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Music to Your Ears: The Story of Debussy 德布西：谱出非凡色彩的音符

课文朗读

课文讲解 

繁體中文譯本

Oftentimes, the greatest artists – be they painters, writers, or musicians – become great because they are not constrained by the past, and they are not bound to the legacies of their forefathers. Achille-Clause Debussy, who is widely regarded as one of the most important French composers in history, was such an artist. Born in the aftermath of the French Revolution, with a father who was jailed for his part in workers’ uprisings, Debussy lived through exciting, changing times. The art and literature of the period reflected this and, thanks to Debussy, so did the music.

许多时候，伟大的艺术家──不管是画家、作家，或是音乐家──之所以伟大，是因为他们并不受过去的拘束，也不被前人留下来的影响所束缚。阿希尔．克劳德．德布西就是这样子的艺术家，并被视为历史上最重要的法国作曲家之一。出生在法国大革命余波之中，再加上父亲因参与工人起义而遭监禁，德布西可说是活过了刺激多变的时代。当时的艺术和文学都反映出那个时期的特色。多亏德布西，音乐也是如此。

Debussy was born on the outskirts of Paris on August 22, 1862. As a consequence of his father’s political actions, he was not permitted a formal education, so he went to live with relatives who schooled him and paid for his piano lessons. Discovering his intellect and musical talent, they sent him to the prestigious Conservatorie de Paris where he studies theory and composition. His progressive nature was already evident, much to the dismay of his straight-laced and traditional professors. In 1884, he won a scholarship to study at the French Academy in Rome, but Debussy did not find his time there interesting. He thought the art scene old-fashioned and its ideas stuffy. Instead of conforming, he left these ideas behind forever.

德布西出生于1862年8月22日的巴黎郊区。由于他父亲的政治行动，德布西不被允许接受正规教育。因此德布西跟亲戚住，他们教育德布西，并付费让他上钢琴课。在发现德布西的聪明才智与音乐天份后，他们送德布西至享有声誉的巴黎高等音乐学院学习乐理及作曲。那时他求新求变的天性已经很明显，让学院里保守、传统的教授们不太高兴。1884年，德布西赢得奖学金，前往位于罗马的法国学院分校就读。但他发现待在罗马一点都不有趣。他觉得罗马的艺术过时、思想古板。与其因循陈规，德布西选择将那些旧思维抛诸脑后。

It was around this time that Debussy became involved with the Parisian symbolist movement. Returning to the French capital, spending time with these symbolist poets and painters and dedicatedly studying their work, Debussy found kindred spirits and finally felt free to become the composer he was destined to be.

就在那时，德布西参与了巴黎的象征主义运动。他回到法国首都后，与象征主义的诗人与画家往来频繁，并精心研读他们的作品。在这过程中，德布西发现了与自己志趣相投的人，并终于感到可以自由地追寻他注定能成为的音乐家。

Vocabulary

单词发音

constrain [kənˋstren] v. 限制；束缚

bind [baɪnd] v. 捆，绑

outskirts [ˋaʊt͵skɝts] n.（复数）郊外；郊区

as a consequence of 由于…，因为…

permit [pɚˋmɪt] v. 允许，许可

intellect [ˋɪnt!͵ɛkt] n. 智力；理解力；思维能力

prestigious [prɛsˋtɪdʒɪəs] adj. 有名望的

scholarship [ˋskɑlɚ͵ʃɪp] n. 奖学金

stuffy [ˋstʌfɪ] adj.【口】古板的，保守的

conform [kənˋfɔrm] v. 遵照，遵守

dedicatedly [ˋdɛdə͵ketɪdlɪ] adv. 专心致志地

destined [ˋdɛstɪnd] adj. 命中注定的

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单词发音

music to one’s ears 佳音; 好消息 something pleasing to hear about

forefather [ˋfor͵fɑðɚ] n. 前辈; 先人

uprising [ˋʌp͵raɪzɪŋ] n. 起义；暴动

school [skul] v. 教育，训练

composition [͵kɑmpəˋzɪʃən] n. 作曲

progressive [prəˋgrɛsɪv] adj. 上进的，向上的

dismay [dɪsˋme] n. 惊慌，沮丧

straight-laced (strait-laced) [ˋstretˋlest] adj. 古板拘谨的；固守道德观念的 excessively strict in behavior, morality, or opinions

symbolist [ˋsɪmb!ɪst] n. 象征主义者

kindred [ˋkɪndrɪd] adj. 同类的；同性质的

课文朗读

课文讲解

Unreservedly inspired by the likes of symbolist poets Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Paul Verlaine, Debussy rejected old Romanticism and brought music into the modernist era of the 20th century. As a young man, he had written that he could not follow the traditions of classical music: “I am too enamored of my own freedom, too fond of my own ideas.” Now, he would break the boundaries that constrained him for so long.

在充分受到如波特莱尔、马拉美及魏尔仑等象征主义诗人的启发下，德布西摒弃老旧的浪漫主义，引领音乐迈向20世纪的现代主义时期。年轻时他就曾写过他并不愿跟随古典乐的旧有传统：「我太倾心于自己的自由，太着迷于自己的想法。」而现在他将打破那些局限他许久的枷锁。

Stylistically, Debussy achieved his freedom of expression by breaking away from the rules of Western harmony and form.Time and again, he would not compose pieces around a single key. He sought richness in parallel chords and bent the rules of harmony to create new, unusual sounds. He embraced long, expressive passages and shunned the traditional, restrictive phrases and refrains. The resulting works are like stories, or even paintings. They are journeys of imagination: poetry without words.

在风格上，德布西藉由突破了西方和声与曲式的规矩来达到表达的自由。德布西不会总是只绕着同一个音调作曲。他藉由平行和弦来营造出音乐的丰富性，并从旧有的和声规则中发展出与众不同的新和声。他欣然使用富有感情张力的长段乐句，而摒弃受到规范的传统乐句与重复乐段。因此，德布西的作品都如故事，甚至画作一般。它们成了没有文字的诗；一趟想象力的旅程。

Debussy was also excited by music from Russia and Asia, particularly Indonesia gamelan music which he discovered at the Paris Exhibition of 1889. His interest in non-Western music helped free him, somewhat, from the confines of the traditions he desperately wanted to escape.

德布西亦受到俄罗斯及亚洲音乐的鼓舞，特别是他在1889年巴黎世博会发现到的印度尼西亚甘美朗音乐。他对非西方的音乐很感兴趣，这帮助他从那些他亟欲逃脱的传统拘束中解放出来。

Debussy died of cancer in 1918 during World War I. It was months later, after the French had declared victory, that his beloved country could give him the public funeral he deserved. A revolutionary at heart, he revolutionized music, and his own legacy would influence music thereafter.

德布西因癌症病逝于1918年，时值第一次世界大战。几个月后，法国宣告胜利，此时德布西深爱的祖国才有机会能为他举行他应得的公葬。身为一位全然的革命者，他在音乐界带动了一场革命，而他留给后人的珍贵宝藏也将永远影响往后的音乐。

−by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

inspire [ɪnˋspaɪr] v. 鼓舞，激励

fond [fɑnd] adj. 喜欢的；爱好的[F][（+of）]

break away 摆脱, 脱离 to separate or detach oneself, as from a group[（+from）]

time and again 反复地, 再三地, 屡次, 一再 again and again; repeatedly

parallel [ˋpærə͵lɛl] adj. 平行的

embrace [ɪmˋbres] v. 欣然接受; 拥抱

restrictive [rɪˋstrɪktɪv] adj. 限制的；约束的

confines [kənˋfaɪnz] n. 限度；范围

desperately [ˋdɛspərɪtlɪ] adv.【口】极度地

declare [dɪˋklɛr] v. 宣布，宣告；声明

revolutionary [͵rɛvəˋluʃən͵ɛrɪ] adj. 革命的; 大变革的；完全创新的

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单词发音

unreservedly [͵ʌnrɪˋzɝvɪdlɪ] adv. 无条件地；充分地

enamor [ɪnˋæmɚ] v. 使倾心；使迷恋 [H][（+of/with）]

stylistically [staɪˋlɪstɪklɪ] adv. 在文体上; 在风格上

bend the rules of something  变通....  to allow something to be done that is not usually allowed

passage [ˋpæsɪdʒ] n.（文章，乐曲等的）一段，一节 Music a section or division of a piece, movement, etc

shun [ʃʌn] v. 躲开，避开，回避

phrase [frez] n.【音】乐句 Music a short passage or segment, often consisting of four measures or forming part of a larger unit

refrain [rɪˋfren] n.（诗歌或乐曲的）迭句；副歌 (Music, other) a regularly recurring melody, such as the chorus of a song

poetry [ˋpoɪtrɪ] n.（总称）诗

gamelan [ˋgæmə͵læn] n. 木琴（印度尼西亚的一种竹制打击乐器）

funeral [ˋfjunərəl] n. 丧葬；葬礼

at heart 本质上, 实际上; 心里, 内心是  in one's deepest feelings; fundamentally

Reading Questions

1. Which of the following best describes Debussy as a student?

A. Gifted and forward thinking.

B. Conventional and hard working.

C. Intelligent and narrow-minded.

D. Innovative and bad-tempered.

2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an influence on Debussy?

A. The symbolist artists and writers that he met.

B. The Asian musical styles that he heard.

C. The role he played in the French Revolution.

D. The changing times that he lived through.

3. Which of the following is true of Debussy’s compositions?

A. They always stayed in the same key.

B. They usually featured short, sharp sections.

C. They only used Western musical conventions of the time.

D. They contained harmonies that had not been heard before.

4. Who would most likely be reading this article?

A. A tourist taking a vacation in France.

B. A student writing an essay on symbolist artists.

C. A journalist researching European music history.

D. A revolutionary planning to overthrow a government.

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Answer