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Bridging East and West: A Literature Review of Chinese Art Song Studies in the Global Context

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DOI: 10.23977/artpl.2025.060117 | Downloads: 9 | Views: 230

Author(s)

Yangyi Mao 1,2

Affiliation(s)

1 Institute of Research, Royal Northern College of Music, 124 Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom
2 Department of Vocal Performance, Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, 998 Xueyuan Street, Hangzhou, China

Corresponding Author

Yangyi Mao

ABSTRACT

The Chinese Art Song (CAS) is a genre of vocal music that blends Chinese cultural heritage with Western musical techniques. It arises from cultural exchange, incorporating classical and modern Chinese poetry, and traditional musical elements like pentatonic scales and folk melodies, alongside Western harmonic and structural practices, such as piano accompaniment. This fusion reflects a balance between Eastern and Western influences, creating a form that embodies literary expression, emotional depth, and cultural identity. In this document, we review works to draw the relationship between music and poetry in Chinese Art Song from history, the composers' biographies, art characteristics, and interpretation of major elements in it. Thus, I divide them into four categories: the historical evolution of Chinese Art Song; studies of specific composers or poets; analyses of the musical and literary characteristics; exploration of vocal interpretation.

KEYWORDS

Chinese Art Song, Historical Evolution, Poetry-Music Culture, Composer

CITE THIS PAPER

Yangyi Mao, Bridging East and West: A Literature Review of Chinese Art Song Studies in the Global Context. Art and Performance Letters (2025) Vol. 6: 123-129. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/artpl.2025.060117.

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