Abstract

“If a people is rich with poems, how much more so should it be with songs!” This study takes this statement as a point of departure in its attempt to explore new approaches to Taiwanese art songs interpretation. The discussion focuses on three Taiwanese art songs composed by Mr. Hsiao Tyzen : “The naughty kid” , “The most beautiful flower” , “The forever hometown”.

This thesis is divided into four parts. Part one gives background information about Mr. Hsiao’s own music training in addition to a discussion of his music style. Next is an examination of the lyrics of the three songs, including a profile of the lyricists and a detailed analysis of the lyrics, the pronunciation of the Taiwanese words, and their phonetic notation. Part three is an in-depth analysis of the melody, the harmonics and the piano accompaniment of the songs. This may shed more light on the meaning expressed by the songs. The last part of the thesis tries to relate the traditional Chinese recitative techniques with the principles of Bel Canto. The purpose is to find a new approach to the interpretation as well as the singing style of Taiwanese art songs.