Konghou

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Konghou

Konghou ( Chinese  箜篌 , Pinyin kōnghóu ) is an ancient Chinese term for different plucked instruments , which first came from a Chinese source of the 2nd century BC. Is known. In texts describing non-Chinese musical ensembles that performed in the courts of the Sui Dynasty (581–618) and Tang Dynasty (618–907), konghou refers to plucked instruments from India , Korea, and other regions. Usually konghou is translated as " harp ".

Additions to names were used to specify the form: shu-konghou (“vertical konghou ”, vertical angle harp), wo-konghou (“horizontal konghou ”) and fengshou konghou (“phoenix-headed konghou ”). All three forms are shown in the music-theoretical treatise Yuè Shū ("Book of Music") by Chen Yang from 1104, with the wo-konghou appearing as an angular harp in a horizontal position. In the encyclopedia Sancal Tuhui from 1607, however, the wo-konghou is depicted as a long board zither . The konghou angle harp is one of the introduced instruments and possibly goes back to the Persian kang . After the 14th century, the angle harp disappeared in China.

Since the 20th century, a Chinese harp has been built under the name konghou , the shape of which is roughly based on the European concert harp.

Design

The horizontally played wo-konghou had fixed bridges and the number of strings varied between five and seven. They already existed during the spring and autumn annals (770–476 BC)

The standing, vertically played shu-konghou is said to have originated during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC to 25 AD) and Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220) from Europe via Central Asia, along the Silk Road, in China have been introduced. The shu-konghou was arched in shape and had 7, 15, 22 or 23 strings. It was played with both hands, but only with the thumb and forefinger.

The bow harp fengshou konghou (phoenix head harp), so named because of its decoration at the end of the string bow, also came to China via the Silk Road from India (bow harp vina ) at the time of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420) . Some of the strings were pinned to the neck of the harp while others were simply tied. The sound body was boat-shaped like the Burmese saung gauk .

origin

The konghou was played during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC to 771 BC) in the kingdom of Chu Yayue (court music). Later, however, it was also spread among the people.

The wo-konghou was mentioned for the first time in written texts during the spring and autumn annals (770–476).

The su-konghou first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and was used in the Qingshangyue musical genre.

In the time of the Jin Dynasty (265–420) the poem “The peacock flies in the south-east” was written, in which it is described that the girls learned to play the konghou harp at the age of 15 .

The fengshou konghou was brought to China from India during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420).

With the beginning of the Sui dynasty (581–618), the konghou became increasingly popular and was used for court music in yayue (banquet music) and during the heyday of the Tang dynasty (618–907) in the orchestra, but was also used for folk dances. The playing technique reached such a high level that it was even described and famous in poetry.

At the end of the 14th century, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the konghou disappeared , but could still be seen on wall paintings and relief pictures.

distribution

Women playing konghou , detail from a painting by Qiu Ying, Ming Dynasty.

During the Tang Dynasty, the konghou was passed down to Korea and Japan.

Korea

In ancient Korea, the angle harp was called gonghu (hangul 공후; hanja 箜篌), but is no longer used today. As in China, there were three different designs in Korea:

  • Sogonghu (hangul 소공 후; hanja 小 箜篌; literally "little harp")
  • Sugonghu (hangul 수공후; hanja 豎 箜篌; literally "vertical harp")
  • Wagonghu (hangul 와공후; hanja 臥 箜篌; literally "lying harp")

Japan

Similar to the konghou , the kugo (箜篌 / く ご, because it comes from Kudara , sometimes called kudara-goto , 百 済 琴 / く だ ら ご と) was used in some togaku performances during the Nara period. "Togaku" is the Japanese pronunciation for the "music of the Tang Dynasty", which flowed into the culture of Japan from the 8th century. The kugo appeared to be extinct in the 10th century , but was recently taken up again in Japan and is still performed today as imperial court music. The Japanese composer Mamoru Fujieda composed for them.

Fragments of two konghou from the Tang Dynasty are kept in the Seisoyin building of the Toriy Temple in Japan .

Tomoko Sugawara (harp player from Tokyo) put a playable kugo from the harp builder Bill Campbell into operation and was nominated for the 2010 Independent Music Awards for her album "Along the Silk Road" . Sugawara played both traditional and newly written works on the kugo .

Modern Konghou

In both the 1930s and the 1950s, musicians and instrument makers in China tried in vain to reconstruct some forms of the standing konghou from historical traditions and old wall paintings (such as the cave paintings from Dunhuang ) . It was not until the 1980s, when a new type of konghou with M-shaped bridges was manufactured, that it found its way back into the music scene.

The builder of the modern konghou was Zhou Guang Yuen, professor at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music. The new konghou was built on the base of the old standing harp, but is more similar to the western concert harp and shares some features with the guzheng . In contrast to the concert harp, the konghou has 2 rows with 36 strings and 7 pedals each. The strings arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the instrument are each tuned to the same note. This design made it possible to play a 12-tone scale. Due to the shape of the bridge, this Konghou is referred to as a "harp with crane-shaped bridges" or as M-Konghou.

The M-Konghou can be used to play ancient and modern Chinese pieces as well as western harp melodies, and the two equally tuned rows of strings create the musical effect of two harps. The M-Konghou can be played with both hands at the same time and is particularly suitable for difficult playing techniques such as vibrato or curved tones.

Well-known M-Konghou players are Joy Yu Hoffmann and Cui Junzhi, who developed new playing techniques.

literature

  • Robert C. Provine, Yu Hui: Konghou. In: Grove Music Online , 2001
  • Susumu Kashima, Seishiro Niwa: Depictions of “Kugo” Harps in Japanese Buddhist Paintings. In: Music in Art. International Journal for Music Iconography, Vol. 24, No. 1/2, Spring – Autumn 1999, pp. 56–67

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Plucked Instrument Konghou ( Memento from April 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), CRIonline, accessed on June 12, 2016
  2. ↑ Zeng Jinshou, China's Music and Music Education , March 2003, accessed June 12, 2016
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Joyce Rice: Wo Konghou, Shu Konghou and Fengshou Konghou, The Chinese Harp or Konghou , Harp Spectrum, accessed June 12, 2016
  4. ↑ a b c d Shu Konghou photo and description ( memento from June 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), chinamusic.eu, accessed on June 12, 2016
  5. ↑ Shu Konghou Pictures ( Memento from March 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 12, 2016
  6. ↑ a b Shu Konghou ( Memento from February 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), China Culture, accessed on June 12, 2016
  7. ↑ Picture of Sogonghu ( Memento of 6 July 2001 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 9, 2016
  8. ↑ Picture of Sugonghu ( Memento of 6 July 2001 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 9, 2016
  9. ^ Image from Konghou ( Memento from February 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 9, 2016
  10. ^ Image by Kugo ( Memento from February 21, 2002 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on June 9, 2016
  11. ^ M-Konghou photo , accessed June 12, 2016
  12. ↑ Joy Yu Hoffmann , accessed June 12, 2016