Lisu folk songs include Musha, Shuangshi and Youye.
Mushu
Mushu is one of the most important and widely circulated folk songs of the Lisu people. It is popular in the Lisu inhabited areas of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province. Mugu originally referred to all songs and tunes in Lisu language in general, but later gradually became a specific name for ancient narrative songs. Other songs and tunes belonging to the wood scraping category are generally named with content, such as Achi wood scraping (goat tune), Qiben wood scraping (three string tune), etc. Mu Gu is mainly used for traditional long narrative poems with serious content and solemn atmosphere, and is often sung at times and occasions such as national festivals and gatherings. The melody is simple and deep, with a desolate and ancient style.
Mushu is usually divided into two parties by middle-aged and elderly men, sitting cross-legged around the fire pit, each singing questions and answers as a man and a woman. During duet singing, both parties have one person leading the singing, and everyone singing accompaniment. The leader sings a line, and the accompanist sings a line. During the singing, wine is used to cheer up the singing, and the singing is performed while drinking. Musha duet singing also has the characteristics of competition. If both singers are good at antiphonal singing, the duet singing will often last for several days and nights. The traditional narrative ancient songs of the Lisu people, sung with wooden scrapers, extensively cover the origins of the nation, human reproduction, production and life, customs, love and marriage, religious beliefs and ethnic interactions. It vividly reproduces the broad picture of the social history of the Lisu people and has a relatively large High awareness and aesthetic value. For example, the long narrative song "Tune on Escaped Marriage" reflects the Lisu people's marriage customs of fingertips and cows as betrothals, social customs of fleeing marriage to fight for freedom and love, killing sheep to summon ghosts, beating dog heads to swear, and pouring blood and wine to swear curses. Original beliefs, as well as the spirit of unity among various ethnic groups in mutual exchanges and mutual help, as well as the social productivity level and production status of the Lisu people.
As the older generation of singers pass away one after another, there are now fewer people who can sing the complete content of Lisu wood scraping historical songs and long narrative songs. If we do not rescue, excavate and train the younger generation of singers in time, Mu Fu will face a situation where there will be no successors.
"Puishi" and "Youye"
"Puishi" and "Youye" are the two most representative Lisu folk songs in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is widely spread in the Lisu areas of Lushui County and Lanping County. It is sung in peacetime and festival gatherings, harvest celebrations, marriages of men and women and other festive occasions. The lyrics are extensive and the tunes are passionate and unrestrained, suitable for expressing inner passions. , deeply loved by the Lisu people. During the performance, it is mostly a collective duet between men and women, but it can also be performed solo by one person for self-entertainment. The content of singing is divided into two categories: "Duowo" and "Dominion over me". "Duo Wo" mainly sings traditional long narrative poems, while "Government Wo" improvises and sings based on the object of the song, mostly focusing on love and current affairs. The representative repertoire during the show time includes "Bamboo String Song", "Song of Remembering Bitterness", "Orphan's Tears", etc. The annual Lushui County Denggeng Bathhouse Singing Competition is a grand event of duet singing. Youye is mainly spread in the Lisu villages of Fugong County. It is divided into two categories according to the content and form of singing: one is composed of middle-aged and elderly people sitting around a fire pond while drinking and singing to each other. The main content is to recall the sadness and suffering of the old times, with low, melodious tunes. The tempo is slow and the melody is steady; the other type of tune is relaxed and lively. It is the main way for young men and women to express their feelings. It can be sung by men and women, and can also be sung by men and women of the same sex. The first type of Youye is rarely sung now, while the second type of Youye is still widely circulated today. Common repertoire of Youye include "Hunting Song", "Whispers", "Wood Chopping Song", etc.
Zhuangshi and Youye are outstanding representatives of Lisu oral literature and art. Through the creation of successive generations of singers, they have accumulated extremely rich singing content over a long period of time, covering almost all aspects of social life and folk activities. Shuangshi and Youye also created a variety of artistic expression techniques rich in national personality. For example, the sentence patterns, rhythm and rhetorical characteristics of Lisu poetry are mainly reflected through this kind of folk songs. Shuangshi and Youye also reflect the typical musical characteristics of Lisu folk songs. For example, the multi-voice singing, vibrato singing and use of lining words in Lisu folk songs can be fully reflected in Shuangshi and Youye. On the evening of June 16, 2009, the high-quality ethnic concert "My Motherland, My Home" was held at the Nie Er Performing Arts Center in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province. As one of the activities of the first China Nie Er Music Chorus Week, this performance presented classic national music of different ethnic groups, including the "Shifting Time" folk song from the ancient Lisu people, allowing the audience to appreciate the charm of "natural sounds".
"Shishi" is a folk song of the Lisu people. It is sung on ordinary and festive occasions, such as gatherings, harvest celebrations, marriages of men and women, etc. The lyrics are extensive and the tune is passionate and unrestrained. "Shiji" is mostly a collective duet between men and women, but it can also be performed solo by one person for self-entertainment. The singing content is divided into traditional narrative poems and improvisational arrangements with love and current affairs as the main content.
The 60 actors of the "Shifting Time" choir, which debuted on the evening of the 16th, come from 9 rural towns and villages in Lushui County, Yunnan. Most of them live in alpine mountainous areas with an altitude of more than 1,800 meters and have never received music. The training is passed down by word of mouth, passing down the Lisu culture of "setting time, arranging leaves, and wood scraping".
The choir sang 3 songs that night. In the singing of two songs, "Welcome to the Land of Time" and "Singing of Happy Scenes", unrestrained and passionate folk songs were sung using antiphonal, duet, and leading the crowd. The choir also made bold innovations in this musical form and sang the foreign song "Auld Lang Syne" using the "time-setting" singing method. Although the audience could not understand the lyrics, the affectionate singing and the characteristics of the "time-setting" folk song made it more popular. Let the audience appreciate the charm of traditional music.