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| Qin and the Four Seasons | 古琴與四季 |
A short poem (of unknown origin) mentioning the four seasons has been used as lyrics in several qin melodies. Otherwise there does not seem to be any traditional guqin melodies with the theme of the four seasons. In addition, in the absence of early melodies that can be connected to summer, it would require creative thinking to arrange a program around all four seasons. However, I have in the past done programs that focus on either spring or autumn.
Summer
The only melody with a clear mention of summer may be the
Mei'an version of the melody Feng Lei Yin.
Winter
Spring
No melody seems to mention winter by name, but I play four with the theme of snow:
Chang Qing (Long Clarity; 1425);
Duan Qing (Short Clarity; 1425); and
Xue Chuang Ye Hua (Evening Talk by a Snowy Window; 1549).
Zha Fuxi's Guide lists a rather large number of melodies with the word "spring" in the title (search the Guide for "chun"), but I play only those published in the Ming dynasty. These include the following, all of which have themes connected to spring, though some don't have the word "spring" in their title.
a famous ancient title paired with but
not connected to Bai Xue
Chun Jiang Qu (Spring River Melody)
ancient poems set to music
Chun Jiang and
Chun Jiang Wan Tiao
Instrumental versions of previous; compare
Qiu Jiang Wan Diao
Xiuxi Yin; used as a prelude to Sunny Spring
the Xiuxi is an ancient spring ritual, now being revived
Liu Shang (Floating Goblets); musically related to Wine Mad
the aforementioned spring ritual features wine goblets floating down a stream
Chun Xiao Yin (Spring Dawn); apparently a prelude to Zhi Zhao Fei (Pheasants' Morning Flight);
a poem by Li Bai suggests this flight takes place in spring. Not musically related to the later Yulou Chun Xiao.
Chun Si (Spring Thoughts)
created by an elevated gentleman inspired by spring fragance.
Taoyuan Chunxiao (Spring Dawn at Peach Blossom Spring)
on a spring day a villager discovers a timeless hidden valley were people know nothing of the outside world
Chun Gui Yuan (Spring Chamber Lament)
the 1799 version of Yu Lou Chun Xiao
Autumn
In the Ming dynasty autumn seems to have been the most popular season as a qin theme. Melodies that I play with the word "autumn" in the title include the following 10:
Guanghan Qiu (Autumn in a Lunar Palace);
Huangyun Qiusai (Yellow Clouds of Autumn at the Frontier);
Qiu Hong (Wild Geese in Autumn);
Qiu Feng (Autumn Wind);
Dongting Qiu Si (Autumn Reverie at Dongting);
Han Gong Qiu (Autumn in the Han Palace);
Song Yu Bei Qiu (Song Yu Mourns Autumn);
Zhongqiu Yue (Mid-autumn Moon); and
Qiujiang Yebo (Autumn River Night Anchorage).
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