Building World Music Collections

China and Taiwan

Alec McLaneamclane@wesleyan.edu

MLA 2014Atlanta, GAFebruary 27, 2014

Some general observations on Chinese music

1. Tradition of philosophical and theoretical thought regarding music, going back to the 6th century BCE

2. Musical culture marked by great diversity, yet also by remarkable homogeneity

3. Instrumental traditions grounded in ancient classifications of material from which instruments are made

4. Regional opera styles are a persistent factor in cultural identities

5. Ready adaptation to Western musical traditions, particularly European classical music

Tuning systems

Guqin

Guzheng

Musical culture is marked by great diversity, yet also by remarkable homogeneity

• Mainland: 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups

• Taiwan: aboriginal groups; large Hokkien- and Hakka-speaking population from Fujian Province on the mainland

• Yet Han people are a majority in all but 2 provinces

• Very strong national identity

Erhu

Pipa

Dizi

Instrumental traditions grounded in ancient classifications of material from which

instruments are made

• 8 elements: metal, stone, silk, bamboo, gourd, earth (pottery), hide, and wood

• Ensembles still named after these elements

Silk and bamboo ensemble

Abing

Regional opera styles are a persistent factor in cultural identities

Peking Opera

“Model operas”

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

Ready adaptation to Western musical traditions, particularly European classical music

Cui Jian

A-Mei

Some labels and vendors:• JVC• King Records• Lyrichord

• Farside Music http://www.farsidemusic.com/

• Multicultural Media’s World Music Store http://www.worldmusicstore.com/

• yesasia.com http://www.yesasia.com/global/en/home.html

• malmusic.comhttp://malmusic.com/music.asp?lang=E

谢谢， 大家！

(xie xie da jia =Thank you all)