In the popular sense, it is believed that the characteristics of folk songs in northern Shaanxi are high-pitched and loud, because of the selective dissemination of mainstream strong media platforms. In recent years, many Chinese people have known the folk songs of northern Shaanxi from Ah Bao, so the understanding of folk songs in northern Shaanxi is limited to that impression paradigm. Soon after, when Shi Zhanming took the stage with a sheep whip, people who were slightly knowledgeable found that Ah Bao could not sing, and at best could only shout. The so-called new folk songs dominated by the official mainstream music education system with the Jin Tielin system, which I call standardized assembly line canned products, thousands of people, ten thousand people, convey almost all plastic feelings. Taking "Father" and "Mother" as an example, it feels that the singer and the object of singing are not in the same situation at all, from the words to the song to the singing method, all are performative, and it is performed to a third party, and the feeling is: Everyone come and listen to it quickly, how much I love my father! Walking the kidneys is more than walking the heart.
The proportion of Chinese folk songs of bitterness and sorrow is far greater than that of joyful works. The depiction of life situations, the advocacy of love and hate, and the understanding of the nature of life and death are many expressed through the form of folk songs. The folk song materials in northern Shaanxi are rich and diverse, and in the context of unprecedented media prosperity, classic works are frequently flashed through the joint efforts of officials and people. However, the repetition of the same form over time will inevitably cause aesthetic fatigue to the audience, and the excessive seizure of preferential resources will also lead to a lack of overall creative follow-up. Therefore, seeking novelty has become the best choice for many folk singers, but how to change can not lose the soul. Strictly speaking, folk songs, as a form of folk art passed down by word of mouth, will inevitably have a certain degree of deviation in the process of disseminating and evolving history, and it is precisely because of the existence of this space that each singer can express it in a way that conforms to his own state of mind, which is also the charm of folk songs. Therefore, it is normal to reinterpret according to the background of the times and changes in social psychology. Compared with the superficial sharp shouting and the transformation of the formal level of the arrangement and orchestration, He Guofeng, the proposer of the concept of "loess folk songs" in northern Shaanxi, is undoubtedly accurate and excellent in his adaptation and interpretation of folk songs in northern Shaanxi.
A few years ago, I overheard He Guofeng's singing on a program of Shanxi Satellite TV, which instantly touched me. Later, I listened to many of his works from the Internet, and I can clearly feel that his relationship with the singing object is accurate and strict in place, "Immortals Can't Stop People from Thinking of People" devotes himself to his lover, "Praying for Rain" asks questions about the sorrow of the heavens, and "Yellow River Boatman's Song" does nothing about nature. The kind of overriding expressive power that impacts people can't help but hesitate in their hearts, and at the same time seem to understand the antagonistic struggle between the helplessness of the masses who live in the deep ditches and steep ravines to obey the destiny of heaven and the unwilling status quo. This artistic ability is also solidly demonstrated in his musical compositions for the TV series "Ordinary World".
Unlike other singers of northern Han Chinese folk songs, He Guofeng, who came from primary school painting and walking in the army, appears more like a poet who walks in the countryside, walking on the water's edge of the countryside, sighing and singing among the mountains, and the wind sweeps the block in his chest, and then processes it into a note that strikes people's hearts through the sound cavity. He Guofeng, who was born and raised in Sisi, deeply understands the natural expectations of the people living in this land, so the folk songs of northern Shaanxi that he sings can be so dense and strong. Life is empty, naturally lonely, emotionally intense, without the experience and perception of immersion in the blood, it is impossible to go deep into this level to complete the expression. He Guofeng's newly published album "People Want to Be Self-Reliant" from the creative concept, has completely jumped out of the public's experience of listening to folk songs in northern Shaanxi, some are biased towards the meaning of blues blues, soothing and calm, brewing sense is very strong, weakening the technique, sublimating the rhyme, avoiding shouting, choosing to tell the story, is completely a confident expression, greatly improving the cultural style of folk songs. Such an exploration in the process of inheriting traditional culture is very valuable, providing a new style text for the present and future.
From the emergence of the so far, He Guofeng has been given too many titles and too many labels by the outside world in the industry, there are praises, there are doubts, but the undeniable fact is that listening to him sing on the spot, all of them are touched by his singing. Jiang Dawei commented on He Guofeng: "His singing can no longer be measured by singing skills, and only shock is felt." Last year, I had a long conversation with He Guofeng in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and the focus and sharp edge between the words verified my judgment of him, he was an "ambitious" person, "to spread the songs of the ancestors all over the world."
Voltaire once said: No matter how outstanding your talent is, without the accumulation of technical training to achieve it, it is still impossible to reach the true peak of art. The mass foundation of Chinese folk songs is deep, the road to the inheritance of folk culture is arduous and long, if every practitioner can expand their cultural horizons and move forward with thinking, the road to the rejuvenation of Chinese national culture will gradually continue to be bright. For folk songs with distinct "wind" flavor attributes in the three basic forms of expression of Chinese culture, compared with other finely polished art types, the atmosphere created by their rough wild fun is more difficult to overwhelm. So in a way, the accuracy of emotions is sometimes more impressive than the perfect technique. As a pioneer in excavating and sorting out traditional folk songs in northern Shaanxi over the years, it is obvious that He Guofeng found this key. His future explorations are worth looking forward to.
About the Author:
Gao Zhiyong, a former media person, has lived and worked in Beijing for more than 20 years. He has organized, planned and implemented a number of national, provincial and ministerial cultural exhibition activities, produced and published more than ten sets of books and audio-visual products, and published hundreds of poems, essays, essays, illustrations and so on.
Gao Zhiyong (left) He Guofeng (right)