Who is the composer of The Dance of the Golden Snake?

The songwriter of The Dance of the Golden Snake is Nie Er.

Nie Er, formerly known as Nie Shouxin, was born in February 1912 in Kunming, Yunnan Province. Nie Er composed more than 30 theme songs and interludes for operas, plays and movies, such as New Woman, Pioneer of the Road, Song of the Great Road, Song of Advancement, Graduation Song, and Songstress Under the Iron Hoof. The music he wrote, such as "The Wild Dance of the Golden Snake", "The Spring Dawn of Cuihu Lake" and "Lovers in the Mountain Country", is very popular.

"Dance of the Golden Snake" is a folk orchestral piece organized and adapted by Nie Er in 1934 based on the folk piece "Inverted Eight Boards".

Musical Characteristics

The musical characteristics of "Dance of the Golden Snake" are twofold: first, it is different from the traditional soft and elegant silk and bamboo music, with the addition of gongs, drums, and cymbals, which adds a warm atmosphere of the folk festivals; and second, it is a piece with a strong sense of dynamism, which gives a feeling of a single breath of air, which is impossible to stop.

This musical technique comes from China's traditional music, which begins with the counterpoint of percussion instruments and other instruments, and as the counterpoint bars get longer and shorter, the music becomes more and more emotional. This technique is used throughout the piece and develops to the end of the piece when the orchestra plays in unison, at an increasingly fast tempo, reaching the peak of a lively and boisterous atmosphere.

This technique from traditional music is not only utilized in Dance of the Golden Snake, but also in Nie Er's other songs, such as the Graduation Song, which fully reflects Nie Er's unique musical talent.