By Mao Mengdan and Min Lingkang
This post is part of a series on 100 modern conservatory-trained Chinese composers from 1912 onwards who wrote symphonic, ensemble, and solo instrumental music using Western instruments, as well as choral and solo vocal music, adopting Western tonality or avant-garde techniques. They are regarded as key historical figures in and drivers of modern Chinese music history.
Ma Ke (1918–July 27, 1976) was born into a Catholic family in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. His name was inspired by Saint Mark from the Gospel. He composed over 200 music works, including widely popular songs like “Nan Ni Wan” (1943), “We Are the Democratic Youth,” “Workers Have Strength,” and “Lv Liang Mountain Grand Chorus”; yangge (Chinese) opera “The Literate Couple”; operas “Zhou Zishan” (co-composed with Zhang Lu and Liu Chi) and “The White-Haired Girl” (co-written with Qu Wei, Zhang Lu, and Xiang Yu); and the orchestral “Shaanbei Suite.”
Ma Ke’s musical journey began in 1935 at a middle school in his hometown, where he became involved in the anti-Japanese invasion and salvation song movement. In 1937, after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he joined the Henan Resistance Against Enemy Support Association Drama Troupe and the National Government Military Commission’s Resistance Against Enemy Drama Troupe, where he was responsible for conducting and music composition. During this period, he composed over 200 battle songs, including “Guerrilla War Song,” “The Call of Taihang Mountain,” “Defend Luoyang,” and “Lv Liang Mountain Grand Chorus,” which had a significant impact among the masses.
In 1939, Ma Ke arrived in Yan’an and worked at the Lu Xun Academy of Arts Music Work Troupe, where he received guidance from Xian Xinghai and Lv Ji and recorded and organized a large amount of folk material. After the liberation, he became the vice-president of the China Conservatory of Music and was involved in music activities in the areas of resistance in Japan-occupied Northeast China.
During the Spring Festival of 1943, in response to Mao Zedong, a new yangge opera movement (based on folk song and dance) was launched in Yan’an. Ma Ke participated in the Lu Xun Academy’s yangge team, writing scripts, composing music, and joining in singing and accompaniment.
After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Ma Ke moved to Beijing to become the head of the opera department at the Central Academy of Drama, a researcher and director of the music research office, and later the president of the China Conservatory of Music and the head of the China Opera and Dance Drama Theatre. He also served as the editor-in-chief of the “People’s Music” magazine.
In music theory research, Ma Ke made significant contributions, including a study on Xian Xinghai, and addressed various issues such as the development of new opera, reform of traditional opera music, revolutionary music tradition, and mass music life. He wrote books and over 200 papers, including “Talks on Chinese Folk Music” and “Casual Discussions on Songs of the Times.”
Ma Ke made important contributions to song and opera composition and music theory. In 1978, some of his songs were compiled and published in “Selected Songs of Ma Ke.” His collective work “Requiem” (哀乐) is frequently used for funeral ceremonies in China.
Even when Ma Ke was bedridden due to persecution by the “Gang of Four,” he remained dedicated to creating new works. He passed away on July 27, 1976.
“Shaanbei Suite,” one of Ma Ke’s influential instrumental works, was composed in the spring of 1949 at the request of the Lu Xun Academy’s Music Work Troupe in the Northeast. To create this modern orchestral piece, Ma Ke extensively studied European symphonic music and drew from his personal experiences, choosing a theme familiar to him–Shaanbei’s scenery, customs, and historical evolution.
The work was originally planned as a large suite with three movements: the first depicting the joyful life of Shaanbei people; the second reflecting the civil war in Shaanbei and the final victory in the war; and the third portraying the people of Shaanbei in the construction of a new China. However, only the first two parts were completed during his lifetime, and only the first movement with two sections was formally performed and published.
“Shaanbei Suite” skillfully combines Shaanbei folk tunes, Chinese national instruments like the banhu fiddle, and folk percussion with modern orchestration, creating a symphonic picture rich in local characteristics. Ma Ke incorporated many Shaanbei folk tunes such as “Xintianyou,” “Ni Mama Da Ni,” “Renren Dou Shuo Zan Lia Hao,” folk songs “Liu Zhidan,” “Jian Jian Hua,” “Tui Xiao Che” (Zhang Lu’s folk song adaptation), and organically integrated these folk tunes into a contrasting yet harmonious two-movement suite structure.
The suite was premiered in 1949 by the Lu Xun Academy of Arts Music Work Troupe Orchestra in Shenyang, conducted by Wang Zhuo. After revisions by the author, it was published by the Chinese National Association of Musicians in 1952. In 1958, Xie Zhixin adapted it for Chinese orchestra, and the score was published by Music Publishing House.
The first movement of “Shaanbei Suite” is in a modified binary form. The work begins with a tranquil and slow introduction, leading to the first theme (G shang or re-mode, 2/4 meter) inspired by “Ni Mama Da Ni” (belonging to a song type called “Xintianyou” that has a set of rules for lyrics writing), which is melodious and lyrical. The second theme (G yu or la-mode, 2/4 meter), played by the oboe and clarinet, is lively and cheerful, and is derived from another “Xintianyou”-type song “Renren Dou Shuo Zan Lia Hao.”
The second movement starts with a short introduction, leading to an excited and passionate melody (B-flat major, 2/4 meter), a fusion of “Tui Xiao Che” and “Liu Zhidan.” This theme, when played by the flute and strings, evokes memories of the revolutionary pioneer of the Shaanbei base area, Liu Zhidan.
The entire second section is developed from variations of three similar songs, alternating between tender singing, lively counterpoint, intimate narration, and unrestrained joy. The climax is reached when the orchestra repeatedly plays the cheerful melody, depicting the labor and life of the Shaanbei people. The suite ends with a yangge dance.
You can watch a performance of Ma Ke’s “Shaanbei Suite” at the following link: