Cantonese operatic song, a performing art sung in Cantonese, is a traditional art form derived from the Cantonese opera Cappella. Three well-known cultures, “Cantonese operatic song”, “Lingnan school”, and “Cantonese music”, are widely praised and called the “three most outstanding features in the Canton area”.

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粵曲是一種以粵語演唱的傳統表演藝術，源於戲曲唱腔。自清代經歷了整個世紀的發展，與嶺南畫派和廣府音樂並稱為「廣府三秀」。

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The characteristics of Cantonese operatic songs

粵曲的特色

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Cantonese operatic song is a performing art originating from Guangdong, in which the unique local features of Lingnan regions are created by the instruments, melody, language and tune with rich Lingnan characteristics. It is mentioned to be a traditional Cantonese art form derived from the Cantonese opera Cappella. It develops a music system composed of four major parts after going through different eras, including the bayin troupes period, the blind female artists period, the period of female artists singing in the tea houses, and the period after the founding of the PRC. Cantonese operatic song absorbs the strengths of other genres of music and constantly expands the singing and accompanying instruments. In addition, it has a strong musicality and requires excellent singing skills to perform. The vocal styles are divided into Dahou, Pinghou and Zihou.

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粵曲是源於廣東的一種民間曲藝，其中以富有廣東特色的配樂樂器、音樂旋律、地方語言和潤腔等塑造出別樹一格的嶺南地方色彩。這種表演藝術是源於粵劇清唱的粵語派系傳統曲藝形式，是為廣東地區最大的曲種，當中結合了嶺南一帶的大調、小調、粵謳、龍舟歌、木魚歌、南音，在去蕪存菁的過程中，經歷了「清唱八音班」、賣唱「師娘」、茶座「女伶」及建國後的四個發展階段，形成由曲牌體、梆子腔、二黃腔和歌謠體四大部分組成的音樂體系。粵曲更善於吸收其它曲種的長處，不斷拓展唱腔和伴奏樂器。而且粵曲的音樂性強，非常講求唱功，以合尺、士工和乙反這三種調式為主，並劃分為大喉、平喉及子喉三種唱腔。

 

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The relationship between Cantonese operatic songs/the performing songs and Lingnan culture

粵曲和是次表演的曲目與嶺南文化的關係

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Cantonese operatic songs, which was inscribed onto the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2011, use sound and music as medium to provide listeners with a perspective on learning about Chinese history and culture. The lyrics in some Cantonese operatic songs also bring out the history and culture of Lingnan from the local specialities, such as lichee. For instance, an authentic Cantonese operatic song presented lychees' appearance and characteristics with ingenious lyrics and explained its historical background and wide varieties in the Lingnan area. The song tells that the residents living in the Lingnan area receive their guests by providing lychee and reflects that lycee works as a fruit that enhances the financial development of the Lingnan area. Therefore, the audience can not only experience the Lingnan style visually and auditorily from Cantonese operatic songs but also understand more about the history and culture of the Lingnan region through the lyrics.

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在二零一一年已被納入國家級非物質文化遺產的粵曲藝術是以聲音作為媒介，給予聽眾一個了解中國歷史與文化的角度。例如，流行的粵曲小調《荔枝頌》就有一句唱詞是這樣寫的：「……身外是張花紅被，輕紗薄錦玉團兒，入口甘美，齒頰留香世上稀……珠江兩岸歌聲起，萬艇千帆載荔枝……這是嶺南佳果靚荔枝，果中之王人皆合意。」一首地道民間粵曲以巧妙的曲詞將荔枝的外表和特性趣味盎然地唱出，並將其於嶺南地區的歷史背景和豐富的品種娓娓道來。在「珠江兩岸歌聲起，萬艇千帆載荔枝」的盛景中，不僅反映了當地人會以荔枝招待賓客，更使作為荔枝鄉土的嶺南地區經濟趨向繁榮。故此，在充滿渾厚的本土色彩和美學元素的粵曲文化中，除了能讓聽眾從視覺和聽覺上感受嶺南風情，更在歌詞上生動地展現了嶺南地區的歷史與文化。

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The performing songs and Lingnan culture are also closely related to each other. Take "Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers" as an example; the circulation of the novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" was only among the author's relatives and friends in the beginning, and everyone found it appealing. Later, the book became famous because of improved typography and people taking the imperial examination or travelling in Beijing and bringing the novel to the Lingnan regions. Everyone was attracted by it and used different methods comprising unique Lingnan elements to present the scenes shown in the book, including writing, painting, opera, and narrative singing. During the Daoguang era, the bayin troupe sang by picking some Cantonese opera libretti, so Cantonese operatic songs became popular. During the Tongzhi era, some blind female artists sang on the street to make a living in Guangzhou. Since "Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers" was a song that expresses the character's sadness and should be sung in the first-person perspective, it suited well with the background of those blind female artists and performance, so it gradually became a classic song. Those female artists with advanced singing skills were invited to perform in the houses of wealthy families, so there was a high possibility that the Lingnan garden owners and their guests had already listened to this masterpiece. As many citizens did not receive education in the past, they might not understand the content of the novel. Therefore, the narrative singers chose to sing the contents out to make the stories more understandable. The song "Daiyu Buries Fallen Flowers" was then popularized in the Lingnan region. 

 

是次表演的粵曲亦跟嶺南文化有莫大的關係。以《黛玉葬花》為例，一開始《紅樓夢》這本小說只是在作者的親友間傳閱，看過的人都愛不釋手。後來印刷術的進步令它廣泛流傳，估計赴京考試或遊歷的人亦有將書本帶回嶺南地區，《紅樓夢》因此在當地盛極一時，大家都想一睹名著的風采。嶺南民眾透過具有地域色彩的方式去重現書中的情景，包括文本創作、畫作、戲劇、說唱等。道光年間有八音班選取粵劇劇本演唱，粵曲自此而流行在民間，同治年間有被稱為師娘的女藝人在廣州賣唱，《黛玉葬花》因為抒發內心的悲傷又是以第一人稱演唱，很貼合她們的表演，因此成為了經典曲目，唱功好的師娘會被邀請到富有人家府上表演，因此嶺南庭園園主和宴客很大機會都有聽過這首曲目。由於古人教育程度大多不高，很多人都未必明白書本內容，說唱家便以有嶺南風味的表演形式唱出故事的內容，令平民百姓更易明白，《黛玉葬花》的粵曲也因此在嶺南地區繼續流傳。

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The relationship between Cantonese operatic songs and Lingnan garden

粵曲與嶺南庭園的關係

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Cantonese operatic songs were accustomed to using teahouses or gardens as the performance stages. Therefore, Lingnan garden became the carrier of Lingnan music culture, bringing these people-oriented activities into people’s daily life. Moreover, the garden also functioned as a place for holding private banquets and Chinese-style cultural activities, and it was a gathering place for literati to carry out discussions and exchange ideas in the past. Previously, the Lingnan garden owners mainly were wealthy businessmen. They took the Lingnan garden as a residential area and a place for holding banquets, listening to music, and watching operas, which was a means to show off their social status. They also built pavilions to enjoy Cantonese operatic songs and have frequent exchanges with opera troupes. For example, the owner of Ke Yuan Gardens especially liked inviting the literati to enjoy Cantonese operatic songs together. Through the artistic conception brought out by the music and the genuine emotions presented by the performers, the audience can experience the leisure interest of Chinese classical life as if they are in a traditional Lingnan garden.

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粵曲作為民間表演藝術，慣以茶樓或庭園住宅作表演舞台，而嶺南庭園便成為了其中一個嶺南音樂文化的載體，將這些聚焦人的活動帶進了傳統生活模式的運作。庭園兼具私人宴會及中式文化活動的功能，是為昔日文人墨客之聚居點。以往嶺南庭園的主人多是商人，他們的私家庭園除了可用作住宿外，園主有時也會用它們作應酬宴請及聽曲賞戲之用，是他們展現自身顯赫的社會地位的手段，部分園主甚至興建樓閣專門欣賞粵曲表演，更與戲班來往頻繁。如嶺南四大名園之一的可園，其園主張敬修尤其喜愛廣邀文人至園中的綠綺樓聽曲作樂。音樂和歌聲所帶出來的意境及表演嘉賓情感豐富的演繹令聽眾猶如置身於傳統嶺南庭園，體會中式古典生活的閒暇意趣，飽覽水鄉澤國之山水勝景，並在粵曲的風韻中尋覓嶺南庭園所蘊藏的人文情懷。

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