A Set of Chinese Folk Songs

About this piece

Zhou Long's A Set of Chinese Folk Songs gathers eight traditional songs from Shaanbei, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hunan and Shanxi, arranged by the composer for unaccompanied cello and published by Oxford University Press in 2021. The set grew out of string-quartet arrangements Zhou made for a 1998 Shanghai Quartet album (Bowdoin Festival programme note). OUP says the music has been 'carefully refashioned for Western instruments, with writing that includes stylistic bowing and fingering to match the original style,' and aims the edition at early- to intermediate-level students. The songs cover the three genres Zhou describes: mountain songs, work songs and the more structured performance songs once sung by professionals. They run from the opening 'Lan Hua Hua', about a country girl who flees a forced marriage, to the farewell 'Leaving Home'. The edition prints programme notes with a synopsis of each song. Two numbers are set for ABRSM Grade 3 (from 2024): 'The Flowing Stream' (List B) and 'A Horseherd's Mountain Song' (List C, shouts optional).

Technical overview

Eight short unaccompanied pieces, about 12 minutes in all (each roughly 1¼–2 minutes): 1. Lan Hua Hua; 2. Driving the Mule Team; 3. The Flowing Stream; 4. Jasmine Flower; 5. A Horseherd's Mountain Song; 6. When Will the Acacia Bloom?; 7. A Single Bamboo Can Easily Bend; 8. Leaving Home. The opening song alone uses tenor clef, high positions on the A string, grace notes that imitate the vocal style, fermatas and tempo changes, and a closing harmonic.

Technical focus

• Dynamics
• Hairpin Dynamics
• Dotted Rhythms
• 2 Note Slurs
• 4 Note Slurs
• Legato
• Shifting
• Harmonics