(Don’t look at it. I’ve changed my sleep schedule back these past few days, but I didn’t realize that this also broke my original sleep schedule, which caused me to lose energy when writing novels before. I really can’t write anymore tonight, and I owe four chapters, emmm)
A brief discussion on the secondary creation of the song "My Love, Can You Hear Me"
Abstract: As one of the interludes in the epic opera The Long March, the song "Can You Hear Me, My Love" is one of its most classic pieces. This article explores the re-creation of this song from multiple perspectives, striving to better grasp the performance of the song and to create it in a complete and outstanding manner.
Keywords: "My Love, Can You Hear Me?", secondary creation, folk singing style, singing.
"The Long March" is a large-scale epic opera created by the National Centre for the Performing Arts to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Directors Tian Qinxin and Yang Xiaoyang, composer Yin Qing, librettist Zou Jingzhi, and other top Chinese artists took three to four years to meticulously write and compose. Through the moving stories of characters like Political Commissar Peng and Colonel Zeng, the opera depicts the tenacity, courage, willingness to sacrifice, and fearlessness of hardship during the Long March. While incorporating traditional Chinese elements, "The Long March" also embodies contemporary aesthetics. It recounts key historical events of the Long March, starting from Ruijin after the Red Army's defeat in the Fifth Anti-Encirclement and Suppression Campaign. It comprehensively depicts the Red Army's 25,000-mile journey across grasslands and up snow-capped mountains. The vivid portrayal of minor characters and incidents throughout the opera makes this epic opera incredibly captivating and immersive, while the characters' unwavering resolve to overcome untold hardships and dangers is deeply moving. This epic masterpiece naturally features numerous classic interludes. Songs like "My Love, Can You Hear Me?", "Peach Blossoms Bloom in My Heart in March," "I Don't Know What to Say," and "I Can't Bear to Leave You" are beloved by audiences, and each is a frequent solo performance at numerous concerts. This article examines one of these classics, "My Love, Can You Hear Me?", exploring various perspectives and exploring how to recreate the song.
1: Analysis of the lyrics and language of the song "My Love, Can You Hear Me?"
When recreating a song, starting with either the lyrics or the melody is a good choice. "My Love, Can You Hear Me?" is an interlude from the fifth act of the opera "The Long March," "Snowy Mountains and Grasslands." Its composition was inspired by the heartbreak of Political Commissar Peng, whose wounds were festering and feverish, and whose wife, Dr. Hong, was in Ruijin, unaware of her condition. Despite his grief, Peng's revolutionary fervor never waned, despite his constant yearning for her. "My Love, Can You Hear Me?" is imbued with a strong rural atmosphere and color. The first stanza, "Night and day, my longing is bitter; the wind and frost never chill me; I always feel you by my side," "Your love accompanies me on this long journey," and "When the clouds part, I'll gaze upon the earth and see the world with a smile," captures the Red Army soldiers' intense longing for their parents and friends, their eagerness for an immediate reunion. It also embodies the unwavering faith of these "lovely people" in the revolution and their motherland. The second stanza, with its lines like "The hardships along the way strengthen my will," and "A thousand treacherous mountains and rivers, a burning passion," is even more intense than the first, especially the final line, "When the clouds part and the sun shines, I'll smile as I watch the earth transformed into a new world," which reaches an unprecedented climax. Therefore, when singing this song, the first stanza should be somewhat weak and subtle, like the feeling of missing home on a moonlit night. This serves as a prelude to the second stanza, which naturally erupts with a powerful and moving impact. Throughout, the lyrics reveal that this song expresses both Political Commissar Peng's deep longing for his wife and his unwavering faith in the future of the revolution, as well as his love for the motherland and his vision for its future. This demonstrates the song's strong artistic and literary qualities.
2: The singing process of the song "My Love, Can You Hear Me?"
(1): breath, sound
The ancients said, "A good singer must first regulate his qi, which will emerge from the navel." Throughout history, breath has been a key element in all fields of singing. To sing well, one must first learn to cultivate qi, starting with inhalation. Only by inhaling well can one maintain and utilize the qi, avoiding the tendency to become increasingly short of breath and stiff, ultimately hanging there, unable to reach the high notes or the low notes. While the two sections of this ci poem share many similarities, the emotional shifts between them necessitate careful attention to breath flow when performing on stage. Inhale consciously and actively, using both the mouth and nose, as if smelling a flower. Maintaining composure and actively controlling the breath is crucial, ensuring neither rapid loss nor stiffness, a lack of flow. This golden mean is also applicable to singing.
(2): Pronounce words and think of words.
The song "My Love, Can You Hear Me?" is a folk song. The words "间,远,漫,变" (meaning "interval," "distance," "man," and "change") in the lyrics all have the "an" vowel. In the past, singing emphasized pronunciation, articulation, and rhyme. Nowadays, however, it's easier to just bite the beginning of the word and let out the middle. Deliberately trying to rhyme often leads to disjointed breath and stiffness. Experience has proven that as long as the beginning of the word is articulated correctly and the middle remains constant, the lyrics remain clear during singing. As for why this section begins with the phrase "think of the words," it's a little secret passed down to me by my teacher. "Think of the words" means thinking about the lyrics while singing, associating them with the meaning of the lyrics you want to sing. This greatly helps when singing with emotion. Of course, one thing to keep in mind is that singing is a multifaceted process, requiring the coordinated efforts of multiple aspects and parts of the body. Simply focusing on thinking about the words while singing is essential.
(3): Emotional problems.
Renowned French singer Henri-Ferdinand Manchetan once said, "Emotion is the soul of singing. Only when voice and emotion are equally perfect can singing be called art." Whether it's bel canto, folk singing, popular singing, or even original singing, emotion is considered the soul of singing, the most important element and an indispensable part of singing. My teacher also said that singing without emotion is a failure. Therefore, in the case of "My Love, Can You Hear Me?", if you want to create a qualified or even excellent second take on the song, simply put, you must learn to sing with emotion. And how to sing with emotion explains why lyrics are the true soul of a song. Of course, there are exceptions, such as instrumental music without lyrics, but in most cases, lyrics are the soul of a song. However, I also believe that melody is also the soul, both indispensable. Is it still a song if it only has lyrics but no melody?
When learning how to sing with emotion, reciting lyrics is definitely a great way. There’s a saying in the singing world: “Sing like you speak. Singing is speaking with melody!”
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