A Comparative Study Of Zhao Yuanren And Schubert’s Art Songs

The art song is a kind of musical carrier combined with poetries and music in the process of artistic expression. It enjoys high literary and artistic significance, and is what a vocal music learner must learn. The works of Schubert, known as the king of art songs, is demanding for performers on both the use and control of the voice as well as understanding of the work; so does Zhao Yuanren. In addition to learning from Westerns on composition skills, Zhao Yuanren, as China’s Schubert,added in its songs Chinese musical elements that are of national features.During the history of Chinese and foreign art songs, Schubert and Zhao Yuanren were indispensable. Both of them composed art songs and won popularity; they worked on folk music of their nationality, and favored songs that expressed ardent or implicit love. Zhao Yuanren, who had a systematic study of Western composition theories and techniques in America, blended Western composition techniques and Chinese folk music under the influence of the latter and was an outstanding composer in modern times. Schubert, as a representative of the Romantic Period,was called “King of art songs” and his composition lifted the art song to a new high. To compare and study the art songs of Schubert and Zhao Yuanren can give a better understating of how Chinese and Western artsongs, both of which are under the influence of poetries and songs,resemble and differ from each other in composition techniques and singing style.This paper, by studying the evolution of Chines and Western art songs based on representative art songs of these two composers, analyzes particularly their composition features and singing style. It aims to make singers understand and appreciate art songs of these two composers and to help them better express their workers and improve their singing level.