After the classical period of the 18th century and the romantic period of the 19th century, western music entered a period of diversified development in the 20th century. During this period, a variety of new music creation, performance practice concepts and artistic genres emerged one after another. A whole set of principles followed by all music foundations in the past began to disintegrate during this period, and the "collision between classical and modern" in the field of music practice became more and more intense. And light music is an important result of this collision.
Compared with classical music, light music is adapted in a popular way, transforming the heavy texture, huge structural scale, and dignified connotation of classical music into light texture, bright rhythm, and beautiful melody. . The pursuit of light music is to bring people a relaxed enjoyment and a warm and romantic atmosphere, and it does not deliberately pursue profound ideological connotations; compared with popular music, light music is different from the too distinct of the times of popular songs, and its beautiful melody will last for a long time. Therefore, the emergence of light music has just become the most delicate connection point between classical and popular, and some people call it the "third force" between classical and popular.
Since the development of light music, many excellent orchestras have emerged. Among them, the Italian Mantovani Orchestra, the French Paul Moria Band, and the German James Rust Band are regarded as the three top orchestras in the light music industry. Playing style pushes the development of light music to a climax and plays a vital role in the development of light music.
The originator of light music - Mantovani Orchestra
Established in 1935, the Mantovani Orchestra is known for its extremely soft, beautiful melodies and brilliant playing style. Character, soul and key. Mantovani was born in Venice in 1905, and the beautiful scenery of the water city influenced his original artistic feelings. Mantovani's father was a violinist and was the principal violinist of the La Scala in Milan. The strong artistic atmosphere of the family made the dream of music take root in the heart of young Mantovani, but his father initially hoped that he would become a cartographer with a stable job. When Mantovani took up the violin for the first time, he used himself The displayed talent changed the father's mind. In 1912, Mantoniva moved his family to London, England. He himself studied at the Trinity School of Music in London, where he studied piano, harmony and counterpoint with Professors Kitty and Pesquet. At the age of 14, Mantovani began to formally learn the violin. The guidance of his father and famous teachers made him receive a strict classical music education, which laid a solid foundation for his later music career.
After graduation, Mantovani started his professional playing career by forming his own band and performing publicly in Birmingham. He himself soon took up the recital role, and in 1930 gave a recital at the Iolian Hall to great response. The following year, he held a concert at the Queen's Hall in London again, which won great applause, but the subsequent Great Depression forced him to give up the more elegant way of performing in concerts, and reorganized the band to promote performances everywhere. . Before the outbreak of World War II, his band had swept England, becoming the most popular band in BBC broadcast and live performances, and he himself became the most famous music conductor. It was during this period that the band, under the command of Mantovani, gradually took shape in the preparation of musicians, selection and arrangement of music, and developed its own playing style. Mantoniva also put his name before the band. The famous Mantovani Orchestra was born.
The Mantovani Orchestra is a huge orchestra mainly composed of strings. Mantovani used his full knowledge of how the violin behaves to properly manipulate the entire orchestra, and with the help of the team, he found a rich The special color sound, which in turn establishes the band's logo. In his band of more than 40 people, there are 28 strings and 20 violins. The woodwinds and brass are single-pipe controls. Like the percussion instruments, they only play a decorative role, so the strings are extremely heavy when playing. The "string waterfall" woven by a large number of stringed instruments has become the iconic sound effect of the orchestra. Mantovani divided the violins into three groups, increasing the volume from high to low, creating an acoustic effect that cascaded from high to low. The wonderful timbre created by the "Xianpu" is refreshing, quiet like flowing water, moving like a waterfall, flowing with jumps and clear layers, bringing the violin's timbre to the extreme. When the band played, it formed a unique, ethereal sound like a cloud and flowing water, and its music was known as the "Sound of Mantovani".
Much of the repertoire played by the orchestra was selected or composed by Mantovani, whose rigorous classical music education in his early years played a large role. The orchestra arranged and played a series of classic pieces of classical music, such as "Nocturne", "Aria on the G String", "Hungarian Dance No. 5", etc. These pieces have lost their freshness due to the frequent performance of many bands, but after Manto Varney's arrangement and re-arrangement, the original heavy texture of the music has become lighter, the music is more melodious, and the emotion of the music is more full and cordial rather than gloomy. Period style, full of romantic and casual atmosphere. In addition to the arrangement and ensemble of classical music, Mantovani's selection also includes Latin music, jazz, film hits, all kinds of dance music, folk songs from all over the world and almost all kinds of music. These pieces are arranged and played by Mantovani Become elegant and popular, harmonious and pleasing to the ear. For example, "Blue Tango" is one of the most famous tango dances. It was composed by American composer Anderson in 1951. It is regarded as one of the bridge works combining classical and modern popular music. It was arranged and played by the Mantovani Orchestra. Endowed with a different mood, the violin performance makes the music itself more brisk, the percussion instruments create the sound of spring water ding-dong, and the cello and wind instruments are woven into a thick background, making the music play a prominent sense of hierarchy. . The work "Moon River" is adapted from the theme song of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". This song won the 34th Academy Award for Best Film Song. With the performance of the Mantovani Orchestra, it has become a classic work in the light music repertoire. , The music is more distant and ethereal after being adapted, full of romantic sentiment.
The successful selection and arrangement of the music, coupled with the smooth and stretchy performance of the orchestra, make the Mantovani Orchestra have the characteristics of both classical atmosphere and modern style, gorgeous but not gaudy, romantic but not frivolous, both easy to understand and elegant. , extraordinary demeanor, and the relaxed and natural atmosphere created by it makes people intoxicated. From 1935 to 1936, Mantovani became popular in the US charts with the singles "Red Sails in the Sunset" and "Serenade to the Night", so he was recognized as the "king of sentimental music" and "the godfather of world light music". After World War II, Mantovani began to focus on the release of records. In 1955, the album "Charmaine" came out and sold more than one million, causing a huge sensation. Mantovani won the "Golden Disc Award"; in 1957, he won the "Iboro Nobel Prize", the highest honor in the British broadcasting industry; in 1958, he was invited by the Queen of England to perform in front of the Queen; The era reached its heyday and became world-renowned. The band has performed in North America for 15 consecutive years, surpassing any previous musicians in album sales and music performances. Its unique playing style is enduring and has swept every corner of the world for nearly half a century. In 1980, Mantovani passed away, but the orchestra is still loved by the world and continues to carry forward the string-based style.
The influence of the Mantovani Orchestra is worldwide, and its relationship with China began in the late 1970s. The band's light music became the first Western music introduced since the reform and opening up, and was officially launched by the official TV station, which refreshed the Chinese audience of that era and was regarded as one of the cultural symbols of the 1980s. The Mantovani Orchestra's mode of focusing on album creation not only drives the development of Chinese light music, but also provides an excellent foundation and guidance for the popularization and development of Chinese pop music. It was the Mantovani Orchestra that bridged the gap between classical music and popular music, making light music quickly occupy an important position between classical and popular, and become the most beautiful bridge.
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