Polyphonic folk songs (Qiang polyphonic folk songs)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: polyphonic folk songs (Qiang polyphonic folk songs)

Applicant: Songpan County, Sichuan Province

Item No.: 61

Project No.: Ⅱ - 30

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Music

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Songpan County, Sichuan Province

Protection unit: Songpan County Cultural Center

Introduction to multi part folk songs (Qiang multi part folk songs)

Applicant: Songpan County, Sichuan Province

Polysyllabic folk songs refer to folk songs with polysyllabic structure. Chinese polysyllabic folk songs are mainly concentrated in more than ten ethnic minorities, such as Zhuang, Dong, Buyi, Gaoshan, Maonan, Jiajia, Miao and Yi. Most of them adopt two part form, and a few are three part and four part art.

Qiang multi voice folk songs only exist in the minority Qiang villages in Xiaoxing Township and Zhenping township of Songpan County, Sichuan Province, and are handed down from generation to generation among the local Qiang people.

From the perspective of singing occasions and social functions, it can be roughly divided into five categories: folk songs, labor songs, wine songs, custom songs and dance songs. Qiang multi part folk song is the representative of Tibetan Burmese minority multi part music. Its melody is mostly pentatonic. Generally, it starts from the lead singer, and then overlaps with the lead singer's voice after a beat or several beats, and then coincides at the end of the sentence. The vertical combination of four, five and large second intervals frequently appears in this kind of two voice part, the following voice part surpasses the leading voice part, and there is a large slow vibrato singing method rarely seen in other areas of our country, which shows the distinctive characteristics of Qiang culture. The representative works of Qiang's multi voice folk songs include Hayi Hala, halulayi, Sam, etc.

From the rich variety and repertoire, stable form, complete structure, mature singing and simple style of Qiang multi voice folk songs, it has a long history and unique historical value, aesthetic value and cultural and artistic research value. Xiaoxing township of Songpan County, where Qiang multi voice folk songs are spread, is adjacent to Hongyuan Tibetan area. The local people's life is influenced by Tibetan culture, showing the characteristics of Tibetan and Qiang cultural integration in all aspects. Understanding Qiang multi voice folk songs in this context also provides a useful reference for the research of other Tibetan Burmese multi voice folk songs. With the development of the times, the living basis and social conditions of multi part folk songs are gradually disappearing. In addition, it is difficult to sing multi part folk songs, which requires high quality of singers. Therefore, the inheritance of Qiang multi part folk songs is in trouble, and the ancient art forms are facing the danger of extinction, which needs to be actively rescued.