Studies on Musical Characteristics of Puxian Opera

Abstract

This article provides to describe the musical characteristics in Puxian Opera, containing the historical and cultural factors, as well as all the musical and theatrical impression under the situation of live performance. As one of the oldest Chinese traditional drama art forms, Puxian Opera reflects the path of how the local culture developed. This study begins with history of Puxian Opera, which shows the origin of its musical form and dramatic expression. Then the study focuses on its basic music material: vocal tones and Qupai. A traditional drama vocal tone is inevitably connected to the regional dialect, while the use of Qupai illustrates the succession of traditional music style.  After that the study analyzes more compositional factors, including music structure, performance, and ritual expression. The irregular rhythmic element is one of the biggest features in this music, it reflects in both vocal and instrumental aspects. The last section focuses on the topic of entertainment and enlightenment, which embodies the text in dialect and essential idea of script.