Text | Chen Sai Triad Life Weekly
"Without music, life is a mistake." Nietzsche said this.
I asked Mr. Stefan Maltsev, "How can you make a child fall in love with music?" ”
His answer surprised me, "The most important thing is to help them find silence together." ”
Maltsev is a German composer who has been working for many years to popularize classical music, writing a children's opera and composing music for two picture books, including The Animal Symphony Orchestra of farting elephants blowing bass trumpets and Emma the Little Snail.
That afternoon, not long after Mr. Maltsev arrived in Beijing, we made an appointment to interview him in the café of the Swissotel Hotel in the center of Hong Kong. There was no one in the café, just a young mother playing with a little baby. The hotel lobby does not know which corner of the faint piano music, if there is none.
"We're living too noisy now, including music. We hear music everywhere, at home, on the street, in the mall, but it's not real music. Real music requires you to go deep inside yourself to hear it. That's your music. The music out there is not your music. ”
How can you go deep into your own heart?
"Through silence."
He taught me how to identify the notes that represent moments of silence in Listen, Little Snail Emma.
"Listen, Little Snail Emma" is a musical picture book he co-created with Ms. Hetty Raynen, telling the story of a small snail roaming in the forest, seeing a variety of animals and insects, each with its own magical skills, only its own useless. However, with the encouragement of her friends, she finally discovered her unique talent.
"This little snail has a vulnerability that everyone can identify with, especially children. We have all experienced such moments, seeing the success of others, seeing the dreams of others, it seems that only we are not worthy of the beauty of this world. Mr. Maltsev said.
He casually clicked on a piece of music. A faint but tight violin sounded, with a hint of slaughter. Gradually, the dangerous atmosphere became stronger and stronger, the violin became louder and louder, more and more exciting, and the sound of plucking with the strings became denser and faster, as if a heart was about to jump out of the chest cavity. But out of nowhere, the music gradually turned to softness, slowed down a little, and after a few twists and turns, it finally disappeared.
Then, the whole world seemed to come to a sudden standstill, and there was a silence. Strangely enough, the dangerous atmosphere did not disappear with the disappearance of the sound, but stayed in the air for a long time, making you wonder, what is going on?
Originally, this piece of music is about the little snail Emma's extremely nervous mood when she encounters a predator hedgehog in addition to her depression.
"A small, soft note can create a very dramatic effect." Maltsev said.
Silence in music, like white space in painting, is an indispensable part.
But in Mr. Maltsev's view, the meaning of silence is not merely pause, stillness, or the absence of sound, but an extremely rich possibility of expressing emotions. There are some emotions and emotions that can be expressed with music when words cannot be expressed, and silence when even music cannot be expressed.
We turn on another piece of music, the melody of the low cello, slow, sad, like crying, after a small transition of soothing piano music, the style of the music gradually turns bright and lively, as if the sun suddenly penetrates the clouds, casting a glow on everything. The sounds of various instruments echo each other and become more powerful, free and unrestrained.
In the story, it is the next morning, and Emma is thinking about her past experiences while hurting herself. Then Maximian the Mole appeared and offered to hear from her about yesterday's experience. So, everyone began to listen to her story together.
If you listen closely, you will find that there are several subtle, imperceptible pauses in several emotional twists in the music. At first, Emma was skeptical, are you really going to listen to my story? However, in the process of telling stories, she became more and more confident, more and more fluent, and the whole person became more and more energetic. Until the story was told, there was a long silence again, and the surrounding area suddenly became very quiet.
"At this moment, silence is very important. Because the silence told her that everyone didn't find her bored. On the contrary, they were full of interest in her. It was at this moment that she realized that, yes, I was needed in this world—a moment that each of us was pursuing. From that moment on, she felt free and powerful. ”
In fact, as a person who knows nothing about music, in the process of interviewing and writing this article, I am deeply frustrated by the part of music that Chinese words cannot describe.
American female philosopher Susan Lange said, "Of all the creations and expressions of human beings, music is the most special kind." ”
Stills from The Piano Forest
"Music and language are different, although it is often likened to language. Language is the main form of words, expressing fixed meanings and associations, but music allows us to infuse our own meaning in its form. ”
"The uniqueness of music is that it is symbolic, highly expressive, and at the same time highly sensual. Its structure is so flexible that it can express experiences that words cannot express, including those extremely subtle and complex feelings, emotions, movements, and even life itself. ”
Maltsev claims that his picture book music composition was heavily influenced by Peter and the Wolf. Peter and the Wolf is an orchestral fairy tale by the Soviet composer Prokofiev. A story about the young Peter overcoming the hungry wolf.
The composer uses instruments to vividly portray the characters, movements and inner activities of the characters/animals. Flute, oboe, clarinet, tuba, string quartet, timpani drum and drum play a highly individual melody and sound representing birds, ducks, cats, grandfathers, peters and hunters. "The combination of music and story has reached such a point where it is so intertwined and inseparable that no one can surpass it so far."
"Animal Symphony Orchestra of Fart Elephants Blowing Bass Trumpets" tells the story of animals in the zoo who choose different instruments according to their physical characteristics and preferences to comfort the injured park chief, and form a symphony orchestra. A witty and cute story that allows children to understand the characteristics and timbres of various instruments, and easily present abstract instruments and different timbres with interesting descriptions and representations of animals.
So, let's listen to the music and hear how the composer himself describes it in words.
Good day
Listening to this music is a happy child, roaming in a beautiful world, enjoying himself. "Hello, little flower", "Hello, sun".
This piece is Emma's main theme. In the string quartet, the violin is generally the main melody, but the main theme here is mainly played by the viola. Because the viola music is warm and soft, it is more in line with Emma's personality. "There's a joke in the symphony world that the viola is the slowest of all instruments.
In the following story, whenever Emma appears, this melody will appear, but some are hidden deeply, some are shallow, and they are played in various forms, and the emotions conveyed are also different. You can look at "Sad Emma" (insert Sad Emma) and feel how different the emotions conveyed by the two pieces are.
Why does Emma have to be in every piece of music?
"Because this is her story, the whole world is seen through her eyes, felt through her emotions."
Grasshopper Jeep
At first, you really thought you heard the call of the grasshopper. The two violins play vibrating together in a high position, simulating the friction and vibration of the grasshopper's hind legs and wings. Two piano notes plus a note of a violin plucking string simulate the light gesture of a grasshopper jeep leaping forward step by step. Listen carefully and you can hear Emma's main melody as the grasshopper jumps.
This is a Gavot dance. This dance music is usually the speed of a small allegro, composed of short tones to form a dancing rhythm, and the personality is lively and lively. It is most appropriate to simulate the jump of a grasshopper.
In addition, Gavot originated in French folk, became popular in court and aristocratic society, and gradually declined by the late 18th century. It appears here in a story told to children, and it is also a small bridge in the history of music, so that children are curious, what is this? Then you can tell him about ancient music from three or four hundred years ago.
Dragonflies dance
Can you feel the vibration of the dragonfly's wings? Humming in one place for a while, moving quickly to another, the music captures the speed and lightness of the dragonfly's movements.
It is a small step dance, which is a classical Baroque style, also popular in the French court, is a three-beat dance, named after its moderate speed and small dance stride.
In "Listen, Little Snail Emma", you can also hear a variety of interesting musical tunes, such as the march of the ants, the Tarantera dance of the spider, the tango song of the frog family, and so on. The style of these dance pieces is not only just right for the instruments, but also has an inextricable and creative connection with the characters' personalities, movements, and emotional psychology in the story.
"In our noisy world, there is no place for Gavot or small steps." Maltsev said.
So, only in silence can you appreciate them. Silence is not a pause, not an emptiness, not the absence of sound, but the consciousness and ability to listen inward in a noisy world. As the fox said to the little prince, "What is really essential is invisible to the eye." ”
Real music is also invisible to the ear, and only inner silence and loneliness can reach that wonderful space, where the world is clear, time is low, and the horizon stretches quietly into the distance.
This article is reprinted from Sanlian Life Weekly
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Editor: yoyo Editor-in-Charge: yq
2019.1.11
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