Erhu -- Queen of Chinese Folk Orchestra

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Producing one of the most beautiful and haunting sounds in Chinese music, the erhu is one of the most popular Chinese bowed-string instruments.

The two-stringed, vertical fiddle -- China's answer to the western violin -- has a history of more than 1,000 years. It became popular in southern China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) when it was called nanhu . Capable of producing music with a flexibility approaching that of the human voice, the erhu is extremely popular in China today as a medium for both traditional and contemporary music and plays an important role in both solo and orchestral performances.

Hailed as a Chinese violin, the erhu is quite different from a western fiddle. There is a vertical post with a fingerboard crosses the sides of a resonator at its base. This resonator is covered with a piece of stretched
python skin that produces a unique "whining" tone. The erhu bow is placed between its two
strings called the inner and outer strings. Traditionally the two strings are made of silk, but metallic strings are also used. An erhu player usually sits with the instrument on his or her left upper thigh in front of the left hip. The erhu is played by moving the bow horizontally over the two vertical strings.

The erhu's range spans over three octaves and the tune produced shares some qualities with the violin, although it produces a more nasal tone which is gentle but firm. The erhu resembles a human voice and can imitate many natural sounds, such as birds and horses. It is a very expressive instrument, most known for playing melancholy tunes, but also for its joyful melodies.

The erhu is featured regularly in "silk and bamboo" ensembles -- an elaborate but quite accessible form of Chinese folk music, alongside various bamboo wind instruments and plucked strings such as the pipa (lute) and yangqin (dulcimer). Such music is played at village ceremonies and informal "jam sessions" in teahouses. It is also an accompanying instrument in Chinese Opera -- an ancient form of highly stylized musical dramas, and classical music.

There are around a dozen close relatives of the erhu within China and in other parts of the East. The banhu, for example, has a wooden top rather than a snakeskin membrane, and the sihu , from Mongolia, has two pairs of strings with a remarkable double bow with two tiers of hair. The morin khur, also from Mongolia, is a rectangular fiddle with a carved horse head and strings made of thick strands of silk; it produces a deep, guttural sound.

The erhu is almost always a must in national orchestras. In smaller orchestras, there are usually two to 6 erhu; in larger ones there are l0-12. In fact, the erhu plays the same role as the violin in Western orchestras.

民族管弦乐队的皇后——二胡

胡琴——顾名思义，是西域胡人所传过来的，并不是中国的土产。在一千多年前的唐代，中国北方有一个奚部落，有一种乐器近似于胡琴，称为奚琴，后来因为“奚琴本胡乐也，”就改称为‘胡琴’了。

宋代（公元960——公元1279）有“马尾胡琴”，到了元代（公元1297——公元1368）更为之完善，而从清代（公元1644——公元1911）到现在，胡琴已发展到了十几种：二胡、中胡、四胡、高胡、京胡、坠胡、板胡等等，这些乐器在民族乐队中起着举足轻重的作用。

二胡是民族乐队中的拉弦乐器，二胡能演奏深沉、细腻、柔美、抒情的乐曲，又可以演奏欢快跳跃的乐曲，表现力极为丰富。既能独奏，也是合奏中不可替代的乐器，也可以说二胡是民族乐队里的皇后。

二胡自古到今有着大量的乐曲，尤其是三十年代以后，刘天华先生创作和演奏了更多的著名乐曲，流传至今，如：《良宵》、《光明行》、《空山鸟语》等等。还有一位前辈--华彦钧先生所创作的《二泉映月》更是人间绝唱，世界著名指挥小泽征尔先生，听了这首二胡曲激动不已，他说：“这是人世间最美好的音乐了，应该跪着听。”

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