VOA标准英语2012--Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' Celebrates 100

 

Stravinsky's 'Rite¹ of Spring' Celebrates 100

The opening notes of "The Rite of Spring" are iconic and beloved today. But for many audience members who came to the Ballet Russes in 1913, they were unwelcome.

A bassoon had likely never been performed in such a high register. Stravinsky intended to evoke² peasant voices in pagan Russia.

But as the bassoon segued into the Spring Divinations sequence, the audience began to riot.

“It was a high society audience that showed up expecting more of what they might have experienced in the past with Tchaikovsky and with Chopin ballet and even with earlier Stravinsky," says L. Michael Griffel, chair of the music history department at the Juilliard School. "And instead they had dance and music that was unlike anything they had experienced, and to their ears it very likely seemed ugly. You did not have too much of a tune³ anywhere you would put words to or could hum. And this audience, dressed in fancy evening gowns and tails and tuxedos⁴ and whatnot, they were just devastated⁵.”

According to Griffel, the musical elements in "The Rite of Spring" conform to a storyline, itself shocking, about pagan tribes and their rituals of earth worship.

“You have “The Games of the Rival Clans,” which is wonderful music rhythmically," he says. “You have also the mystical moments that move slowly, something like 'The Mystical Circles of the Young Girls.' You have 'The Adoration⁶ of the Earth,' where the, elder, the leader of the group, kisses the earth.”

This pungent⁷ and challenging world was magnified by the set and colorful costumes, which one critic said resembled tents because they obscured the dancers’ bodies.

Emil Kang, artistic⁸ director of Carolina Performing Arts and its year-long celebration of "The Rite of Spring," says the original choreography, by Vatslav Njinsky, was “anti-ballet.”

“Here was a choreographer⁹ who made a ballet of ‘pigeon toes’ as they called it and bent¹⁰ arms," Kang says. "Again, the antithesis¹¹ of what was known to be esthetically pleasing at the time. All those things were contributors to the displeasure of the audience that night.” 

Griffel says the themes were dark, even frightening. In the climax¹², a young girl dances herself to death to appease¹³ the fertility gods.

“This is the sacrifice by the group of the individual. That is the "Rite of Spring," he says. "That is one of the rites¹⁴ of spring. Life itself, and art imitating life, is not all pretty all the time and not controlled all the time. It isn’t all balanced; it isn’t all symmetrical; it isn’t all euphonious¹⁵."

"The Rite of Spring" helped introduce an approach to art where every person finds his own meaning in a work, according to Kang.

In that spirit, Carolina Arts commissioned 11 new pieces based on "The Rite of Spring." 

“The commissions are varied¹⁶ across different genres¹⁷ from artists around the world," Kang says, "to all of whom we just said ‘Look at this piece in your own way. Take the chance to reinvent it.’”

Puppeteer¹⁸ Basil Twist will create a ballet without dancers, making curtains and other inanimate objects move to a fully-orchestrated version of "The Rite of Spring." Other works in progress are two musical scores written for the avant-garde string quartet Brooklyn Rider as well as a three-part cycle called "The Seasons," played by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble¹⁹. It's inspired by folk tunes²⁰ Stravinsky used in "The Rite of Spring." Theater director Anne Bogart and choreographer Bill T. Jones are collaborating²¹ on a piece. And there are surprises yet to be unveiled.

All are inspired by one of the most famous - some would say infamous²² - works in the history of music. 

1 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

2 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 tuxedos   

n.餐服，无尾晚礼服( tuxedo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our services include design and tailoring for wedding gowns, tuxedos and party dressesfrom and American brands. 们的服务范围包括高级婚纱设计定制，高级礼服、派对装设计定制，及欧美一线品牌成衣的驳样定制。 来自互联网
• Most tuxedos are black, but some people like to wear white ones called 'morning suits'. 大多数男士无尾晚礼服是黑色的，不过有些人喜欢穿那种被称为“晨服”的白色装。 来自互联网

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 adoration   

n.爱慕，崇拜

参考例句：

• He gazed at her with pure adoration.他一往情深地注视着她。
• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。

7 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

9 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

10 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

11 antithesis   

n.对立；相对

参考例句：

• The style of his speech was in complete antithesis to mine.他和我的讲话方式完全相反。
• His creation was an antithesis to academic dogmatism of the time.他的创作与当时学院派的教条相对立。

12 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

13 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

14 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

15 euphonious   

adj.好听的，悦耳的，和谐的

参考例句：

• He was enchanted with the euphonious music.他陶醉在那悦耳的音乐中。
• The euphonious sound of Carrie's cello playing always puts me at ease.嘉莉悦耳的大提琴演奏总让我心旷神怡。

16 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

17 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

18 puppeteer   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡

参考例句：

• Mr. Sullivan is a professional puppeteer.沙利文先生是一位专业的木偶戏表演者。
• One puppeteer controls the doll's head,face,and right hand.一个表演者控制木偶的头部，面部和右手。

19 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

20 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

22 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。