Chapter 2 The Beginning of the Folk Song Movement: "Modern Chinese Folk Songs"

We believe that after taking off the "hats" imposed by some commentators, it will help us to re-examine what the modern folk song movement is all about with a more objective attitude. ——Scholar Miao Yanwei On June 6, 1975, the "Modern Folk Song Creation Concert" initiated by the composer and singer Yang Xian who had just graduated from the National Taiwan University Research Institute was held in Zhongshan Hall, Taipei.This concert, which is regarded as the origin of the modern folk song movement, was hailed as the first shot of the "1911 Revolution", and the term "modern Chinese folk song" also attracted attention.

In this concert, the most eye-catching are the eight creative ballads written by Yang Xian from the poems of the poet Yu Guangzhong's "Bai Yu Bitter Gourd".Yang Xian wrote "Four Rhymes of Nostalgia", "Folk Songs", "On the Rivers and Lakes", "Nostalgia", "Folk Singer", "Bai Feifei", "Shaking Ballads", and "Little Sky Questions".Of course, Yang Xian is not the first person to create modern folk songs in Taiwanese Mandarin, but because of this far-reaching concert, his works have been spread and he has been given the reputation of "the father of Taiwanese folk songs".

Hu Defu Through the pursuit of national music, Yang Xian endowed folk songs with more national colors, and used Yu Guangzhong's poems as lyrics, presenting a nostalgia for history and cultural China. Singing "Folk Songs" often made him feel "a kind of Chinese culture". I have been suppressed for a long time, and the power to struggle and break through is surging, and at the end of the song, I am so excited that I can hardly sing." "Modern Folk Song Creation Concert" is not the first time Yang Xian has published works.As early as 1974, Yang Xian participated in the concert of the famous singer Hu Defu at that time. In that concert, Yang Xian sang a song composed from Yu Guangzhong's poem "Four Rhymes of Nostalgia".One way of saying is that Yang Xian's singing "was welcomed by the audience", while another way of saying is that "Yang Xian dared to sing the poem that he couldn't sing, and he could ignore someone scolding in the audience: 'Fuck you Mother, the water of the Yangtze River is round or flat, you know a bird!'”

Before the "Modern Folk Song Creation Concert", Yang Xian once wrote an article "Looking for a Clear Stream to Bath the Soul", in which he said: Western modern folk songs have been introduced for many years, and most of the younger generation have also loved this kind of music with clear rhythm and light melody.However, due to differences in culture and environment, when a Chinese youth is listening, learning to sing, and chewing foreign words to find resonance, there will always be a barrier in feeling.On the other hand, looking back at the ballads of our country, the style and singing form of art songs have not been easy to popularize among the public, and popular songs nowadays are mostly criticized by people with lofty ideals...

Yu Guangzhong With Yu Guangzhong's poems and Yang Xian's score, with the cooperation of all singers and musicians, this folk song concert won warm applause from 2,000 audiences.I am afraid that the first "Four Rhymes of Homesickness" that most people heard was Luo Dayou's version. Yang Xian's version of "Four Rhymes of Homesickness" was before Luo Dayou, and Luo Dayou had never heard of Yang Xian's version when he composed this song ."Four Rhymes of Nostalgia" composed by Yang Xian adopts the form of chorus, which is very different from Luo Dayou's way of downplaying the melody and highlighting the vocals. The former focuses on the momentum, while the latter pays more attention to the charm.From another perspective, it can be seen that neither the concert that marked the beginning of the folk song movement nor the solo album released by Yang Xian later attracted the attention of Luo Dayou, who was still studying.Although Luo Dayou "did not follow the banner of holding high, but his actual actions met this standard, and he even set up his own sect, breaking out a new field." In the 1980s, Luo Dayou sang in his first solo album "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye" "The wind, the flowers, the snow, the moon, Hula lalahu; the so-called folk singers, are they so?" It can be seen that he holds a skeptical attitude towards folk songs, especially campus songs.

Luo Dayou Although Yang Xian and Luo Dayou are not on the same road, his influence on many folk singers is very profound.During the folk song commemoration event in 2002, Cai Qin recalled that she followed Yang Xian’s concert when she was still a student, “Our infatuation for folk songs was more determined than the current star-chasers.” Another folk singer Zhao Shuhai said , When he was in the army, he heard Yang Xian's singing on TV, which inspired his creative talent, "Yang Xian has a great influence on me. I wrote songs because of him, and my life has changed since then." When Yang Xian sang He likes to wear Tang suits, "That kind of demeanor──" recalled Lai Shengchuan, the director who also sang young people at the time, "No one can compare, so every time they see Yang Xian appearing, everyone automatically shuts up, and the scene makes people feel uncomfortable. To Yang Xian".

Yang string Soon after the concert in June, the Hong Jian Full Text Education Foundation came forward to support Yang Xian's record production and distribution. At the end of September 1975, the album was published under the name of "Chinese Modern Folk Song Collection". ".The 10,000 copies of the first edition of this album were sold out within three months, and the three editions had been reached in just four months in January of the following year.In 1993, the selection of Taiwan's Top 100 Albums also took the album "Chinese Modern Folk Song Collection" as the starting point for selection, and this album ranked 15th in the Top 100 Albums.

In this album, which has been continuously reprinted in more than ten editions and has been converted into CD, it can be heard that Yang Xian's works use many art song expressions in addition to his own vocal part.In addition, Yang Xian used a large number of strings in the arrangement and matched it with piano and jazz drums. This arrangement method also became the reason why Li Shuangze's "Tanjiang-"Summer Tide"" folk song line opposed Yang Xian afterwards. one.