Stills from cantonese opera "Mountain Village".
Huang Zhuangmou, who is 96 years old this year, still lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a unit building in the Guangdong Cantonese Theatre. It is only 100 meters away from the theater and rehearsal hall. Younger generations often come here to ask "Uncle Zhuangmou" for cantonese opera music and singing knowledge. He was also not stingy in teaching, and was always especially happy whenever a descendant came.
From 80 years of art, Huang Zhuangmou has served as the music designer and chief accompanist of Guangdong Cantonese Theatre, specializing in the performance of instruments such as Gao Hu, Sashi, Bamboo Violin and Plucked Music. In addition to serving as the "head frame" of the band, he also designed music singing voices for famous artists such as Ma Shizeng, Red Line Girl, Chen Xiaofeng, Luo Pinchao, Luo Jiabao, Lin Xiaoqun, etc., which contributed to the formation of a generation of famous genres such as Horse Cavity and Red Cavity.
Designed by Huang Zhuangmou, "Huang Feihu Anti-Five Passes", "Liu Yi Biography", "Mountain And Countryside Wind and Clouds", "Sha Jiabang" and other plays, after decades of washing, are still often performed to this day, which can be regarded as Cantonese opera masterpieces.
The Red Line Woman once wrote in her own handwriting: "Brother Zhuangmou has always supported and encouraged me in the art of Cantonese opera. The Huang family's father-son music masters and my Cantonese opera art cooperation have a lip-to-ear relationship. ”
One afternoon in February, the reporter came to Uncle Zhuangmou's home and listened to him tell his story about the road to art for nearly a century.
Character business card
Huang Pei (Huang Zhuangmou) male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1926. Theatre artist (music design), from art for 80 years. Cantonese opera singing voice design for everyone. It has had a major impact and effect on the formation of the Cantonese opera master Red Line female "red cavity" art genre. Representative works include "Luopa Qu" in the Cantonese opera repertoire "Loutaihui", "Love Song" in "The Legend of Chunxiang", and "Lotus Falling" in "Embroidery Book". Designed to sing "Huang Feihu Anti-Five Passes", "Chunxiang Biography", "Jing Ke", "Liu Yi Biography", "Mountain And Countryside Wind and Cloud", "Sha Jiabang", etc., the movie "Search Academy", "Guan Hanqing" and so on. He has published academic papers such as "On the Artistic Achievements of the Red Line Female Singing Voice", "Red Cavity Picking Up Green", "New Achievements of Continuous Climbing", "Blending Scenes, Colorful and Colorful", "A Brief Discussion on the Artistic Achievements of Luo Pinchao's Singing Voice", etc. He has won the "Excellent Vocal Design Award" of the 5th China Drama Festival and the "Singing Vocal Music Design Award" of the 7th Guangdong Provincial Arts Festival.
Fledgling, appreciated by Cantonese opera celebrities
Since the early 1940s, Huang Zhuangmou has been serving as the "head of the stage" (i.e., Gao Hu lead) in the troupe since he was in his early 20s. The head frame not only dominates the band, but also maintains the tone of the actor's singing, so that the overall accompaniment is coordinated and adds luster to the whole performance.
Because of his mature control of the rhythm of music and his ability to cooperate with the actors' singing ups and downs, Huang Zhuangmou has been appreciated by the industry, and has successively served as the "head" in the troupe hosted by the famous Bai Yutang, Liao Xiahuai, Chen Jintang and Liang Shaojia.
Huang Zhuangmou's Gao Hu, once pushed the bow and led the strings, appeared delicate and deep in stability. Because he is confident in every play, every singing emotional ups and downs and climactic treatment, and he knows the actor's artistic personality and singing characteristics very well, and the cooperation is handy, the performers and actors who have worked with him for a long time have all praised him.
"My father's careful teaching to me laid a solid foundation for my artistic career." Huang Zhuangmou recalled that at the age of 15, he learned art under the leadership of his father Huang Buxian. At that time, the drama class "did not talk about money", according to the head of the meter, a person can share two pounds. In order to survive, Huang Zhuangmou began to learn Cantonese opera music in order to be able to play more than enough rations.
In the turbulent war years, he followed his father to learn from the traditional brands and small songs of Cantonese opera, and defended his own world in the art of Cantonese opera. "At that time, there was no score, and the book only wrote names such as erhuang and long sentence erhuang, and my father sang a sentence, let me follow a sentence, and then I would score the music myself."
While studying and performing, he gradually became familiar with the music theory of traditional Cantonese opera, mastered the playing skills of various instrumental music, and gradually gained a foothold in the troupe.
For this learning experience, his most profound experience is to study and study diligently, carefully appreciate the charm of Cantonese opera, and finally achieve the purpose of "familiarizing with Cantonese opera". He quoted the famous musician Ma Sicong: "If you play music for more than ten years, you will be instrumental." "Cantonese opera is the same," familiar with Cantonese opera, know that the accompaniment of the southern tone of the coconut beard is sad, plucked instruments are lively and cheerful, and then learn the traditional Cantonese opera singing music in the structure, syntax and other skills, slowly can carry out the design of singing music. ”
Break through tradition and design singing voices for famous artists
In 1958, the Guangdong Cantonese Theatre was established, and huang Zhuangmou, in addition to continuing to serve as the "head frame" of the band, also began to design music singing voices for Ma Shizeng, Red Line Girl, Luo Pinchao, Luo Jiabao, Lin Xiaoqun and other famous artists, ushering in the peak of creation.
The singing music he designed is not limited to tradition, and pursues innovation and creation on the basis of retaining the charm and characteristics of traditional singing, so that the melody is beautiful and smooth.
One of the important achievements is to change the traditional passage of the basic tone of Cantonese opera music such as Zizi and Erhuang. The traditional door has been tempered by thousands of hammers and hammers, and it has formed a fixed mode, and it is difficult to make little changes, but he is down-to-earth and painstakingly carrying out reform practice.
As early as the 1950s, he believed that the procrastination of Cantonese opera and Erhuang was extremely restrictive to the in-depth portrayal of characters' thoughts and feelings. So he created a new door that coincided with the needs of the plot and character portrayal.
"Looking at the mountains / Catching the blue sky / The layers of peaks are steep, the mountains are under / The sky is dim / The smoke is long..." In "Mountain And Countryside", Huang Zhuangmou designed this fast-paced debut song for the heroine Liu Qin, which brought the audience into the tense atmosphere of the war years as soon as the opening scene. First performed in 1965, the play is hailed as a milestone in modern Cantonese opera and one of the representative works of the Red Line Women. The music in the play not only adapts to the style and rhythm of modern drama, but also listens well without losing the traditional charm, leaving an indelible impression on the fans.
When it comes to qixing, he beats his thighs and casually hums the tracks in "Mountain Wind and Clouds". Nowadays, fragments such as "Liu Qin's Lyrical Feelings" and "Visiting the Poor and Asking Hardships" can be described as an enduring performance and are still a frequent guest of Cantonese music lovers' song lists.
The industry believes that "Mountain And Countryside" not only provides a sample for how to perform modern opera well, but also plays a pioneering practical significance for how the traditional Huang huang singing voice is innovated and adapted to the times.
The novel singing music, which was interpreted by famous artists, gradually formed a generation of famous genres. In addition to "Mountain And Countryside", Huang Zhuangmou's "Sha Jiabang" designed for the red line woman, such as "We will be able to overcome the stubborn enemy and overcome difficulties", is also a classic of "Red Cavity". It is no wonder that the female sister said that the Huang family's artistic cooperation with them is a relationship of lips and teeth.
Talking about the cooperation with the female sister, Huang Zhuangmou frankly said: "We often discuss together, which is the result of joint consultation. Huang Huang emphasizes following the emotions and characteristics of the characters to run the tone, and the female sister sings out with a lot of taste, and she recreates it herself, which enriches the musicality. Others may not have this charm, which is the mystery of Cantonese opera. ”
Never say goodbye, there are still new works at the age of ninety
Huang Zhuangmou has loved the music and art of Cantonese opera all his life, and has been diligently pursuing and innovating all the way.
"Cantonese opera is very inclusive, and in the past even dance music was used to fill in the lyrics and sing." It also inspired him to learn from other art forms and absorb creative nourishment from real life.
When composing the musical images of Liu Qin in "Mountain And Countryside" and Ah Qingyi in "Sha Jiabang", he once borrowed the musical elements of Peking Opera, Shanghai Opera and other dramas, and integrated them into the Cantonese opera and yellow plate cavity. When composing the song "Lotus Falling" of "Wind and Snow Beitianyuan", he was inspired by the poignant minor tunes sung by blind artists selling in tea houses and the painful and helpless cries of street vendors selling along the streets.
Although he has been retired for many years, he is still concerned about the cantonese opera music career, and from time to time there are new works launched, and he spares no effort to promote his descendants.
"After working in the theater for many years, I have a responsibility for whether the art production is good or not." For the works of Guangdong Cantonese Theatre, he always has a strong sense of responsibility, so he always does not rest. In recent years, new plays such as "Shocking World" and "Laughing at the Fate of the World" choreographed by Guangdong Cantonese Theatre have invited him to participate in the design of the singing voice. He also worked hard and complained, repeatedly revised, and did not care about remuneration, and his dedicated attitude made the younger generations very admirable.
In October 2018, Guangdong Cantonese Theatre set up the "Huang Zhuangmou Cantonese Opera Studio" to hold lectures and other activities, and Huang Zhuangmou shared his artistic experience with young people. When the classic plays "Mountain Country Wind and Clouds" and "Peony Pavilion" were rearranged, he also personally came to the scene to guide.
In 2019, he brought young musician Liang Miaocui to do the singing design for the modern Cantonese opera "Lady Of the Kingdom" jointly produced by Guangdong Cantonese Theatre and Guangzhou Cantonese Theatre. This creative combination of "bringing the old to the new" makes the singing voice of the play both rich in traditional Cantonese flavor and new in meaning.
Huang Zhuangmou did not like his apprentice to call him "teacher": "I told them not to call him that, call him Uncle Zhuangmou, kind." ”
For "Uncle Zhuangmou", Liang Miaocui admires his work spirit the most. She said: "Even Mr. Huang Lao is brave enough to innovate, why can't we try more?" In order for Cantonese opera to be accepted and liked by the audience, the creator should play a good job in basic skills, while being close to life, experiencing new elements, and both innovating and paying attention to rooted tradition. ”
And this is also the creative spirit that Huang Lao wants to convey to the next generation. He said: "Cantonese opera surname Is Cantonese, to have 'Cantonese taste', we need to pay attention to inheritance. But at the same time, the creation should also conform to the storyline and character personality, and must keep up with the present and have the characteristics of the times. ”
●Southern Daily reporter Xu Ziming Zhou Qianxin Intern He Ruishi