Polyphonic Folk Songs
01 · Historical Records
It probably originated about the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century and reached its height in the late Ming and early Qing.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Multi-part folk song refers to folk songs whose texture and structure take a multi-part form; China's multi-part folk songs are concentrated chiefly among the dozen or so minority nationalities of the Zhuang, Dong, Bouyei, Gaoshan, Maonan, Qiang, Miao and Yi, most of them adopting the two-part form and a small number being three-part and four-part art. Chaord is a distinctive form of singing with a long history, current mainly in Xilinhot city and parts of Abag banner in the Xilin Gol league of Inner Mongolia. It was sung not only in the palace but was also widely used on various occasions in temples, at folk banquets and at sacrificial ceremonies. Chaord is a distinctive Mongol multi-part music: below the melody there is a sustained bass part, and this bass part can only attach itself to the high-register melody and cannot exist independently. In performance one outstanding long-song singer sings the sweet and leaping melody in a high register while several singers sing the bass in a deep throat voice, forming a sustained drone beneath the melody. Chaord uses the gong and zhi modes; its melody is drawn out and its rhythm free, well suited to expressing the indomitable national spirit with which the ancient Mongols struggled to survive in a harsh natural environment. Chaord sets short words to long tunes, and its beginning and ending are of a special form, so that it gives full play to the characteristics of long-song music; its two-part choral art presents a solemn, deep and delicate artistic style, and the extensive use of fifth- and octave-harmony strengthens both the supporting power of the musical function and the artistic appeal, making it relatively distinctive among China's multi-part folk songs. Representative works of chaord include The Holy Lord Genghis Khan, Khud Khile and Sunrise. Chaord is a representative of grassland culture and a crystallisation of Mongol music, attracting attention by the perfection of its melody, the distinctiveness of its harmony, the scientific character of its modes and the complexity of its musical form, and may be called an outstanding example of Mongol folk music.
The Holy Lord Genghis Khan
A representative chaord piece and the closing piece sung on solemn occasions such as affairs of state.
Khud Khile
One of the representative pieces of chaord.
The Bass Chaor Part and the High-Register Melody
Chaord has a sustained bass part beneath the melody, sung by several singers in a deep throat voice, forming two-part choral singing.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Chaord circulates mainly in the Mongol areas of settlement of Xilinhot city and Abag banner in the Xilin Gol league of Inner Mongolia. It is mostly sung on occasions of palace ceremonial, temple assemblies and folk banquets and sacrificial ceremonies, and Xilinhot city and Abag banner are the areas where chaord is most densely preserved.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Hanizuduoshengbu Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs · Polyphonic Folk Songs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years, with the passing away one after another of the famous chaord singers of the older generation, chaord is on the verge of being lost and specific measures are urgently needed to rescue and protect it. (Associated bearer recorded in the official archive:) Manglai, male, Mongol, born January 1947, a native of Xilinhot city, Inner Mongolia. He is a representative bearer of the third batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage items, the multi-part folk song (chaord—Mongol part-singing). He is a nephew of the long-song king Hajar and one of the first batch of personally taught disciples of the master Hajar; from childhood he learned with the master Hajar and with the folk artists of his home place to sing Mongol long-song folk songs in the Abaga-Abahanar style, and from 1970 he began to learn to sing kholin chaor and chaord. At present he has mastered all the dozen or so pieces of chaord that survive and has inherited the master Hajar's singing style and techniques. His singing style is ancient and his flavour rich, with clear enunciation. In 2003 he published the chaord solo album Rising Like the Sun. His representative pieces include The Holy Lord Genghis Khan and The Stars and the Moon. In recent years he has devoted himself to the dissemination and transmission of chaord.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Che Ge 02-0258
- Chen Xiniang 02-0259
- Manglai 03-0829
- Wen Guiyuan 03-0830
- Lang Jiamu 03-0831
- Suyilatu 05-2052
- Fang Shaobao 05-2053
- Mo Huamei
- Ou Yumei
- Jiancheya
- Zeyingjun
- Yang Kaiyuan
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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