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Understanding an Epic Song of the Hmong in Laos From The Perspective of Oral Composition
Zhang Xun [张寻]
ASIAN-EUROPEAN MUSIC RESEARCH JOURNAL 7 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.30819/aemr.7-6 pp: 77-90 2021-06-21
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Stichworte/keywords: Hmong, Epic song, Oral composition, Music, Laos
Cite: APA BibTeX
[张寻], Z.X. (2021). Understanding an Epic Song of the Hmong in Laos From The Perspective of Oral Composition. ASIAN-EUROPEAN MUSIC RESEARCH JOURNAL, 7 , 77-90. doi:10.30819/aemr.7-6
@article{[张寻]_2021,
doi = {10.30819/aemr.7-6},
url = {https://doi.org/10.30819/aemr.7-6},
year = 2021,
publisher = {Logos Verlag Berlin},
volume = {7},
pages = {77-90},
author = {Zhang Xun [张寻]},
title = {Understanding an Epic Song of the Hmong in Laos From The Perspective of Oral Composition},
journal = {ASIAN-EUROPEAN MUSIC RESEARCH JOURNAL}
}
Abstract
This article looks at an epic song performed by Hmong in Laos from a perspective of oral composition
by analyzing a wedding song Leuangtengdong. Through detailed musical and textual transcription,
several compositional devices are identified and discussed. My study explores oral composition of the
song focusing on its material and structure. I argue that music plays an important role in its oral
composition: material-wise, music functions both as formulaic music-text association/unity and by
careful music-text interactions; structure-wise, the song is organized in a multi-layered framework
realized by the hierarchical music-text formulas, with music-text ‘theme’ in critical structural positions.