QU YI VOCAL TRADITION: PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS AND GENRE PECULIARITIES IN CHINA

On the basis of examination of historical sources on professional stage singing, the article presents the analysis of qu yi traditions with due account of culture, vocal variations and techniques, styles and schools of performance etc. The key objects of analysis are certain vocal schools and vocal practices of famous stage singers. With due regard to changes in social thinking, tendencies in cultural development as well as anatomic explanation of sound production, the author proposes renovated theory and classification of schools and techniques of vocal performance, giving grounds to an innovative approach in the theory of qu yi.