A Study On The Earliest Musical Sources Of The Caidiao Operatic Version Of Liu Sanjie

Between 1959 and 1961, Liu Sanjie (The Legend of The Third Sister of the Liu Family) underwent three crucial re-makings, i.e., the Caidiao operatic versions (including several 'projects'), the'musical-like' gewu rendition and finally the a movie version. These three versions of Liu Sanjie are different in form, but maintain a direct line of succession in both story and music. The music of the'first project' in the Caidiao operatic version, which constituted the point of reference for later renditions, but which few people know, has been selected as the subject of this dissertation. Divided into three chapters, this thesis discusses the creative process, the works resulting from such process, their initial propagation and the socio-cultural content of the music of Liu Sanjie according to its Caidiao version.Chapter 1 is an introductory summary of relevant sources. Its aim is to describe and analyze the material collected by the author. A systematic review of all sources related to the'first project' is offered in the initial section, where the background of the creative process as described by composer Li Jiahui is also provided. The second section presents a collation of the various materials with the purpose of underscoring and accounting for discrepancies among them.Chapter 2 explores the music of the'first project'. The opening section of this chapter investigates the provenance of the score of the folk songs upon which the music of the 'first project' is based and the two concepts of musical composition lying behind the 'first project'. The second and third sections are key points in the dissertation. They ascertain the very first version of the musical score upon which Theme Song of the'first project' was composed, and discuss the development from the original folk song to Theme Song. Moreover, it establishes the circumstances surrounding the work Liao Liao Luo by Guo Guanfang.Chapter 3 discusses the initial propagation, the musical transmission and the socio-cultural reinterpretations of both the'first project' and the'third project'. Notably, the second section reviews the musical scores of the'third project' and draws the conclusion that its music comes basically from the'first project'. The third section analyses how political consciousness permeates the process of composing Liu Sanjie and accounts for the reasons behind the falling into neglect of the'first project'.