Principles of pitch organization in the chamber-vocal works of Sang Tong

Statement of the problem. The article is dedicated to the chamber vocal music of the outstanding Chinese composer and music theorist-pedagogue Sang Tong, examined through the lens of modal-tonal thinking. It considers the composer’s contribution to the development of a national modal-harmonic system based on the vertical combination of pentatonic intervals. An analysis of its fundamental principles will help performers reveal the artistic meaning of this repertoire. Analysis of its fundamental principles will help performers reveal the artistic meaning of this repertoire. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the principles of pitch organization in Sang Tong’s chamber vocal works as a means for the performance embodiment of national traditions. No such research has been conducted in the field of the composer’s chamber and vocal music. The topic of the presented article requires the application of systemic, genre stylistic, structural-functional, intonation analysis, and interpretative research methods. Research results. The composer’s chamber vocal works were created between 1943 and 2002, based on Chinese classical poetry (“Withered Spring Blossoms”), labor folklore (“Eighteen Bends of the Yellow River”, “Spring Mountain Song”), songs of ethnic minorities (“Gada Meilin”, the cycle “Love in a Border Town”), and modern poetry ("Love"). The chamber vocal work “Withered Spring Blossoms” (1943) is a model of Chinese art song, written using Western modern compositional techniques. The composer organically combined the rhythm, pronunciation, and emotions of the poetic text with the music through means such as variable rhythmic structures and multicolored harmony. Beyond pentatonicism, the modality of the vocal part manifests through Dorian mode symbolism. Motive semantics, presented by the composer in the piano introduction as three leitmotifs – “falling flower petals” (descending motion gradually slowing down), “sighing” (descending chromatic movement embodying a sense of pain), and “memories” (unexpected modal contrast) – acquires significant expressive impact. The connection with the poetic text occurs through phonetic-melodic correlation – ascending or descending intonations dictate the direction of the melodic movement. Based on the analysis of the song, it can be stated that its pitch system synthesizes elements of Western avant-garde and Chinese pentatonic tradition. Sang Tong eliminates classical tonal hierarchy, abandoning tonal harmony. He uses pantonality, where instead of a single center, multiple temporary pillars are created through local pentatonic structures. This lends a “Chinese aura” to the sound within an abstract framework. The harmonic language synthesizes chromaticism and pentatonicism. Instead of tertian chords, the composer uses quartal-quintal vertical constructions. Such dissonant sound “spots” serve as a kind of semantic code, depicting the chaos of nature and the hero’s despair. Thus, the pitch organization system of “Withered Spring Blossoms” is primarily determined by the poetics of contrast. It combines pantonality (the absence of a single tonal center) with local modal stability in the form of four pentatonic modal zones. The techniques of European avant-garde and expanded tonality serve to express the semantics of Chinese lyric poetry. The expressionist dissonance in the song is linked to a philosophical-meditative modality. This is precisely what makes Sang Tong’s song not a “Chinese version” of new music, but an original artistic work where pitch becomes the language of existential tragedy. Conclusion. Composer Sang Tong holds a unique place in Chinese musical art thanks to his numerous works created from the 1940s to the early 21st century. Through his creative, theoretical, and pedagogical activities, he made an outstanding contribution to the development of national harmony theory. Although the composer created relatively few vocal works, each one is unique, vividly reflecting his style and revealing the essence of his harmonic techniques. The reliance on national modal-harmony enhances its ethnic color. Consequently, two main principles of pitch organization are applied in Sang Tong’s chamber vocal works: pentatonic, which determines the reciprocity of vertical and horizontal dimensions; and mixed, where pentatonic melody is enriched by elements of tertian chords, other modal systems, tonal harmony, and chromatic functionality.