Variations and Fugue on an Ancient Taiwanese Music: The Art of Combining Taiwanese Traditional Music and Western Composition in Kuo Chih-Yuan’s Piano Repertoire

Authors: Sheng Wei Hsu

Abstract:

Taiwanese composer Kuo Chih-Yuan (1921-2013) studied composition at Tokyo University of the Arts and was influenced by the musical nationalism prevailing in Japan at the time. Determined to create world-class contemporary works to represent Taiwan, he created music with elements of traditional Taiwanese music in ways that had not been done before. The aims of this study were to examine the traditional elements used in Kuo Chih-Yuan’s Variations and Fugue on an Ancient Taiwanese Music (1972), and how an understanding of these elements might guide pianists to interpret a more proper performance of his work was also presented in this study.

Keywords: Kuo Chih-Yuan, music analysis, piano works, Taiwanese traditional music.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1107948

References:

[1] T. Hsu 許常惠, Taiwan yinyue shi chuga 台灣音樂史初稿 (The First Draft on Taiwanese Music History), Taipei: Quanyin, 1996, p. 11-18.
[2] T. Hsu 許常惠, Taiwan yinyue shi chuga 台灣音樂史初稿 (The First Draft on Taiwanese Music History), Taipei: Quanyin, 1996, p. 21-27.
[3] C. Lu呂錘寬, Taiwan Chuantong Yinyue 台灣傳統音樂 (Traditional Taiwanese Music), Taipei: Donghua Publishing House, 1997, p. 60-63.
[4] D. Huang黄德仕, ‘Taiwan Geyao zhi Xingtai 台灣歌謠之型態 (Forms of Taiwanese folk songs and ballads)’, Taiwan Wenxian Zhuankan 台灣 文獻專刊(Special Issue of Taiwan Documents), Taipei: Taiwan Wenxian, 1952, p.1-17.
[5] S. Chien, Voices of Eternal Spring: A Study of the Hingcun diau Song Family and Other Folk Songs of the Hingcun Area, Taiwan, University of Sheffield: PhD Thesis, 2009, p. 37-44.
[6] W. Ruan阮文池 (Ed.), Kuo Chih-Yuan Taiyu Gequji (Duchang, Hechang 郭芝苑台語歌曲集 (獨唱合唱) (Kuo Chih-Yuan Taiwanese Song Album (Solo Choir)), Taichung: Jingyi University, 2003, p. 174.
[7] W. Ruan阮文池 (Ed.), Kuo Chih-Yuan Taiyu Gequji (Duchang, Hechang 郭芝苑台語歌曲集 (獨唱合唱) (Kuo Chih-Yuan Taiwanese Song Album (Solo Choir)), Taichung: Jingyi University, 2003, p. 174.\
[8] Y. Chao 钞艺娟, ‘Henan ban tou qu, Gaoshan liu shui de yuan yuan tan you’ 河南板头曲《高山流水》的渊源探幽 (Henan ban tou music research), 藝術教育第三期Art Education Journal, Issue 3, 2007, p. 25- 28.
[9] Anonymous, An hui sheng zhi: wen hua yi shu zhi 安徽省志:文化藝術 志 (An Hui Province History: Art and Cultural History), An hui sheng di fang zhi bian zuan wei yuan hui 安徽省地方志編篡委員會: China An Hui Province, Local History Committee, 1999, p. 291.
[10] C. Kuo郭芝苑, Kuo Chih-Yuan Piano Solo Album 郭芝苑鋼琴獨奏曲 集., Taipei: Yueyun, 1996, p.79-80.
[11] W. Ruan阮文池 (Ed.), Kuo Chih-Yuan Taiyu Gequji (Duchang, Hechang 郭芝苑台語歌曲集 (獨唱合唱) (Kuo Chih-Yuan Taiwanese Song Album (Solo Choir)), Taichung: Jingyi University, 2003, p. 136- 139.
[12] C. Kuo郭芝苑, Kuo Chih-Yuan Piano Solo Album 郭芝苑鋼琴獨奏曲 集., Taipei: Yueyun, 1996, p. 86.
[13] C. Kuo郭芝苑, Kuo Chih-Yuan Piano Solo Album 郭芝苑鋼琴獨奏曲 集., Taipei: Yueyun, 1996, p. 92.