The use of traditional chinese music elements in selected saxophone works of Lei Liang

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze the Chinese elements in two of Lei Liang’s saxophone works, Peking Opera Soliloquy and Xiaoxiang, to examine how Liang incorporates such Chinese elements into the framework of Western musical compositions, and to discuss strategies that saxophonists can use to bring these Chinese elements out in performance. This study was divided into four parts: 1) a score analysis of the selected works, 2) a Western-style formal analysis of the selected works, 3) an analysis of Chinese elements in the selected works, including a discussion of how they are composed using Western musical idioms, and 4) a discussion of how to interpret and play selected Chinese elements on the saxophone. Traditional Chinese elements identified in these pieces include Peking Opera singing, Peking Opera accompaniment, traditional Chinese melodies, one-note polyphony and other Chinese artistic elements such as negative space and calligraphy. This study also explores how the composer uses creative and innovative ways to imitate or allude to these traditional Chinese musical and artistic elements within the boundaries of Western musical notation, genres, and saxophone performance styles and techniques. It is hoped that this research could also lead to further studies of how to interpret other works for the saxophone or other musical instruments that incorporate traditional Chinese elements.