Memory An Old Friend (忆故人, Yi Gu Ren, 古琴)

Memory An Old Friend (忆故人, Yi Gu Ren, 古琴) is fairly a recent composition during the early part of the last century. However, the theme  it conveys is an ancient one, that of the sadness of missing a friend who was sent away in exile.  The piece from the “Shen Qi  Mi  Pu” 【神竒秘谱】 (1425) collection called “ Shan Zhong  Si You Ren”《山中思友人》 (‘Thinking of a friend in the mountains’) .

For the Xiao( 箫)  version of  Memory An Old Friend (忆故人) you  can enjoy it here: Memory An Old Friend (忆故人, Yi Gu Ren, Xiao, 箫)

Length: 8’42”

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古琴曲《忆故人》又名《山中思故人》、《空山忆故人》，曲谱最早载于清咸丰年间流传于蜀地的《荻灰馆琴谱》。据原谱解题，此曲「传为蔡中郎（东汉蔡邕）作」。曲调委婉深情，表现了空山月下徘徊沉吟，思念故人之情。

全曲共六段。开头和结尾都用清澈透明的泛音和跌宕灵巧的散板。中间主体部分是对同一旋律的变奏，变化微妙而又相互有机统一。

第一段以清亮飘逸的泛音开头，造成空山幽谷一片宁静的气氛，泛音停止后，思绪随着起伏跌宕的音调而展开。

第二段，音乐开始上板。缓慢而规整的节奏，缠绵悱恻的曲调，绵延不断的琴音，使人感到情真意切。

第三、四段，旋律移向高音区，并由单音旋律转而采用空弦，低音作和音衬托。在旋律层层推进后，又连续下行，表现了思绪翻滚，心潮起落，使思念故人之情达到高潮。二、三、四段都以固定终止型结束，有辗转反侧，「剪不断，理还乱」之感。

第五段再现第二段曲调，情绪渐趋平静。

第六段低音区跌宕的节奏和尾声半部分激动的泛音曲调，又掀起一次感情的波澜，有欲伏先扬之妙。

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