Jizhong Shengguan Music (Bai Miao Village Concert)

Daxing District, Beijing
🎧  Listen to Introduction

Jizhong Shengguan music is spread in nearly 30 counties and cities south of Beijing, west of Tianjin, and north of Cangzhou and Dingzhou. It is a unique type of wind music in the Jizhong Plain. It is commonly known as "concert" among the people. Because it is mainly played by pipes and ensembled by sheng, it is also called "shengguan music". In addition to wind instruments such as sheng, pipes, and flutes, Jizhong Shengguan music also uses percussion instruments such as cloud gongs, drums, cymbals, cymbals, and clangs. The music of Shengguan music is divided into three categories: suites, ditties, and independent sets of percussion music. Among them, suites are long in length and complex in structure, and are the main component of the entire performance repertoire. Jizhong Shengguan music is spread throughout the Jizhong Plain. Farmers in this area use music as a village unit to gather in local folk activities such as sacrifices and funerals, and pass it down from generation to generation in their own unique way. Baimiao Village Concert is spread in Baimiao Village, Changziying Town, Daxing District, Beijing. It is performed in the form of a small band. It belongs to the Shengguan music passed down by monks. It has a deep connection with Tanzhe Temple in Beijing. According to legend, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, monks from Tanzhe Temple brought the music of the temple to Baimiao, and then they continued to improve it in the process of inheritance, incorporating elements of Taoist music and folk music, so that the Baimiao Village Concert has the characteristics of Beijing Zen music and folk drum music. The instruments used in the Baimiao Village Concert are divided into two categories: one is wind instruments, mainly sheng, pipe, flute, etc.; the other is percussion instruments (all called "fa instruments"), mainly gong, drum, cymbals, etc. Baimiao Village originally had ancient music scores, including more than 100 pieces of music, all of which were notated in the ancient Chinese gongche notation method. During the "Cultural Revolution", all the music scores were burned. Currently, only more than 70 scores of "Jade Hibiscus" and "Green Bamboo Curtain" remain, which were sorted out by old artists based on their memories after 1985. At present, the Baimiao Concert Band consists of 15 people, usually 9 or 11 people perform, with the guanzi leading the way and the small cymbals controlling the speed. The performance is divided into two sessions, the front session starts with a small cymbal, followed by drums, gongs and other percussion instruments, and the back session is played by sheng, pipes, flutes and other instruments. The two sessions are performed alternately and in a cycle until the end of the performance. The Baimiao Concert absorbs the essence of Zen music and folk music. It has both a pure religious color and a strong local flavor. The style is solemn, bold and high-pitched. In the relevant rituals of rural society, the Baimiao Concert has become an important part of local folk customs. At present, the instruments of the Baimiao Village Concert are seriously damaged, the personnel are in short supply, and the skills are on the verge of being lost, which urgently needs to be rescued.

Intangible culture related to the heritage

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