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勃拉姆斯

(2021-01-31 22:57:56)
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勃拉姆斯

音乐家

百科全书

翻译

分类: 翻译

BRAHMS, Johannes (1833—1897, one of the most important composers of the 19th century. Unlike his great contemporaries Wagner and Liszt, he was not interested in music for the stage or in programmatic works that EXPRESSED pictorial ideas or poetical stories with the help of musical sounds. He showed a decided preference for chamber music and symphonic compositions ruled by purely musical concepts.

约翰内斯·勃拉姆斯1833年至1897年),19世纪最重要的作曲家之一。不像他的同代人瓦格纳和李斯特,他对那些借助音乐声音来表达形象化观念或理想化故事的舞台或标题音乐作品没有兴趣。他表现出用纯粹的音乐概念统治室内乐和交响曲作品的明显偏爱。

Brahms was an ardent admirer of Schubert and Schumann and a true son of the romantic era. Love of folk song, tenderness of EXPRESSION, and a tendency toward vague twilight moods characterize his music. He was one of the great masters of the German Lied and of the romantic short piano vignette. However, a striving for clear structures and established forms also asserted itself in his music. Brahms was unique in that he belonged heart and soul to the romantic movement and at the same time had a natural affinity with the classic style of earlier centuries.

勃拉姆斯是舒伯特和舒曼的一位热情爱慕者,是一位真正的浪漫主义时代之子。热爱民歌,表达柔和,以及一种趋向模糊的虚幻情绪描绘出他的音乐特征。他是重要的德国抒情歌曲和浪漫的短钢琴小品大师之一。然而,追求清晰的结构和既定的形式也体现在了他的音乐中。勃拉姆斯是独一无二的,因为他完全地属于浪漫主义运动,与此同时,他与前几个世纪的古典风格有着一种天然的亲和力。

LIFE

Brahms was born on May 7, 1833, in Hamburg, Germany. His father, Johann Jakob Brahms, a horn and double bass player, supported his family on what he made from poorly paid appearances in taverns and night clubs. His mother Johanna Henrike Christiane Nissen Brahms, 17 years older than her husband, had worked as a seamstress and servant before her marriage. Despite the rigors of a slum existence, Johannes enjoyed a happy family life. His talent manifested itself early, and the eminent piano teacher Eduard Marxsen agreed to train him without pay.

生平

183357日,勃拉姆斯生于德国汉堡。其父,约翰·雅各布·勃拉姆斯,一位小号和低音提琴演奏者,依靠在酒馆和夜总会赚取的微薄收入支撑着家庭。其母,约翰娜·享里克·克里斯蒂娜安·勃拉姆斯比丈夫大17岁,结婚前曾做过裁缝和仆人。尽管贫民窟的生活很艰苦,但约翰内斯享受了一种幸福的家庭生活。早期,他的才华就已显露出来,而且杰出的钢琴教师戈赛尔·马克逊同意免费训练他。

Johannes developed into a brilliant pianist, and when he was 20, he accepted an invitation to make a concert tour with a Hungarian violinist, Eduard Remenyi. The tour proved to be the decisive event of Brahms’ life. Remenyi introduced him to the eminent violinist Joseph Joachim, who in turn introduced him to Liszt and Schumann. The latter was deeply impressed by Brahms’ youthful compositions, and he persuaded a Leipzig publisher to print them, thereby introducting the young genius to the musical world. Schumann and his wife Clara (of whom Brahms remained intensely fond the rest of his life) forecast a splendid career for the youth, and Brahms labored to make the prophesy come true. His creative work flourished, while at the same time he gained practical experience as musical director at the little court of Detmold and as founder and director of an excellent women’s chorus in Hamburg, for which he wrote several choral works.

约翰内斯成长成了一名杰出的钢琴家,当时他20岁,他接受了同匈牙利小提琴家爱德华·雷孟伊进行巡回演出的邀请。巡回演出是勃拉姆斯生活的决定性事件。雷孟伊把他介绍给了杰出的小提琴家约瑟夫·约阿希姆,他又将他介绍给李斯特和舒曼。勃拉姆斯年轻有活力的作品给后者留下了深刻印象,他劝说一位莱比锡的出版商出版它们,从而将年轻的天才介绍给音乐界。舒曼和他的妻子克拉拉(勃拉姆斯在其余生都保持着对她强烈的喜爱)预测了这个年轻人辉煌的职业生涯,而勃拉姆斯的努力使该预言变成了现实。他创造性的作品不断出现,而同时,他获得了代特莫尔德小宫廷的音乐主管,以及汉堡杰出女子合唱团创办者和主管的实践经验,为此他谱写了一些合唱作品。

Brahms ardently desired to stay in Hamburg as conductor of its Singakademie and philharmonic orchestra, but when an opening occurred in 1862, he was passed over. The decision was a terrible blow to him, and he never became reconciled to his native town’s neglect. However, the rejection was in some ways fortunate, for it confirmed his inclination to make Vienna his home. From 1863 and Austrian capital’s unique musical atmosphere enriched Brahms’ own artistic idiom, and he was highly successful there, he served as conductor of it Singakademie and later as music director of the renowned Society of Friends of Music.

勃拉姆斯热切地期望留在汉堡成为其歌唱学院和爱乐乐团的指挥,但当1862年出现空缺时,他却错过了。这一决定对他打击很大,而且他对故乡对他的忽视一直都没有和解。然而,这次的拒绝在某种程度上说又是幸运,因为这确定了他在维也纳安家的愿望。从1863年开始,奥地利首都独特的音乐氛围丰富了勃拉姆斯自己的艺术风格,他在那里获得了极大的成功,他担任了歌唱社团的指挥,而后来成为了著名音乐之友学会的主管。

In 1875, Brahms resigned his direction of the society’s musical activities and devoted himself completely to creative work. He even avoided close personal ties and remained a bachelor throughout his life. The sacrifices he imposed on himself were as a composer. From 1875 on, his fame increased steadily, and when he died on April 3, 1897, in Vienna, the whole musical world mourned him as one of the world’s greatest artists.

1875年,勃拉姆斯辞去了那个学会指导音乐活动的工作,而使自己完全投入到创造性的工作中。他甚至回避了密切的个人关系,一生都保持着单身。他强加给自身的牺牲就是作一名作曲家。从1875起,他的名望不断增加,189743日,当他在维也纳去世时,整个音乐界都在哀悼他,视他为世界最伟大的艺术家之一。

WORKS

Solo Piano compositions.  Brahms composed in many forms. His own instrument was the piano, on which he often performed in public, and the number of his piano compositions is sizable. In his early years Brahms wrote THREE imposing sonatas for the piano, among which he last and finest in F minor (1853) is most often heard. He turned then to the composition of variations. Those on a theme by Handel (1861) are the most significant, while the two sets on a theme by Paganini (1862—1863) offer the virtuoso a superb opportunity to display technical mastery.

作品

钢琴独奏作品  勃拉姆斯用多种形式进行了创作。他自己的器乐就是他在公共场合通常演奏的钢琴,而且他的钢琴作品数量相当可观。在他的早期,勃拉姆斯谱写了三首给人印象深刻的钢琴奏鸣曲,其中最常听到的是他最后而且最好的F小调(1853年)。然后他转向了变奏曲作品的创作。那些有关享德尔(1861年)主题的作品是最重要的,而有关帕格尼尼(1862年至1863年)主题的两组作品为演奏大家表现技巧提供了一个极好的机会。

A different Brahms appears in the carefree and joyous waltzes for piano duet (1865). In them Brahms entered into the artistic spirit of Vienna, his adopted home. His affection for folk art is apparent in his delightful Hungarian dances (1852—1869), also for piano duet. These pieces, largely arranged from tunes Brahms collected, are among his most successful works. In the later year of his life he produced mainly such shorter pieces for the piano as the quietly reflective intermezzos (1878—1893), agitated capriccios (1878—1893), dramatic and temperamental rhapsodies (1879, 1893), a demonic ballade (1893), and a poetical romance (1893).

在钢琴二重奏(1865年)那轻松愉快的华尔兹舞曲中出现了一位与众不同的勃拉姆斯。在它们之中,勃拉姆斯进入了维也纳的艺术精神,他的第二故乡之中。他对民间艺术的喜爱在他那令人愉快的匈牙利舞曲中是显而易见的。在他的晚年,他主要创作了一些钢琴小品,如安静沉思的间奏曲(1878年至1893年),激情狂想曲(1878年至1893年),戏剧性与随意的狂想曲(1879年至1893年),一首有魔力的叙事曲(1893年),以及一首诗意的浪漫曲。

Chamber Music.  Brahms displayed even greater variety in his chamber work. He used 12 different combinations of musical instruments in his ensembles, and he employed not only the conventional piano and strings but also a brass and a woodwind instrument. Among the THREE sonatas for violin and piano, the sweet and tender Duo in A Major (1886) is a predominantly lyrical work, while the fiery and brilliant D-Minor Sonata (1886—1888) displays epic grandeur. The two sonatas for clarinet (or viola) and piano (1894) show a certain reserve and a sweet melancholy characteristic of the works written near the end of the composer’s life. They are in striking contrast to the magnificent trios for piano, violin, and cello, the first of which, in B Major (1853—1854), is an early work that the composer thoroughly revised about 1890. In its improved form the B-Major trio combines youthful freshness and a rich variety of moods with the supreme technical mastery of the mature composer.

室内乐  勃拉姆斯在他的室内乐作品中甚至展示出了更大的多样性。在他的合奏中,他使用过12种不同的器乐组合,他不仅使用传统的钢琴和弦乐器,而且也使用铜管乐器和木管乐器。在为小提琴和钢琴谱写的三首奏鸣曲中,悦耳温柔的A大调二重奏(1886年)是一首主要的抒情作品,而热烈灿烂的D小调奏鸣曲(1886年至1888年)展示出了史诗般的壮丽。为单簧管(或中提琴)和钢琴(1894年)谱写的两首奏鸣曲显示出一定的保留,以及作曲家在接近生命终点时所写作品的一种忧郁的甜美特征。它们与钢琴、小提琴和大提琴华丽的三重奏形成了鲜明的对比,第一首,B大调(1853年至1854年)是作曲家大约在1890年彻底修改的早期作品。在它改进的形式中,B大调三重奏将青春的清新和情绪的丰富多样性与成熟作曲家至高的技艺结合了起来。

In his E-Flat Major Trio for Piano, Violin, and French Horn (1865), Brahms introduced the romantic singer among the brass instruments. The composition reveals an intense feeling for nature, and it is significant that Brahms forsook the newly invented valve horn with its superior technical equipment for the old-fashioned horn with it warmer and nobler tone.

在他的降E大调钢琴、小提琴和圆号(1865年)三重奏中,勃拉姆斯在铜管乐器中引入了浪漫歌手。作品流露出对自然的强烈感情,而且重要的是,勃拉姆斯放弃了新发明的带有先进技术设备的活门小号,转而使用了拥有更加温暖和高贵音色的老式小号。

Brahms wrote six quartet—THREE for piano, violin, viola, and cello, and THREE for two violins, viola, and cello. Of the former group, the early quartet in G Minor (1861) is perhaps the most dramatic, revealing as it does Brahms’ predilection for Hungarian tunes. Its finale, a breathless rondo alla zingarese, exudes the spirit of Gypsy music. A decided striving toward thematic unification may be observed in the first of the string quartets, the somber Quartet in C Minor (1873). The main ideas of all four movements appear to have grown out of a single germ cell. The more loosely constructed String Quartet in B-Flat Major (1875) is gay and bucolic and presents tunes that have a decidedly folk-song character.

勃拉姆斯谱写了六首四重奏---三首钢琴、小提琴、中提琴和大提琴四重奏,以及三首两把小提琴、中提琴和大提琴四重奏。在前一组合中,早期的G小调四重奏(1861年)也许是最具戏剧性的,它展现出勃拉姆斯对匈牙利曲调的偏爱。它的最后乐章,一种吉普赛风格回旋曲,散发着吉普赛音乐的精神。在第一首弦乐四重奏,忧郁的C大调(1873年)中可以观察到他追求主题一致的坚定努力。所有四个乐章的主要思想都似乎出自一个单一的胚芽细胞。结构更为松散的《降B大调弦乐四重奏》(1875年)是快乐而牧歌式的,呈现出具有明显民歌特性的曲调。

Brahms wrote four quintets and two sextets. The Pianoforte quintet in F Minor (1864) displays the joyous vigor pervading the works of his youth. In contrast, the late Quintet for Clarinet and Four Strings (1891) is a work of introspection and leave-taking. In this composition (written, as were the clarinet sonatas and a clarinet trio, for the eminent clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld), the aging composer conjures memories of the past, reflecting on it joys and sorrows. It is noteworthy that, like Bach and Beethoven, Brahms at this stage felt strongly drawn to the technique of theme and variations, which in this quintet he explored with particular mastery.

勃拉姆斯谱写了四首五重奏和两首六重奏。F小调钢琴五重奏(1864年)展示出弥漫在他年轻时作品中的欢乐活力。相比之下,晚期的《单簧管和四弦乐的五重奏》(1891年)是一部自省和告别的作品。在这首作品中(这首单簧管奏鸣曲和一首单簧管三重奏,是为杰出的单簧管演奏家理查德·慕菲尔德所写),年迈的作曲家想起了过往的记忆,回想起悲欢离合。值得注意的是,像巴赫与贝多芬一样,勃拉姆斯在这个阶段强烈地被主题与变奏曲的技巧所吸引,在这首五重奏中,他用独有的技巧进行着探索。

His principal remaining chamber works are the two superbly constructed string quintets of his maturity and the ingratiating pair of string sextets of his youth.

他其它的主要室内乐作品是他成熟后构造精美的弦乐五重奏和他年轻时那两首迷人的弦乐六重奏。

Orchestral compositions. In his treatment of the orchestra Brahms showed little of the interest in exploring instrumental effects that fascinated Berlioz and Liszt. Nevertheless, he handled the orchestra masterfully. The appropriateness of his instrumentation was unerring—most clearly so in the Variations of a Theme by Haydn (1873), in which each of the eight variations accords prominence to different instruments. Brahms wrote the work in the summer of 1873 in two versions, one for two pianos and the other for full orchestra. In both versions it is evident that the composer drew rich inspiration from the simple tune’s character of an old pilgrim’s chant. With steadily increasing significance the work builds to a towering climatic finale, in which an entirely new melody combines gloriously with the chant. The result is one of the strictest and at the same time one of the most opulent orchestral compositions Brahms ever produced.

管弦乐作品  勃拉姆斯在掌控管弦乐队的演奏中,他对柏辽兹和李斯特着迷于探索乐器的效果并无多少兴趣。虽然如此,他依然熟练地指挥着管弦乐队。他使用的乐器配置恰到好处----最为明显的就像在《海顿主题奏鸣曲》(1873年)中的那样,在8个变奏曲中的每一个都恰到好处地突出了各种乐器。1873年夏,勃拉姆斯谱写了两个版本的作品,一个是双钢琴的版本,另一个是整个管弦乐队的版本。在两个版本中,很明显作曲家从一个古老的朝圣者圣歌简单的曲调特征中获得了丰富的灵感。随着意义的稳步发展,作品构建了一个卓越的最后乐章,其中,一个全新的旋律与圣歌完美结合在一起。结果就是,勃拉姆斯创作出了一首最为严密,同时又是最为丰富的管弦乐作品。

The Academic Festival Overture, written in 1880 in appreciation of the award of an honorary doctor’s degree by the University of Breslau, is a light and humorous composition in a single movement. It is based on four student songs, the most beloved of which Gaudeamus Igitur, is projected into the finale in pealing jubilation. Brahms’ only other overture, the tragic Overture, was completed in the same year.

为感谢布雷斯劳大学授予他荣誉博士学位,创作于1880年的《学院节庆序曲》是一首轻松、幽默的单一乐章的作品。作品是根据四首学生歌曲改编而成,其中最受人们喜爱的《尽情狂欢》被安排在最后乐章的欢声笑语之中。同年,勃拉姆斯完成了另一首序曲作品《悲剧序曲》。

Brahms wrote four concertos, two of them for his own instrument. The first, the Piano Concerto in D Minor (1854—1858), has a curious history. Brahms set out to write a symphony, and in order to try it out himself he drafted it as a composition for two pianos. When he started to orchestrate the work, however, he felt reluctant to dispense with the tone of the keyboard instrument and therefore decided to shape the work as a concerto for piano and orchestra. The result is not a showpiece to display a pianist’s virtuosity but rather a work in which solo instrument and orchestra are treated as equally important. The same is true of the Piano Concerto in B-Flat Major (completed 1881) it requires of the soloist the highest technical proficiency, yet bravura displays and fireworks are missing in the score. Brahms even emphasized its symphonic character by adding a fourth movement to the customary THREE. The result is a well-balanced work of serene beauty that offers the greatest challenge to a pianist’s true musicianship.

勃拉姆斯谱写过四首协奏曲,其中两首是为他喜爱的乐器而作。《D小调第一钢琴协奏曲》(1854年至1858年)有着奇特的历史。勃拉姆斯计划创作一首交响曲,他为了亲自试试,他为两架钢琴谱写了作品。然而,当他开始把作品谱写成管弦乐曲时,他不想舍去键盘乐器的音调,因此决定将作品谱成一首钢琴与管弦乐队的协奏曲。结果并不是展现钢琴家精湛技巧的展示品,而是独奏乐器与管弦乐队同样重要的一首作品。《降B大调钢琴协奏曲》(1881年完成)也是如此,它要求独奏者具有最高的技术能力,然而,华丽的表演和烟花并未出现在演出中。甚至勃拉姆斯把通常的三乐章增加到四乐章来强调它交响性的特性。结果是,一首平静美好,匀称的作品对钢琴家真正的音乐才能提出了最大的挑战。

The Violin Concerto in D Major (1878) was conceived for Joachim. This work, too, is technically most demanding, but—as often happens with Brahms’ compositions--the difficulties are more keenly felt by the performer than by the audience. An experienced performer, Joachim attempted to advise his friend how best to write for the solo violin. Brahms listened politely and then took his own counsel, hardly ever complying with the virtuoso’s suggestions. His attitude does not seem to have harmed the finished product, for the concerto, with its joyously energetic first movement, delicate adagio, and fiery finale suggesting Hungarian melodies, rightly counts among the most successful works written for the violin. The fourth concerto, the so-called Double Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra (1887), is more intricate than the others, and its resemblances to Brahms’ chamber works have often been noted.

D大调小提琴协奏曲》(1878年)是为约阿希姆构思的。这首作品在技术上也是要求最高的,但是,就像勃拉姆斯的作品通常遇到情况一样---演奏者比观众会更强烈地感受到那些难点。一位经验丰富的演奏者,约阿希姆企图劝说他的朋友如何写出最好的小提琴独奏曲。勃拉姆斯客气地听着,然后提出自己的意见,并未接受大师的建议。他的态度似乎并未影响到已完成的作品,对协奏曲而言,它的第一乐章充满了活力,精致的慢板以及热烈的最后乐章使人联想起匈牙利旋律,堪称最成功的小提琴作品。《第四协奏曲》,即所谓的《小提琴,大提琴和管弦乐队的二重协奏曲》(1887年)比其它的协奏曲更为复杂,它与勃拉姆斯的室内乐作品的相似之处常常受到人们的关注。

Brahms’ D-Major Second Symphony (1877), unlike the first, is a light and carefree piece, almost pastoral in character. It was comparatively quickly written and must have offered welcome relaxation after the violent emotions aroused in the first. The Third Symphony (1883), in F major is introduced by a musical “motto” that dominates not only the initial movement but the whole symphony, and thereby enhances its coherence. The work seems to stand halfway between the subjective exuberance of the First Symphony and the graceful charm of the second. The middle movements breathe idyllic calm and delicate yearning, although the finale begins with an element of Sturm und Drang.

勃拉姆斯的《D大调第二交响曲》(1877年),不同于第一交响曲,是一首轻松、畅快的作品,几乎是田园式的风格。这首交响曲写的相对较快,而且在第一交响曲唤起了人们激昂的情绪之后,它一定提供了令人愉快的放松。《F大调第三交响曲》中引入了一个音乐的“座右铭”不仅支配了最初的乐章,而且支配了整个交响曲,从而增强了它的连贯性。该作品似乎处于第一交响曲的主题丰富性与第二主题的优雅魅力之间。尽管最后的乐章以《狂飙突进运动》的元素开始,但中间乐章流露出田园般的宁静与雅致的向往。

The fourth symphony, in E minor (1885), shows again that observance of the strictest musical laws served as a stimulus to Brahms’ inspiration. The passionless tranquility of the first movement, the peculiar Clair-obscur mood of the second, and the boorish humor in the third all appear to be a mere preparation for the magnificent fourth, the symphony’s crowning achievement. It is a symphonic transfiguration of a baroque chaconne, consisting of an 8-measure theme followed by 30 variations. Within this narrowly confining form, Brahms has managed to build music of such IMPRESSIVE force and grandeur, so rich in contrast, that the technical mastery of the feat is almost obscured by the clarity and intensity of feeling.

在《E小凋第四交响曲》(1885年)中,再次展现出遵循严格的音乐法则对勃拉姆斯灵感的激励。第一乐章无激情的宁静,第二乐章独特的《明暗对比》的气氛,以及在第三乐章中粗鄙的幽默似乎都只是为了宏伟的第四乐章,交响曲的最高成就做准备。这是一首巴洛克恰空舞的交响曲变奏,包含了一个8小节的主题以及30处变奏。在这一狭窄局限的形式中,勃拉姆斯设法构建了如此令人印象深刻的力量与宏伟,在如此丰富的对比中,对技艺的技术把握几乎被清晰而强烈的感情所遮盖。

Songs.  Brahms shares with Schubert, Schumann, and Hugo Wolf the greatest mastery of the GermanLied. He wrote about 300 songs for voice and piano, 20 duets, and 60 quartets. His songs are beautifully shaped and solidly constructed. In them he favored the strophic form, but he avoided monotony by introducing departures from the strictly repetitive pattern.

歌曲  勃拉姆斯与舒伯特、舒曼和胡戈·沃尔夫一样对德国歌曲具有最好的把握。他谱写了大约300首声乐和钢琴曲,20首二重唱和60首四重唱。他的歌曲形式优美,结构一致。其中,他尤其喜欢反复曲式的形式,不过他避免了由于引入严格重复模式的偏差所出现的单调。

The composer’s deep love of folk song manifested itself in all his Lieder. As a young man, he arranged 14 folk songs for children (1854—1856) and a separate set of 32 for adults (1858). Almost THREE decades later he brought out an arrangement of 49 German folk songs (published 1894). His own Lieder reveal likewise the influence of the folk song. To mention only a single example, the sweet and simple tune of his Wiegenlied (Lullaby; 1868) has achieved popularity with countless people to whom the composer’s name means nothing at all. Brahms was drawn not only to the folk song of his native land but also to that of Austria and eastern Europe. In his lighthearted Liebeslieder (Love Songs; 1868—1869), written for piano duet and vocal quartet, he paid homage to the Viennese waltz and Austrian folk music in general. The Hungarian idiom is emphasized in the duet Die Schwetern (The Sisters; 1874); Slav influence is evident in the deeply felt Von ewiger Liebe (Eternal Love; 1864).

作曲家对民歌深切的热爱体现在他所有的歌曲之中。作一个年轻人,他为孩子们编排了14首儿歌(1854年至1856年),为成年人编写了一组独立的32首歌曲(1858年)。大约在30年后,他整理出了一套49首的德国民歌(1894年出版)。他自己创作的歌曲同样反映出民歌的影响。只提一个单独的例子,他的《勃拉姆斯摇篮曲》(催眠曲1868年)甜美而简单的曲调受到无数人的喜爱,至于作曲家的名字是谁已经不重要了。勃拉姆斯不仅被其祖国的民歌所吸引,而且也受到了奥地利及东欧民歌的吸引。在他为钢琴二重奏和声乐四重唱谱写的快乐《Liebeslieder》(爱情歌曲;1868年至1869年)中,一般而言,他是在向维也纳华尔兹和奥地利民歌致敬。在《Die Schwetern》二重唱(姐妹1874年)中强调了匈牙利的风格;斯拉夫的影响在《Von ewiger Liebe》(永恒的爱;1864年)强烈的感受中非常明显。

Brahms repeatedly attempted to free the single song from its isolation and to form smaller or larger groups of lieder. THREE of his songs are tied together by the common title Heimweh (Nostalgia; 1873—1874), and larger units may be observed in the Liebeslieder and the 15 romances from Ludwig Tieck’sMagelone (1861—1868), musical scenes of a cantata-like character. Near the end of his life he wrote a monumental set, entitled Vier erste Gesange (Four Serious songs; 1896), whose texts he chose from the Bible. They deal with the sadness of death and unconquerable power of love. The voice part is written in a peculiar declamatory style, while the piano part conjures a powerful orchestra. The work seems to have been inspired by church cantatas of the baroque era, but in its largely pessimistic outlook and the richness of its harmonic language it is a typical product of the 19th century.

勃拉姆斯多次试图让单一的歌唱从其隔离中解脱出来,并形成或小或大的民歌团体。他的三首歌曲由共同的名称《Heimweh》(乡愁1873年)联系在一起,在《爱情歌曲》和出自路德维希·蒂克的《玛格隆》(1861年至1868年)15段浪漫故事中可以看到较大的组合,一种类似大合唱特性的音乐场景。在他生命的最后时段,他谱写了一组不朽作品,取名《Vier erste Gesange》(四首严肃歌曲;1896年),他从《圣经》选取了它们的文本。它们涉及了死亡的悲伤和爱情不可征服的力量。声乐部分是用一种特殊的朗读风格写成,而钢琴部分使人想起了一个强大的管弦乐队。作品似乎受到了巴洛克时期教堂大合唱的启发,但从其主要的悲观态度和它和声语言的丰富性看,它是一种典型的十九世纪的产品。

Choral Works. Brahms wrote a substantial number of small choral works, either without instrumental accompaniment or with the support of piano or organ only. As in his songs, elements of folk music and of compositions from earlier centuries are fused with the romantic idiom of the composer’s own time.

合唱作品  勃拉姆斯谱写过大量的小合唱作品,要么没有器乐伴奏,要么只是钢琴或管风琴伴奏。正如他的歌曲那样,民俗音乐的元素和源自前几个世纪作品的元素与作曲家自己时代的浪漫风格融合在了一起。

Of greater significance than these short pieces, which Brahms at times just dashed off to provide music for vocal groups, are the more elaborate works for chorus and orchestra. Twin works composed at approximately the same time are the Rhapsody (1869) for contralto solo, male chorus, and orchestra, and the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny; 1871) for mixed chorus and orchestra. The former describes in moving sounds the fate of the misanthrope cut off from human intercourse and ends with prayer to the Father of Love to show mercy to the sufferer. It leads from despair to a vision of bliss. The latter contrasts the tragic fate of mankind and the bliss of the immortals. The dramatic antithesis between darkness and light, so often explored by Beethoven, forms the basis of these works.

勃拉姆斯偶尔会匆忙地为声乐团体提供音乐,比这些短小作品更重要的作品是为歌唱和管弦乐队创作的更复杂作品。大约同时谱写的两首作品是,为女低音独唱,男生合唱以及管弦乐队谱写的《狂想曲》(1869年),以及为混合合唱和管弦乐队谱写的《Schicksalslied》(命运之歌;1871年)。前者以动人的音效描述了断绝与人类交往的厌世者的命运,并向仁爱之父祈祷,祈求对受害者怜悯而结束。它指引着人们从绝望走向极乐的愿景。后者对比了人类悲剧的命运和永生之极乐。由贝多芬常常探索的黑暗与光明之间的戏剧性对立,构成了这些作品的基础。

Brahms’ greatest choral composition, Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem; 1861—1868) for soprano and baritone solos, chorus, and orchestra is conceived on the largest scale of all his works. As its title suggests, Brahms did not use the traditional Latin of the Catholic liturgy. He chose his text himself from Luther’s German translation of the Bible. The Requiem is not a prayer for the peace of the dead but an attempt to prepare mankind for life hereafter. Each of its seven movements ends on a note of moving confidence. The arrangement of the material of the Requiem is characteristically symmetrical: it closes with music from the beginning; the content of the sixth movement seems to restate the meaning of the second, though on a higher plane (they both turn from the idea of death and corruption to that of glory and strength); the third and fifth movements, which both start with vocal solos, EXPRESS deepest sadness and the consolation provided by motherly love; and the center and heart-piece of the work, the fourth movement, describes the celestial beauty of paradise. The serenity and disembodied beauty that Brahms evokes in that movement seem to make all fear of death unreal.

勃拉姆斯为女高音和男中音独唱、合唱和管弦乐队创作的最重要的合唱《德意志安魂曲》(德国安魂曲;1861年至1868年)是他所有作品中规模最大的作品。正如其标题所示,勃拉姆斯并未使用天主教礼拜仪式的传统拉丁语。他自己从卢瑟的德语译本《圣经》中选择了文本。《安魂曲》不是为死者安宁的一种祈祷,而是为人类未来生活准备的一种尝试。它的七个乐章的每个乐章都以动人的自信来结束。《安魂曲》的素材安排是典型的对称:它以开始的音乐来做结束;第六乐章的内容似乎与第二乐章的意义有所重复,不过是在一个更高的层面上(它们两者都从死亡和腐败的想法转向了光荣与力量的观念);第三和第四乐章,都以声乐独唱开始,表达了母爱最深切的悲伤和安慰;而第四乐章,该作品的中心与核心部分描述了天堂的上天之美。勃拉姆斯在这一乐章中唤起的宁静与无形之美似乎使死亡的所有恐惧都变得那么虚幻。

 

 

                                                KARL GEIRINGER

                                                 卡尔·盖林格

                                       Author of “Brahms: His Life and Work”

 

                                                  2021130日译

 

(译者注:该词条位列《大美百科全书》1985年版,第4卷,第414页至417页)


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