Erhuang

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Erhuang is a type of opera tune accompanied on the Peking opera fiddle(also known as Jinghu; Chinese: 京胡). In traditional Chinese operas, including Peking opera, Han opera, and Anhui opera, Erhuang is often used along with Xipi, another type of Chinese opera tune. In Hunan opera and Guangxi Opera, Erhuang is also known as ‘Southern Tune’, while Xipi is known as ‘Northern Tune’.

Classification

Erhuang is classified into the following types: Leading Beat, Lento, Original Beat, Free Measure and Winding Beat.

History

Erhuang was formed in the adjacent areas of eastern Hubei and Anhui, and according to legends from Han tune artist in Ankang, Erhuang evolved from a local opera tune known as ‘Huang Qiang’.

In the early Qing Dynasty, Xipi was the main singing tune in Han opera, while Erhuang was the main singing tune in Anhui opera. In the middle period of the Qing dynasty, Xipi and Erhuang began to merge. During the Daoguang period, Han opera and Anhui opera was combined into the basic vocal of Peking Opera; as a result, both Xipi and Erhuang were included in Peking opera singing tunes.

Features

Comparing with Xipi, Erhuang is often used in more solemn occasions. In most cases, it expresses the feelings of sadness and melancholy with more southern music features. The tune of Jinghu(also known as Peking opera fiddle; Chinese: 京胡) of Erhuang aria is a "5 ~ 2" (gol ~ re) chord, which means that the inner chord is a "gol" sound with a bass point in the spectrum, and the outer chord is a "re" sound with no bass or high points.

References

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