The Conception of the Contemporary Chinese Opera Music Score Database

Abstract

Music score are the carrier of musical works, and Chinese Opera is an important part of traditional Chinese folk music. The enduring transmission method of music is an oral tradition, and only a few operatic scores (such as Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera, etc.) have been published before 1949. It was only in the 1950s where the surge of music specialists in the workforce has initiated an effort to record operatic works, resulting in the publication of Chinese Opera and vocal music. After the 1980s, various operatic texts were found stacked on top of each other. In particular, during the Seventh Five-Year Plan key scientific research project of the National Philosophy and Social Sciences, the “Chinese Opera Music Integration” series was founded to compile a comprehensive collection of vocal scores from various operas. By creating a database, a large number of rich resources on opera music can be accessed when all of its information and classification are compiled into the database. By providing the function of searching and browsing some of the vocal scores and images online, its significance is not only limited to providing complete access to operatic works but also promotes the development of academic research in opera music.