Feng Qiu Huang ( 鳳求凰 ） - guqin

 

"The Boy Phoenix Seeks His Mate". From the Meian Qinpu (published in 1931 梅庵琴譜). This song has words to go with it (which fortunately for you I am not singing). It is in "Forest Bell:" tuning which is used in a number of Meian pieces including Qiu Feng Ci and Sao Shou Wen Tian. In this tuning string 3 is tuned down 1/2 step so if string 1 is tuned to C this gives us C D E G A C D (1 2 3 5 6 1 2) from string 1 to string 7. Although this is a relatively simple piece it has a number of "wheel" (lun) finger techniques used in it. The story behind the piece refers to the ancient Han dynasty romance of Simaxiangru (a famous poet) and his lover Wenjun. See John Thompson's page about Wenjuncao (which is related at least in terms of the story) which also includes a translation of the words associated with the Meian version of this. 有美人兮。見之不忘。 “There's a beauty!" "If you see her you won't be able to forget her". http://www.silkqin.com/02qnpu/13fxxp/... Guqin: made by Jim Binkley. This guqin has 2 sound chambers and a middle board. From top to bottom it is spruce, paulownia, and maple.