Dunhuang Music Reconstruction
In the early 20th century, Tang-dynasty manuscripts containing 25 pipa tablatures were found in Mogao Cave 17 in Dunhuang, China. The pipa tablatures, usually referred to as the Dunhuang Scores (Dunhuang Yuepu《敦煌乐谱》), were taken in 1908 to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris by the French sinologist Paul Pelliot (1878-1945). The pipa tablatures were written on the back of 10th-century Buddhist texts and are widely believed to reflect an old music tradition traced back to the 8th century.
The titles of the 25 pieces contained in manuscript P.3808 are as follows:
1. pǐn nòng 品弄 “a tuning piece”;
2. [pǐn] nòng [品]弄 “a tuning piece”;
3. Qīngbēilè 傾盃樂 “Happily Emptying Glasses”;
4. yòu màn qūzǐ 又慢曲子 “another slow tune”;
5. yòu qūzǐ 又曲子 “another tune”;
6. jí qūzǐ 急曲子 “a quick tune”;
7. yòu qūzǐ 又曲子 “another tune”;
8. yòu màn qūzǐ 又慢曲子 “another slow tune”;
9. jí qūzǐ 急曲子 “a quick tune”;
10. yòu màn qūzǐ 又慢曲子 “another slow tune”;
11. [title missing]
12. Qīngbēilè 傾盃樂 “Happily Emptying Glasses”;
13. yòu màn qūzǐ Xījiāngyuè 又慢曲子西江月 “another slow tune, The Moon on the West River”;
14. yòu màn qūzǐ 又慢曲子 “another slow tune”;
15. màn qūzǐ Xīnshìzǐ 慢曲子心事子 “a slow tune, A Matter of the Heart”;
16. yòu màn qūzǐ Yīzhōu 又慢曲子伊州 “another slow tune, Yizhou”;
17. yòu jí qūzǐ 又急曲子 “another quick tune”;
18. Shuǐgǔzǐ 水鼓子 “Water Drums”;
19. jí Húxiāngwèn 急胡相問 “a quick tune, Asking Each Other”;
20. Chángshānǚ yǐn 長沙女引 “Introduction to The Girl from the Long Sands”;
21. [title missing];
22. Sǎjīnshā 撒金砂 “Scattering Gold in the Sand”;
23. Yíngfù 營富 “Yingfu”;
24. Yīzhōu 伊州 “Yizhou”;
25. Shuǐgǔzǐ 水鼓子 “Water Drums
Building upon previous scholarships by musicologists, including Kenzo Hayashi, Yinshi Chen,
Dong Ye, Zongyi Rao, and Zhenguan Xi, the CAMLab team produced a series of reconstructions
of the pipa scores.
Samples:
| 倾杯乐琵琶（陈应时135) | |
| 倾杯乐琵琶（陈应时142) | |
| 倾杯乐琵琶（陈应时142) | |
| 圣明乐（叶栋233）琵琶 | |
| 慢曲子西江月（陈应时163）琵琶 | |
| 水慢曲子伊州琵琶（陈应时165) | |
| 水鼓子琵琶 (陈应时) | |
| 浣溪沙琵琶舞（叶栋475) | |
| 酒胡子（叶栋301）无鼓 | |
| 酒胡子（叶栋302）有鼓 | |
| 酒胡子（叶栋302）有鼓 | |
| 酒胡子（叶栋457）合奏 | |
| 饮酒乐（叶栋252）琵琶 |