In the last issue of the tweet, we mentioned the musician Yanni, which inevitably triggered a wave of childhood memories.
Yes, the most familiar foreign musicians of the 1980s and 1990s, except for Richard Clayderman, who was recognized as the prince of the piano, were probably the musicians from Greece.
Many people's first impression of Yanni comes from the very Chinese song "Nightingale", which was even selected into our middle school music textbook. So the first time most people listen to this tune is in a music class as a student. As soon as the melodious and gentle music came out, it shocked our little souls, and our spirits seemed to be washed.
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"Nightingale" was inspired by the fact that when Yanni was on vacation in Italy, every evening a small bird would sing by his window, and he wanted to compose a song for the bird, but he couldn't find a suitable instrument until he met the Chinese bamboo flute.
In 1997, Yanni used a bamboo flute to write this classic "Nightingale" for China. After that, his Forbidden City concert caused a huge sensation in China. This Greek gentleman with a sculptural three-dimensional face played music that was so melodious and so in line with Chinese aesthetics that the people of the country were amazed.
Yanni also instantly became one of the well-known foreign musicians in China.
In 2013, as an old friend of China, Yanni took the stage of the Spring Festival Gala and performed a song "Harmony of The Qinzheng and Zither" with the guzheng player Chang Jing. 「Link」
In 2015, CCTV broadcast the feature documentary "Hexi Corridor", and the theme song "Dream of Hexi Corridor" was also written by Yanni. 「Link」
Of course, not only in China, for a long time, Yanni's works have often been used in scenes such as Olympic broadcasts and Oscar openings, and often appear as background music in major advertisements, becoming one of the most familiar music for people around the world.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" set off a "new century" music wave > the world</h1>
Why is Yanni's music so popular? What's so special about it? To be precise, his work belongs to the typical "New Age" music.
In the 1970s and 1980s, an ethereal, pure, melodious, rhythmic and less obvious music began to catch on in the West. This kind of music sounds fairy-like, more complex than light music, and not as grand and heavy as classical music, and some also combine the characteristics of electronic music.
You can feel the style of this music from the names of the works at that time: a Canadian pianist named Micha Jones named his works "After the Rainbow", "Beyond the Dreamland" and "Sunshine Valley". The pieces are like paintings depicting nature, creating a quiet atmosphere with simple harmonies and light melodies, and these works quickly became popular in society once they were on the shelves.
Later, such music between light music and classical music, with a certain national characteristic, and it is easy to pop music, was finally defined as "new century" music, on the one hand, to abandon the turbidity of the old world and welcome the arrival of the new century; on the other hand, the temperament style of "new century" music was very in line with the values of "enjoying life, enjoying the process, and enjoying the present" at that time, and the relaxation of the soul and the pleasure of the mood became the spiritual pursuit that people most yearn for.
So in a short period of time, the world has blown up a "new century" music trend. Yanni is a typical representative of this wave, and the elegance, ethereality, and ethereality that we feel when we hear "Nightingale" and "With an orchid" are the most prominent features of "New Century" music.
Of course, in addition to Yanni, there are many more musicians who "do not eat human fireworks" to join the trend. For example, the well-known Ingmar band, after its formation in 1990, instantly attracted countless fans with its mystical style.
Their most famous work is probably the promotional song "Return to Innocence" composed for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, which is a typical NEW AGE style, in which the hum at the beginning is extremely penetrating, sampled from the "Old Man Drinking Song" sung by Guo Yingnan, a veteran Taiwanese Ami artist. 「Link」
In Ireland at that time, in addition to the cranberries band that influenced a generation of Chinese musicians such as Faye Wong, there was also a very cool female singer named Enya. She is also one of the important representatives of "New Century" music.
Enya's voice is mysterious and ethereal, full of healing power. With her unique voice and strong singing skills, she has also captured many fans. Her interlude "May it be" for the film "The Lord of the Rings" was not only widely sung, but also won many honors such as Oscars, Golden Globes, and Grammy nominations. 「Link」
In addition, there are bandrey, known as the "king of BGM", the Nordic group "Mystery Garden" of the American Billboard, and the Japanese musician Kitaro, all of which are important components of this trend. At the historical moment of the transition between the old and the new century, they spread the music of the "new century" to all corners of the world.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > Chinese "new century" music to the world</h1>
Unlike in the past, this time, Chinese music has finally kept up with the pace of the world and joined this "new century" music trend. Singer Zhu Zheqin is one of the earliest representatives of Chinese "new century" music.
Perhaps many people are unfamiliar with this name today, but her works believe that everyone should have heard of it to some extent. For example, "A True Story", which appeared in the primary school music textbook, tells the true story of a girl who gave her life to protect a red-crowned crane, and the lyrics are very touching. 「Link」
Another example is "A Sister Drum", which led Chinese new century music to rush out of the world and reach the peak. Born in 1995, this album is based on an ancient Tibetan legend and is a model of the successful combination of Tibetan national music and popular music under the exploration and accumulation of musician He Xuntian over the years. 「Link」
It is worth mentioning that when Zhu Zheqin recorded this album, each song was sung from beginning to end, without any editing and mixing, and under the production of He Xuntian, the whole album was full of strong oriental ethnic flavor. In 1995, "Sister Drum" was simultaneously released in 56 countries and regions around the world, and it was also the first Chinese record in the history of international recording, and it is still the favorite "audition disc" of major audio stores.
After "A Sister Drum", the new wave of folk music in the Chinese pop music industry began, and national music gradually became popular. Folk music singers also continue to try, joining the big wave of "new century" music. Li Na, who became famous overnight when she first sang "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau", launched "Suwu Shepherd sheep" with great national flavor, magnificent atmosphere and excellent sound quality in her exploration.
Under the influence of the "New Century" music wave, Tengger, the Inner Mongolian Hanzi Tengger, who tried to take the rock and roll route in the early days, returned to the national singer and wrote a free, broad and heroic "Paradise", in this song, we feel the most original ecology from the grassland, the beauty of heaven and earth and people.
After the exploration and experimentation of the 1990s, the time really came to the new century, and the Chinese music scene has a new attempt to update the "new century" music. The emergence of the new century music group "Women's Twelve Orchestras" made everyone shine.
They combine traditional Chinese folk music and pop music with a new combination, and twelve kinds of ethnic instruments such as guzheng, pipa, three strings, and xi are combined with Western electronic music, and traditional Chinese music and modern Western music have achieved leapfrog integration. The women's twelve orchestras have twice been nominated for granites and have attracted considerable attention around the world. 「Link」
Of course, everyone is more familiar with Sa Dingding, who later sang "All Things Are Born", and the Haya Orchestra who participated in "I Am a Singer". Their music is, in a way, a continuation of the music of the "new century".
In this week's updated "History of Chinese Music Formation: Multi-dimensional Analysis of Pop Music" course, we will walk into China's "new century" trend under the influence of Western music, how does Chinese pop music, which has always been "slow and half-beat", keep up with this "new century" music trend? And why can "A Sister Drum" create history and lead Chinese music to the world? Unlock this course and step into the romantic and mysterious turn of the century together.