KANG DING FLOWER SONG (KĀNG DÌNG QÍNG GĒ) Chinese Folk Song Arranged by Victor C. Johnson BACKGROUND This is an arrangement of a very famous Chinese folk song called Kang Ding Qing Ge (Kang Ding Love Song). Kang Ding is in Sichuan Province, the People's Republic of China. It is the trade center for Tibetan and Han cultures and is the county seat of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Kang Ding is known for its beautiful scenery, especially Pao Ma Shang (Running Horse Mountain). This arrangement is set in English. Kang Ding Flower Song is Victor C. Johnson s arrangement of a popular Chinese folk song called Kang Ding Qing Ge (Kang Ding Love Song). Kang Ding is in Sichuan Province, the People's Republic of China. It is known for its beautiful scenery, especially Pao Ma Shang (Running Horse Mountain). RECORDINGS Full recording at https://www.lorenz.com/med/sample/15_1827h.mp3. It is very good. The Girl Choir of South Florida: https://youtu.be/w8gkdhjgaog Northwest ISD Fifth Grade All-District Honor Choir ANALYSIS Key: D minor more or less. The melody is based on a pentatonic or "gapped" scale that has a resting tone of d, and contains the pitches d, f, g, a, c. It is this scale that gives the melody its distinctive quality that many Westerners identify as "Asian". The melody is organized in three phrases, as follows:
A (antecedant) "Flowers grow on the hillside..." A' (consequent) "Fragrant with their blossoms sweet..." B (contrasting) "Sunshine blazing... " second half of this phrase is identical to second half of consequent phrase. SECTION MEASURE EVENT AND SCORING Introduction 1-4 Flute and piano duet, flute plays second phrase of melody 1 st verse 5-16 All voices sing melody in unison, accompanied by piano interlude 16-19 Flute solo begins overlapping last measure of melody, continues accompanied by piano 2 nd verse 20-33 Sung in two parts in strict canon with entrances a measure apart. The melody is slightly altered from the original, with the addition of an extra measure at the end of the third phrase of the melody coda 34-end three measure coda repeating the final half of the third phrased; two part harmony, melody in lower voice.
ORIGINAL TEXT pǎo mǎ liū liū de shān shàng yī duǒ liū liū de yún yō duān duān liū liū de zhào zài kāng dìng liū liū de chéng yō kāng dìng liū liū de chéng yō lǐ jiā liū liū de dà jiě rén cái liū liū de hǎo yō zhāng jiā liū liū de dà gē kàn shàng liū liū de tā yō kàn shàng liū liū de tā yō yī lái liū liū de kàn shàng rén cái liū liū de hǎo yō èr lái liū liū de kàn shàng huì dāng liū liū de jiā yō huì dāng liū liū de jiā yō shì jiān liū liū de nǚ zǐ rèn wǒ liū liū de ài yō shì jiān liū liū de nán zǐ rèn nǐ liū liū de qiú yō rèn nǐ liū liū de qiú yō 1 1.pao3 ma3 liu liu di shan1 shang4, yi4 duo3 liu liu di yun2 you Pǎo Mǎ Shān A mountain in Sichuan province. yì duǒ yún A single cumulus cloud (or nimbus cloud) 1 These lyrics came from Chinese Language Learner, http://www.chineselearner.com/songlyrics/folksongs/06.html, (accessed May 25, 2009),
2.duan duan liu liu di zhao zai; kan ding liu liu di cheng you zhào To shine on Kāng Dìng Chéng, the city of Kang Ding 3. yue liang wan wan; kan ding liu liu di cheng you yuè liàng moon wān wān curved 4.li jia liu liu di da jie; ren cai liu liu de hao you dà jiě eldest (sister =) daughter rén cái talents as a human being 5.zhang jia liu liu di da ge kan shang liu liu di ta you dà gē eldest (brother =) son kàn shàng take a shine to 6.yue liang wan wan kan shang liu liu di ta you yuè liàng moon wān wān curved 7. yi lai liu liu di kan shang ren cai liu liu di hao you yì lái in the first instance, the first thing that happened 8.er lai liu liu di kan shang, hue dang liu liu di jia you èr lái in the second instance, the next thing that happened 9.Yue liang wan wan, hui dang liu liu di jia you dāng jiā marry into and thus form a new generation of a family 10. shi jian liu liu di nu zi, ren ni liu liu di qiu you shì jiān in the world nǚ zǐ girls, women rèn nǐ tolerate you to, just go ahead and 11.Shi jian liu liu di nan zi, ren ni liu liu di qiu you. nán zǐ boys, men
qiú seek (= 12. Yue liang wan wan ren ni liu liu di qiu you. 2 2 These lyrics, characters and translation come from the Wake Forest University East Asian Languages pages, http://itg.wfu.edu/wiki/fields/eastasian/index.php?n=main.kangdingqing Ge, (accessed May 25, 2009). The numbers after syllables refer to the tones used in the Pinyin transliteration.