“The Simulacrum of Broken Timbre” (2003) – for Pipa and four percussion
在讲到这部作品的创作时，贾国平先生说:“当一个作曲家为琵琶这样的传统乐器写作 时，不得不面对这件乐器已经所拥有的丰富的历史文献以及约定习俗形成的音乐与音响传 统观念。这些文献与习俗构成了今人创作与发展所依据的基础与平台，每一部新的作品都 应是在这个基础平台之上的新生儿与新组合体。如何在这个历史基础之上推陈出新则是每 一个作曲家必须要考虑，也必须要追求达到的境界。所以新作品不单单是时代意义上的新， 同时也是音乐实践与音乐语言本质上的创新。在这部作品中，我尝试从琵琶的几个传统音 乐作品中抽离出许多个音乐片断，将其作为创作这首乐曲的音乐材料。每一个片断都是具 有某种典型意义的音响，都与确定的演奏法与发声法相关联。这些音乐片断在原本作品中 所具有的音乐意义与音响特征构成了者心理上一些刹那间的碎片式的回忆(Aura)与联 想。但是在作品中，这些碎片化了的音乐材料被重新定义与重新组合，并且加以强化发展 的方式呈现出来，回避了被引用的音乐材料所具有的原本音乐义与固有觉联想，从而 赋予它们新的音乐表现与音乐内涵，形成新的音响特征。”
在创作过程中，作曲家试图开发每一种琵琶演奏法自身的独立表现力，弱化人为设计， 努力应用控制而又不露痕迹。同时动情于传统音乐的意韵之美，传统音乐在曲作者心中的 投影，即化作混合着自身审美体验和主观情感的印象。‘碎’意味着丰富而不完整，‘影’ 则将虚与实混淆揉杂，每一片碎影的表述既是作曲家借音乐之口在表达自己的美感体验， 也是音乐本身在说话，在漫不经心中透着深层、大气与洗练，句式语气的重构与空间位置 的营造则显出眼力与情趣。‘碎’自整体，‘影’出本相，指示了一种似是而非、雾里看花 的情境，吐露的芳华则显现出游离不确定的、亦真亦幻的、混杂着人的情感、情绪、情韵、 表情的意态，也真切体现了中国文人艺术的精神和审美追求。
本曲的音乐结构主体是由散起段(A)、片断化的旋律段(B)、重复音型段(C)、快速 跑句段(D)与最后的综合再现(E)等五个段落构成，在这五个段落之间又插入一段由四 个具有相同音乐性格的短小连接句构成的段落(F)。作者通过这样的结构方式(A F1 B F2 C F3 D F4 E) 企图打破常见的以几个大块布局的音乐结构习惯，以期获得更加灵活的结构 感觉与新的觉经验。
首演于 2003 年 12 月 12 日德国弗莱堡 “马可波罗-丝绸之路音乐节”。
琵琶:兰维薇
打击乐:加拿大多伦多新音乐团
“When a composer try to write for traditional instruments like pipa, he has to consider its wealthy historical documents that have already existed，as well as the traditional concept of music and sound, which has become the convention. Those two things formed the foundation platform of creative and develop for today’s composers, each new work should be the newborns and new combination of this platform. How to innovate is what every composer must consider and seek. Therefore, a new work is not only new on era, but also a substantial innovation of musical language and practice”. Talking about this work , Jia Guoping said : “In this piece, I tried to pick several clips from those classical piece for Pipa as the material to be worked with. Each clip is a typical of acoustics, and closely related to the playing skills and Articulation. The musical clips arouse the momentary psychological fragmented memories of the original works, but they are re-definition and reassembled, presenting with strengthen and development. Therefore, it avoids the original meaning and the auditory association, and gives a new content and performance, which demonstrates a fire-new acoustic features. “
Composer Jia excavated the solo expression of each instrument, weakening the intended design, and control everything without a trace，put his passion into the connotation and beauty of traditional music. In his mind, it turns into an impression of subjective emotion mixed with aesthetic experience. The title ‘Broken’ means rich but not complete, while ‘Simulacrum‘ means actual and virtual combination. Each ’broken simulacrum‘ expresses the composer‘s own feeling , but also the music itself telling. It reveals the grand and magnificent atmosphere beyond the casual surface, and shows the insight and delight of composer’s by the reconstruction of the sentences and the operation of spatial location. ‘Broken‘ is the whole, and ‘Simulacrum‘ is the truth, indicating a paradoxical situation, shows a scene of uncertainty, mixed with human emotion, mood, sentiment, expression, and definitely reflects the spiritual and aesthetic pursuit of the Chinese literati art .
The main structure of this piece is start with a scattered part(A), later the fragmented melody section(B), repeating paragraph(C), presto movement(D)
and the final recapitulation(E), among them, there are four connection constituted by four sentences with the same character(F). Such a musical form (A F1 B F2 C F3 D F4 E) broken the common layout that with several large movements, therefore, it obtain a more flexible structure with a new listening experience.
Premiered on December 12th, 2003, in Freiburg, Germany, in “Marco Polo – Silk Road Music Festival”.
Pipa: Lan Weiwei
Percussion: Toronto New Music Ensemble