Study On The Artistic Style Of The Ceremony Music In The P.L.A. Martial Music

The ceremony music in the P.L.A. Martial Music came into being in war times. At the beginning of New China, Chairman Mao proposed "focusing on us, focusing on our nation" as the guiding principle for the creation of the ceremony music in the P.L.A. martial music. Under this general principle, which is also the artistic style of the ceremony music in the P.L.A. martial music, composers, bringing their talents together, have manifested the formation and development of this artistic style of "focusing on us, focusing on our nation" in three historical periods. The above merit owes to the Army's inputs from the glorious heritages of our military music, useful experiences from foreign countries, and the composers' own active exploration. The first period, dating from the foundation of the People's Republic of China to 1959, was marked by the exploration of style. As a result of the transformation of band formation, creations in this period show the consciousness to compose and orchestrate I a fabric way. While meantime creations started to absorb national musical language, a plain, friendly, honest and majestic artistic image was formed by the above artistic thinking, which accumulated advantageous experiences for the final formation of style in later times. The second period, form 1960s to 1978, devoted itself to the formation of style. Inherited useful experiences from the first period, with the concerted efforts of composers, creations in this period formed the artistic style of "focusing on us, focusing on our nation", which in detail is themes chanting national spirit, motive harmonic marches extolling Chinese manner, formulated fabric language symbolizing military features, and practical orchestration thinking manifesting heroic spirit. Bearing a majestic, honest, harmonic and magnificent cultural value and aesthetic meaning, the artistic image in those creations produces vividly the vigorous and mighty People's Army, the warm and confident Chinese people, and the grand and heroic People's Republic of China. The third period, from 1978 to 1999, saw the inheriting and developing of the style. Creations in this period inherited and forwarded the former style. On the one hand, the theme, harmonic language and the thinking to compose and orchestrate in a fabric way show the effective inheriting of the former style, which can be seen in a number of revised and orchestrated works and a part of composed works. On the other hand, in the other works, the formation of theme, the application of harmonic language and the fabric way of composing raised the advantageous development of the former style.