In 2020, the outbreak of the new crown epidemic gave the famous singer Yu Junjian more opportunities to stay at home, and also provided him with a lot of time to think and create when he loved writing. Since January 2020, Yu Junjian has spent one and a half years and a half to complete the writing of five books (six volumes) totaling 1.5 million words of "Yu Junjian • National Singing Q&A 131 Cases", "Yu Junjian Vocal Notes" (upper and lower volumes), "Diary of Huaxiang", "Guilin Collection", and "Selected Poems of Yu Junjian And Poetry of Yu Junjian", all of which will be published at the end of 2021.
In a recent interview with a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, Yu Junjian said that he has condensed his years of thinking about art, his experience of life, and his talent for poetry and painting in these books.
The bottom line of national singing is "taste"
"Now there are fewer and fewer singers of 'original' Chinese folk songs." Talking about the current situation of Chinese national vocal music, Yu Junjian could not hide his worries. Around 2021, Yu Junjian gave a public welfare singing lecture at a vocational art school in Hebei. When he asked the children present, "What is the 'original singing method'", no one knew. He also asked some post-00s about the issue of folk songs, and most of the children did not know what folk songs and ethnic singing were, which greatly shocked Yu Junjian. In view of this, Yu Junjian wrote the book "Yu Junjian • National Singing Method Q&A 131 Cases", which details the origin, development, current situation and future of Chinese ethnic singing, especially the difference between ethnic singing and bel canto singing.
"The biggest difference between ethnic singing and Western singing is actually the difference in language, but we have not summarized this aspect for a long time." Yu Junjian's words illustrate the core problem of national vocal music at present. He further explained from the professional perspective of singing that there are many pronunciations in Chinese Chinese that are not in foreign languages, such as some Western languages that do not have words such as rhyming, such as "Golden Beijing", "If you use the bel canto singing method to sing these words, there is no problem from the sound point of view, but this loses the charm and feeling of the Middle Chinese." We have sucked out the soul of the national singing method, which is a very serious problem. In the long run, our descendants will not know what the national singing method is. ”
Yu Junjian believes that the bottom line of the "national singing method" is to sing "taste", and it is necessary to pay attention to the unique bite and line cavity of Chinese characters. In Chinese folk songs, any word and word color can be sung, "'The flower fragrance of the flower basket', this 'incense', sung in a national singing method that conforms to the habits of the Chinese Chinese, the audience can feel the fragrance." In the same way, sweet and sour can also sing that kind of empathetic taste. ”
In Yu Junjian's view, any school must have two bottom lines, one bottom line is the training system, and the other bottom line is the judgment system. "The training system of the national singing method used to exist, but then it was subverted by the bel canto singing method, and the judging system was even less so. Therefore, we must clarify the difference between national singing and bel canto singing, so that we can find cultural self-confidence. ”
The consequences of the "Westernization" of the national singing method are very serious
After retiring in 2016, Yu Junjian rarely appeared on stage, but focused on teaching. He served as the dean of the China-ASEAN Art Academy, and also opened the "Yu Junjian Public Welfare Classroom" and "Yu Junjian National Vocal Music Advanced Seminar", and gave lectures on various occasions. In just five years, it has cultivated eight gold medal winners of the "Golden Bell Award", the highest award of Chinese music, such as Haiyang and Zhang Mingxu.
In his view, singing is not an independent art, and it is necessary to constantly learn a variety of different knowledge and expand their knowledge. He also incorporated this philosophy into his teaching. In the classroom, Yu Junjian often told the students, "Half of the singing should belong to literature, and a singer cannot only think about the sound, but explore the background of the song, as well as the deep artistic conception conveyed behind the lyrics and music." ”
Yu Junjian believes that there are too many treasures in Chinese folk songs, which are all the embodiment of Chinese culture, but now they are sung less. "'Coming in February' was written by Xian Xinghai, who is Xian Xinghai? He is the author of "The Yellow River Chorus"; "The Fragrance of Flowers in the Flower Basket" was written by Marco, and Marco wrote "The White-Haired Girl"; "Playing My Beloved Earth Pipa" was written by Lü Qiming, and Lü Qiming wrote "Ode to the Red Flag". They are all great composers. In the 1970s, Mr. Wu Yanze still sang "Come in February" on the stage, but now when he wants to sing this song on the stage, the audience will laugh and "How can I sing such a 'small' song?". I want to sing the magnificent "Goodbye, Dabie Mountain". Often this kind of 'small song' can better show the taste of dialects and regional customs, which is also the charm of the nation. National singing has been Westernized, and folk songs with national charm have not been written without being sung. If this continues, the demise of national singing can be seen by our generation. ”
"Writing is my pursuit"
This time, 1.5 million words were written in one breath, except for "Yu Junjian Vocal Notes", which was arranged according to the shorthand of the class content, the others were handwritten by Yu Junjian word by word. "I don't use a computer, it's all handwritten." In Yu Junjian's view, handwritten words are alive, warm and emotional, while the words typed by the computer are cold. "Especially filling in ancient poems, often considering the quality of a word. When I want to change a word, I change it on the computer, there is no more, I can never find it again, and after the handwritten word is changed, I can still get it back. ”
Yu Junjian began publishing in 1976 and joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1991. Over the years, he has published 21 books, including music monographs, poetry collections, prose collections, and poetry and painting works.
Today, he still maintains the habit of writing every day. During the epidemic period, there was no way to take classes offline, and the students formed a "song group", and everyone communicated in the group every day. Yu Junjian got up at 6 o'clock every morning, and the first thing he did was to write a short article and send it to the group to communicate with everyone, so there was a thick "Flower Town Diary". This time several books were created simultaneously, yu Junjian gave most of his time to writing, getting up at 4 o'clock every day and insisting on writing for seven or eight hours. These books are not written one after another, but several at the same time, "When I write, the manuscripts of the five books are placed on the table, written to the place where the shell is stuck, and then another book is written, which is equivalent to changing the brain." ”
When it comes to the cultivation of artists, Yu Junjian admits that he is greatly inspired by Han Meilin, "Once he talked about the cultivation of artists, he used the word 'works and other bodies', and I also pursued in this direction. ”
Text/Reporter Tian Wanting
Photography / Yu Shiqi Co-ordinator / Liu Jianghua