XIAN XINGHAI’S YELLOW RIVER PIANO CONCERTO

1. XIAN XINGHAI’S YELLOW RIVER PIANO CONCERTO Harmonic Analysis by: David Sandstrom

2. Xian Xinghai • Xinghai was born in Macau, China • Lived from 1905-1945 • Father died when he was a child • Moved frequently as a child • Impoverished • Moved place to place with his mother • Didn’t begin as a musical prodigy-took time for his talents to be “unleashed” • Enrolled in Paris Music Academy-excelled at his studies • Used music as a revolutionary tool • Discriminated by the French, wanted to become a world renowned composer • Learned the clarinet when a youngster.

3. Xian Xinghai • Began composing film scores for movies (Revive, Thunderstorm, Sunrise, Midnight Song) • These scores got Xinghai short lived fame, began working with Yan’an • Xinghai and Yan’an became composing world renowned music, released the Yellow Rive cantata (Yellow River Piano Concerto is derived from the cantata) • The Yellow River cantata is a stunning piece of the late Romantic nationalist agitprop. • Supposedly written in a cave in six days during the Anti-Japanese War • Seven movements-uses traditional Chinese folk melodies as symbol for Chinese defiance to the Japanese during the war.

4. DYNAMICS • The Yellow River Piano Concerto based off of Japanese invasion during the 1930’s • Gave Chinese folk courage to move on • With the expressive dynamics, it gave a way for Xinghai to communicate with his audience • Dynamics are a catalyst for Xinghai to use pizzicato, legato, and modulation as means of expressing passionate feelings • Exemplifies the movement of a river and allows the fluctuations of harmonies in the piece …

5. Form and Structure • The form of the piece, instead of repeating continuously, moves and flows, which keeps the music entertaining. Instead of staying stale in one progression, Xinghai uses continual progressions but also small excerpts of repeats to keep the music entertaining and grasping. (It tells a story) • Use of the pentatonic tonalities- easy to make harmonies (easy progressions-scales are more open for change in related key and such)

6. PIZZICATO • Pizzicato is used specifically in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybjhUf-Z3eY of the Yellow River Piano Concerto (3:40-3:54) • The use of pizzicato allows Xinghai to change from major to minor tonalities which complement the melodic line of the piece (lack of resonance keeps the audience’s attention but also allows the base line to fluctuate with the piano) • The pizzicato allows the base line to fluctuate repeatedly into different tonalities • Changing base lines allows the change of keys in a movement of a concerto, ironically not in this piece. • No key changes in any of the movements which gives us reason to believe that Xinghai used pizzicato specifically, along with other dynamics, to change the base line, still related to the primary key, but the fluctuations give the piece excitement and absence of static in a piece. (the piece is always moving and flowing- in and out of chords in the movements primary key i.e. 1 chord, 2 chord, 4 chord, 7 chord, etc. ) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU9Ioo0HO5A • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_FdVYhT1q0 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybjhUf-Z3eY • All of the above links, although the movements themselves (relative to each other) are in different keys, the movements themselves don’t change their keys-just fluctuations of base lines.

7. LEGATO • Legato shows the free flowing nature of a river • Allows Xinghai to change slowly, and deliberately, from one chord to another (also using immense amounts of arpeggios) • Arpeggios mesh well with legato; shows the free flowing, unpredictability and un restrained aspects of a river • No use of extreme key changes (e flat to f natural, etc.) • Legato keeps the excitement when juxtaposed to pizzicato and other intense dynamics • Legato gives Xinghai means to fluctuate base line evenly and freely without constraints of complex chord structures (arpeggiated phrases) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_FdVYhT1q0 strong use of legato; respective to the “ode” theme in the song • No change in key (click around the excerpt) • Xinghai didn’t change the key surprisingly when using pentatonic scale, which is easy to change keys in? • Continual variations in the triads of the song (2:23) • 2:23 uses a jazzy chromatic scale to keep the attention of the audience • Legato is relaxing; relaxing chord progressions. Period.

8. MODULATION • Despite the absence of substantial key changes in Xinghai’s piece, he uses high amounts of arpeggios and chord progressions to change the piece into related keys (subdominant key, dominant) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybjhUf-Z3eY changes from starting in the dominant 5 key to the dominant 1 key (modulation) • Keeps the flowing aspect of the piece (again) • Also refers to the continual changing attributes of a river, but also of opportunity (remember, this is composed in a time where the Chinese were being overtaken by the Japanese-changing opportunities, life is a river-hard and unpredictable, etc.) • Awesome song guys. • Woots.