Afu Shalomov's Chinese Comple

Since the 18 th century,when Western missionaries first brought Chinese music back to Europe in the form of scores,the "Chinese element" began to take root in Western music circles,experiencing the beginnings,the slow pace,and finally the dawn,finally blossoming in the 20 th century.In addition to titles with Chinese associations,plots based on Chinese stories,lyrics using Chinese poetry and pentatonic folk tunings,Chinese percussion instruments are the easiest way to highlight the Chinese style,and a few composers have even drawn their own ideas from Chinese philosophy.A few composers even draw their desired "Chinese elements" from Chinese philosophy.East meets West,beauty meets beauty,and Chinese and Western music from different cultural backgrounds weave a bright path of musical fusion and development together.Aaron Avshalomov,a Jewish-American composer born in Temple Street,the border between China and Russia,has moved around the world and been displaced throughout his life,visiting China three times and living in China for a total of 30 years,and has a deep love for China.The more than ten years he lived in Shanghai was the golden stage of his creative career,and also harvested He also earned the Chinese name "Xia Yafu".His first visit to China coincided with the "total westernization" of the May Fourth Movement,which made Aaron decide to reform traditional music and to fight for it.In that scenario,he went against the tide with the creative concept of "Western technique with Chinese soul" and realized his creative ideal in his many works with "Chinese elements".As a foreign composer,Aaron’s recognition of the value of traditional Chinese music at the beginning of the 20 th century was invaluable and ahead of its time,and it remains an important inspiration for Chinese and Western music today.This paper takes Aaron Avshalomov’s symphonic poem Peiping Hutungs and the opera The Twilight Hour of Yang Kuei Fei as examples,and explores and analyzes Aaron’s "Chinese complex" by using various research methods such as documentary research,musical analysis and inductive summary.This paper is divided into three chapters,the first chapter is a longitudinal overview: the adoption of "Chinese elements" by Western composers is traced,and brief overview of Aaron’s deep ties to China in his life,which is the "Chinese love";the second chapter is a horizontal interpretation: Aaron’s creative concept and creative profile is explored,and the two works are deeply explored.The second chapter is a horizontal reading: an exploration of Aaron’s creative philosophy and a deeper exploration of the creative background of the two works;the third chapter is a crossroads: a textual and musical analysis of the works,which together with the second chapter constitute Aaron’s "Chinese knot".The Chinese connection can be seen in the titles of the works,which can be divided into two categories: one is a place in China and the other is a historical story of China.Peiping Hutungs is a work written by the author after he lived in Peiping and was inspired by the reality of hutung life.The sound of various vendors in the hutungs,the buzzing sound of hawking tools and the clamor of gongs and drums from the percussion of funeral bands are all woven into the stream of sound,together drawing a vivid sound picture.Based on the love story of "Emperor Tang Ming" and "Yang Kueifei",The Twilight of Yang Kueifei presents a Chinese historical story with a Western operatic formula,using the libretto of the dramatic poem of the same name by Gresham,with Chinese Tang poems and Buddhist phrases: Namu Amitabha Buddha.The work took the longest to create,conceived in Shanghai and finally completed in New York in the last years of Aaron’s life,pouring so much of his heart and soul into what was,in the eyes of Aaron and others,his most perfect work.Unfortunately,Aaron’s dreams of Chinese citizenship and the appearance on stage of The Twilight Hour of Yang Kuei Fei were not realized.Aaron’s musical ideas pointed the way to a new direction for Chinese musicians in the first half of the 20 th century,and his works with "Chinese elements" left an excellent example for the Western music world to create works in the Chinese style.You are already a "Chinese" in people’s hearts,"Xia Yafu".