Piano Music of Variations on the Theme of Butterfly Dancing [Analysis on the Performance of Variations on the Theme of Butterfly Dancing]

Chen Peixun, a composer whose ancestral home is in Guangdong, created Variations on Piano Music with Butterfly Dancing as the material, which is a piano work with a certain length and difficulty, but also expresses a certain depth. Professor Chen Peixun has been exposed to Cantonese music since he was a child. His five Cantonese piano works are the essence of Cantonese piano works, which have been appreciated by the piano industry and welcomed by the majority of piano students, and have made great contributions to the development of the piano industry in China.

In Variations on the Theme of Butterfly Dancing, Chen Peixun combines Cantonese music Butterfly Dancing with Cantonese opera ditty Daffodil. Flying Butterfly was originally a lively allegro ditty in Cantonese opera. Because most phrases are repeated every sentence, they are called "flying butterflies". Narcissus was originally a lyric adagio minor in Cantonese opera, which is very similar to the Jiangnan folk song Jasmine. The author grasps some similar melodies in Butterfly on Two Wings and Narcissus, and skillfully combines them through variations. The whole song is divided into nine paragraphs, including theme, seven variations and ending.

The introduction (theme) is well-structured. Several heavy chords lead to the theme melody, dense rhythm forms and slightly undulating melody lines all give people a sense of motivation, which naturally leads to the next variation. These chords are the beginning of the song and play a vital role in the whole song. When playing this theme, you should use "ff" and take the pedal to sink all chords to the end. The arm strength should be unobstructed, and the whole body strength should be concentrated on the fingertips without any feeling of lifting.

Variation 1: Happily, he adopted the melody of "Butterflies Fly Together" with lively speed, and enriched and developed the theme by adding prefixes. Each brief motive is repeated in different octaves, and the accompaniment and melody are repeated alternately from left to right, making the theme more vivid. The first half of this variation is a light skip, which requires very flexible touch of keys. However, keeping skipping in 10 is a very detailed treatment, and it needs to be played slowly. From 14, the melody suddenly turns into a soft and sweet lyrical feeling. Although it is only a short paragraph 103, it forms a distinct melody of jumping back and forth.

Variation 2: The speed is moderate, and the melody is still the melody of "Butterflies Fly Together", but the counterpoint method is adopted, which makes the main melody with a lingering mood. The first half of the timbre is light and stable, but it requires high finger touch. Tone and clause should be soft and comfortable with the cooperation of wrist. After a gradual transition sentence, the second half turns back to a brisk style, increasing the contrast between strength and weakness, making the music more ups and downs. Rit, the last part of this passage, should be very cautious when playing, and take a breath and enter Variation 3.

Variations III, a allegro with slow rise and fast fall, is transformed into dance music. Although it is still the melody of Flying Butterfly, it already contains some tones of Narcissus. The author skillfully uses the change of speed and intensity to form a small climax in the second half. Starting from ff, the whole music gives people a feeling of excitement and fear, which also puts forward high requirements for performance technology.

Variation Ⅳ, return to medium speed. The melody of Variations III combines two flying butterflies and daffodils. The use of triplets, sextuplets, long and short arpeggios and broken chords makes them more inclined to romantic fantasy. Variation ⅴ, with free rhythm, is a transitional and connecting part between "Flying Butterfly" and "Narcissus" and has the style of aria. Performers should carefully grasp the dynamic changes of "MP-P-PP-PPP" to pave the way for the climax of the whole song. Variation ⅵ is the melody of Daffodil. The author chooses left and right hands as melody and accompaniment in various texture modes, which makes music as sacred, elegant and pure as hymns. This performance is not too fast. For small lines that appear from time to time, you can add pedals to strengthen their coherence.

Variation VII is the exciting climax of the whole song, and the cadenza is at a medium speed. Teacher Chen used the symphony orchestra's full-play writing technique brilliantly, hiding the main theme of "Daffodil" in a complex harmony texture, and adding the strength of ff, it was like a fiery and passionate song. This variation is also the most difficult part of the whole song, which requires him to throw his arms as far as possible and relax greatly before playing. The conclusion is a dynamic reappearance part, and the melody returns to Flying Butterfly. In just a few bars, the speed changes frequently, the rhythm is relaxed, and the texture is thickened. From a few broad chords to the final left and right hands, the whole song gradually slows down in the strength of fff.

Although "Flying Butterfly" adopts western variations, not all of them apply western variations. First of all, most of the melody of the original song was preserved and some of it was mobilized. Then, according to the principle of variation, the piano skills and artistry are treated, which not only maintains the style of the original song, but also promotes the connotation of the original song to a new height. For example, the theme is the simple sentence of the original song. The first variant enriches and develops the theme by adding prefixes. The second variation uses counterpoint cannon to make it have lingering and lingering feelings. The third variation is transformed into dance music. The fourth change tends to be romantic and fantasy. The fifth variation has the style of aria. The sixth variation is like a hymn. The seventh variation is like a passionate song. The theme is very heroic when it is reproduced, and it has not been divorced from the basis of the original song from beginning to end.

In a word, Flying Butterfly shows its own personality and value in piano music with its unpretentious language and fresh and elegant style. With its idyllic artistic conception and amorous feelings, it shows the greatness of national music and is a rare masterpiece in Chinese traditional music arrangement.

(Author: Hunan Normal University Conservatory of Music)

Editor in charge: Xiao Fang