosophy, metaphysics and aesthetics as well as the biographies of the attributed composers and transcriptions of the song’s original lyrics. Interest in the Qin declined as social and political issues increasingly engaged the attention of Chinese intellectuals. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, practice of the Qin was limited to a few masters in southern China. As with many of China’s traditional arts, the 20th century was a turbulent time for the Qin, but beginning in the 1950s, thanks to the efforts of scholars such as Guan Pinghu, the Qin has regained its status as China’s musical “Philosopher-King.”
The Qin provides a key for understanding the aesthetics that lay behind all Chinese art. The poetic and fanciful titles attached to these musical compositions should never be mistaken for mere “program music.” These titles, often inspired by classical poems, song lyrics and paintings, become meaningful guideposts to provide insight to the interior emotional, intellectual and spiritual state to be sought by the performer, as he discovers the “essence” of the music he is performing. For instance, the curiously titled piece Regarding Seagulls Without Ulterior Motives was inspired by a story from the Han dynasty, telling of a young man who went to the seaside every morning where he was greeted by hundreds of birds. When his father heard of this he asked his son to bring catch some and bring them home. However, the next time the boy went to the seashore the birds hovered about but would not come down to him. The object of the music (and the parable…) was to focus the player’s attention on the calm detachment of the young man and his interior emotional state, rather than to become a tone poem with naturalistic passages imitating the cries of the gulls or the lapping of the waves upon the shore.
If the sound of the Qin seems “otherworldly”, its music may one day even claim extraterrestrial devotees – for in 1977, a recording of "Flowing Water" (as performed by Guan Pinghu) was included as one of the musical selections on the Voyager Golden Record, which was sent into outer space by NASA on the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts.
Presently, the Qin enjoys a passionate following around the world, with numerous large Qin Societies in America, the UK and Europe and in 2003, Guqin music was proclaimed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Our very special program features performances on actual ancient instruments (including a priceless Tang Dynasty Qin – dating from the 7th century) and draws from a repertoire of more than 1400 years of music from five of China’s Imperial dynasties in addition to a contemporary composition. The subtle difference in tone quality, resonance and timber of each instrument provides an exceptional encounter with one of China’s most ancient, refined and subtle musical traditions as interpreted by one of the instrument’s greatest living masters.
|
 |
| |
| 代碼 : |
RMCD-1026 |
| 標題 : |
琴 |
| 副標題 : |
古意盎然弦如語 琴韻天成雲作心 |
| 艺术家 : |
杜聰, 趙家珍 |
|
| |
| |
 |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
| |
琴是謎。 這件三千多年曆史的中國弦樂器,輕撫過它軀體上因歲月風化和鳴奏震動而留下的各種斷紋,就仿佛摩挲過壹片有生命的肌膚……牛毛斷、冰紋斷、流水斷、蛇腹斷、梅花斷……那樣溫潤而又些許阻滯的奇異觸感,令心中電光火石般微微震撼。 那些形如天書的減字譜,在蟬翼般脆薄的泛黃卷冊上,令人熟悉而陌生的每個字,都高度凝煉地概括了雙手演奏的徽位、指法、弦名、點板,不可思議地以方塊字的形象將千年以前的音樂纖毫畢現地傳真到今日。 也許,古琴從起源開始,便注定它謎壹樣的色彩。傳說中人類的始祖伏羲,見到鳳凰非梧桐不棲,于是斫桐木仿鳳形制琴,供瑤池演樂。至今千百代傳承,這種以桐 木、蠶絲、鹿角和金銀珠翠珊瑚制作的樂器,這種經過難以想象的嚴苛繁瑣工藝制作出來的樂器,壹直被視爲中國樂器之王,充滿神秘而高貴的光芒。
琴是道。 對于古琴的欣賞遠遠超越了聆聽琴曲本身。即使壹張靜默的琴,亦凝煉訴說著中國古代“天人合壹”的獨特哲學觀。 琴有歲月。摹仿鳳形或人形、頭頸肩腰足俱全的琴身,三尺六寸五的長度恰恰對應著壹年三百六十五天的輪回,六寸寬度象征天下六合的恢宏;徽位中有十二個代表十二個月份的變衍,而中間的大徽則象征閏月。 琴有天地。琴面圓渾象征天,以屬陽的桐木制成;琴底方正象征地,以屬陰的梓木制成。渾然壹體,照應著華夏幾千年神秘的陰陽和配之論。 琴有七弦。先有五弦在上,奏出的是宮、商、角、徵、羽五音,象征的卻是君、臣、民、事、物五種社會等級;後有周文、周武兩代賢王所增文、武二弦,則象征君 臣之合恩。絲弦間奏出的三種音色:泛音、按音、散音,更分別象征著天、地、人和。中國古來的世界認知和教化人倫,只由這壹張素琴便蘊藉深遠。
琴是君子。 明代琴譜《神奇秘譜》有雲:“然琴之爲物,聖人制之,以正心術,導政事,和六氣,調玉燭,實天地之靈氣、太古之神物,乃中國聖人治世之音,君子養修之 物。”不僅撫琴本身被視作君子雅士每日修身養性的必備,連聆聽古琴也超越了壹般的音樂審美意義,而是更拓展爲深具禅意的心靈行程。 琴有其韻,音在弦外,既深得儒家的中正和平溫柔敦厚,又體現道家的“大音希聲”、“至樂無樂”,謙謙有君子之風,袅袅有美人之思,是爲雅樂。 琴有其德:美而不豔、哀而不傷、質而能文、清迥幽奇。時如燃香壹縷,散斂之中生發神思;時如雲遠靜空,勾抹之間怡人心腑。傳說琴曲壹起,猛虎止嘯,哀猿不啼,是爲天籁。
琴是中國。 商周以降的幾千年華夏人文曆史,因這琴韻缭繞而顯得豐美動人,況味深遠。 琴既可以作遠古帝王的宏願禱祝:“舜作五弦之琴以歌南風”;亦可以是“思無邪”的民間愛情歌謠:《詩經•關雎》“窈窕淑女,琴瑟友之”。春秋時至聖孔子見 香蘭而作《猗蘭操》,援琴鼓之,歎生不逢時;戰國時伯牙子期以琴曲《高山》、《流水》結緣知音,千古絕唱曠世難尋。相如壹曲《鳳求凰》,引得文君寅夜私 奔;嵇康壹曲《廣陵散》,成爲自己刑前送行的悲涼之聲。延至唐宋元明清,三尺素琴更是彈撥出了太多傳世逸事,浸透了中國士子們追求的“入耳澹無味,惬心潛 有情”的人文氣質。 至今,古琴曲《流水》尚作爲唯壹代表中國的音樂,鑄刻在美國“旅行者號”搭載的鍍金唱片,晝夜回響在茫茫太空。
琴韻三千年,個中有日月。被列入聯合國教科文組織“人類口述及非物質文化遺産代表作名錄”的古琴藝術,在隋唐時即流傳東亞諸國。至今,存見南北朝至 清代的琴譜百余種,琴曲三千首,其余文獻浩瀚如海,遺存豐碩。更有自唐以降稀世名琴,穿越朝代更叠世事滄桑,幸存于世。本張專輯既以“琴”字破題,不敢唐 突上古雅音,必以上物名器刻畫金聲玉振。 爲了錄制這張專輯,自公元632年至今的六張名琴驚世會賢,占盡六朝風流,靜演曆史傳承。從圓渾的師曠式唐琴“太古遺音”,到聳狹的仲尼式宋琴“高山流 水”,從元琴“寄意”到明琴“雲和”、清琴“養和”,直至晚近今琴“蕉葉”,于清雅虛空之中各有意韻非凡天成。其中,唐貞觀五年的“太古遺音”因爲在 2008北京奧運會開幕式上小露姿容而備受關注,身價逾億,可謂傾國傾城;而這張連奧運會上都只能使用其現代仿品的國寶名琴,此次錄音能夠以真身面世,實 乃琴界壹大幸事。細觀三尺桐琴,琴弦未動之時,幽雅況味似已飄渺入雲。壹念間撲面襲來的禅意與滄桑,令這些珍若拱璧的遺世名琴,蘇醒壹程程荏苒時光,如語 無言。 專輯撷選之十余琴曲,大都爲三千載琴史上奉入廟堂的不朽名篇。從現今存世最古的《幽蘭》,到蘊藉伯牙子期“知音”逸事的《流水》,從寫盡魏晉名士放曠意氣 的《酒狂》、《廣陵散》,到取意唐詩畫意的《搗衣》、《陽關三疊》,經典琴曲盡入彀中;更特意收錄現代作品《春風》,以北域新疆的熱烈奔放風格脫穎而出, 令人耳目壹新。 每首琴曲題材本不相同,又各由不同朝代瑤琴演來,風味更殊;加之或有別種樂器合璧唱和,如埙如箫,如手鼓如尺八,清令風致各攬其勝。若寫山水,有《漁樵問 答》之隱逸自得,有《潇湘水雲》之興歎江山;若寫飛禽,有《平沙落雁》之澹澹無言,有《鷗鹭忘機》之禅心忘我。其余如《良宵引》之淡遠,如《欸乃》之拙 樸,如《普庵咒》之怡甯,如《秋風辭》之輕愁,如《關山月》之铿锵蒼茫,如《梅花三弄》之清者益清,俱是各琴派曆來看家名作,或吳或浙,或虞山或廣陵,或 梅庵或蜀山,或九嶷或浦城,水墨意趣姿韻紛呈。 馭稀世名器,奏傳代名章,非聖手不能力爲也。被譽爲“當今古琴第壹人”的虞山派傳人趙家珍,此番嘔心鳴奏畢生所學,藉絲桐雅意發今古幽情,逞七弦絕技演天 人合壹。專輯爲求音韻和諧多姿,更邀約來杜聰之吹管和李聰農之打擊樂,國樂名家以雅樂唱和,珠聯璧合絲絲入扣。亞洲錄音大師李小沛,于央視480平米模擬 錄音棚親自操刀,藉完全同期錄音點滴臻藏樂手靈感迸現,亦細致保留各代名琴的不同韻味。德國錄音名廠老虎魚的首席錄音師全程負責專輯的後期制作及母版制 造,格萊美評委、美國著名音樂評論家Joshua Cheek先生親自撰寫英文文案,古琴之雅韻遠播重洋,成爲世所共賞的頂尖東方藝術。
古人奏琴有“五不彈”:疾風甚雨不彈,于塵市不彈,對俗子不彈,不坐不彈,不衣冠不彈。或皎月當空,或晨籁纖發,或澗戶寥聲,方爲焚香寬衣靜心操琴 之佳期。聆賞六代名琴共演清商,當是可遇不可求的難得際遇。因此上,不如放曠壹段沖淡胸臆,隨這袅袅琴意,息心靜聽,浮生偷閑。
|
|