World Music Guide
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Editors: Omarr Cheng, Moon Kong, Simon Tse
Chinese Folk Songs
Chinese folk songs are lively creations by “common people” and passed down through generations. Each region of China has its own unique style of folk music, shaped by local climate, environment, dialect, culture and history, enriching the overall diversity of Chinese heritage.
Not all songs with ancient Chinese texts you hear at HKICF are folk songs. For many ancient songs and poems, like those in “The Book of Songs” (詩經), only the lyrics are passed down through the generations. Today, modern composers often set these ancient poems and prose to new melodies, allowing us to experience the emotions of ancient poets in a new way. Many of these choral works with Chinese texts are created by contemporary composers, which are not classified as folk music.
In the world of choral music, folk tunes can be arranged into choral pieces. We can often find the name of arrangers credited for the folk tunes when we read the house programme in a concert. Choirs would seek assistance from arrangers to turn folk tunes into choral pieces, adding different colors and harmonies to the original melodies.
Jiangsu Folk Songs
- Famous Cities: Nanjing, Suzhou
- Style: Bright and lively; graceful and gentle
- Lyrics: Expression of personal emotions, Depiction of sceneries of bamboo, pastoral life, flowers, and water towns.
Music Appreciation – 茉莉花（Jiansu）
Arranger: 尹明五
Performer: Bishop Hall Jubilee School (Mixed Voice Choir)
hebei Folk Songs
- Style: Stable rhythm, passionate, solemn and stirring
- Lyrics: Focus on the working lives of peasants; showing their toughness fighting against the severe cold weather
Music Appreciation – 小白菜
Arranger: 馬可
Performer: Taipei Hua Shin Children’s Chorus
Gansu Northern Folk Songs
- Famous Cities: Lanzhou, Jiuquan
- Style: Strong and powerful melodies, wide vocal range
- Lyrics: Bold and straightforward; direct expression of emotions in local dialect.
Music Appreciation – 上去高山望平川
Arranger: 黎英海
Tibetan Folk Songs
- Style: Bright tone with high-pitched passages
- Lyrics: Praising nature: the snow-capped mountains, eagles, the sun, etc.
Music Appreciation – 卓魯．西藏牧歌
Arranger: 曹光平
Performer: Guangzhou Little Skylark Children’s Choir
While this article has shared some interesting Chinese folk songs, there are many more to discover! Each part of China has its own special songs that tell stories about the people who lived there. Let’s keep these songs alive by learning and sharing them. Do you know any folk music tunes from Hong Kong?
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Editors: Omarr Cheng, Carissa Yuen, Paco Sze
American Folk Songs
Given the size and the rich diversity of the United States, it’s not surprising that many different types of folk music, such as cowboy songs, sea shanties, spirituals, and Native American music could be found across the country. In many countries, folk music has deep roots in ancient customs and long-standing cultural practices. Although the US is a relatively young country founded in 1776, it is a country comprising many diverse cultures. As such, American folk music has absorbed influences from Native American, African, European, and immigrant communities, resulting in a hybrid tradition that continues to evolve. These folk songs tend to be religious, tell stories, or provide a means of expression for the working class.
Despite being a relatively young country, the United States is the origin of many genres beyond its folk traditions. Some American folk songs may also sound familiar because of their influence on recent mainstream music. Today, American folk music continues to influence contemporary genres like Americana and country, and may even be covered by artists of other genres. For example, Louis Armstrong, a world-famous jazz artist, has done many jazz renditions of folk songs, African-American spirituals, such as “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”.
Today, as arrangers set these folk songs to multiple voice parts, we can find choirs performing these songs with extra harmonies and layers! Do you recognise any American folk songs in other choirs’ performances?
Cowboy Songs
- Origin: West and Southwest United States
- Style: Slow and sentimental – ballads
- Lyrics: About lives and work, special calls to herd cattle
Music Appreciation – Red River Valley
Arranger: Gregory M. Psych
Performer: Choir of the Sound
Sea Shanties
- Origin: coastal areas and the Great Lakes
- Style: call and response, no instrumental accompaniment
- Lyrics: Entertaining and engaging stories to boost sailors’ morales; sailors’ complaints of their officers
Music Appreciation – Shenandoah
Arranger: Victor Johnson
Performer: Diocesan Boys’ School & Heep Yunn School Intermediate Mixed Choir
African-American Spiritual
- Origin: Southern United States
- Style: call and response, abundant in slides, turns, and hard to document rhythms
- Lyrics: religious / describing hardships of being enslaved
Music Appreciation – Go Down, Moses
Arranger: Judy Arthur
Performer: Carmel Pak U Secondary School Senior Boys’ Choir
Native American – Music of the Ute tribe
- Origin: Western United States
- Style: chants with few lyrics; narrow ranges, usually within an octave; songs start on high notes and descend throughout
- Lyrics: songs about mother nature, social songs
Music Appreciation – Ute Sundance
Arranger: Transcribed by Valerie Naranjo; arr. Ethan Sperry
Performer: St. Olaf Cantorei Choir
There are many more American folk songs to explore beyond the scope of this article! Do you recognise any of the choral arrangements of the American folk songs during the Competition cum Masterclass? Share your thoughts with your friends and teachers!
