经济学人逝者 | 英国剑桥大学国王学院合唱团音乐总监史蒂芬·克里欧贝瑞爵士

冬日暖流

英文部分选自经济学人191221逝者版块

Obituary: Stephen Cleobury

逝者：史蒂芬·克里欧贝瑞

In the bleak midwinter

冬日暖流

Sir Stephen Cleobury, musical director for 37 years of King’s College, Cambridge, died on November 22nd, aged 70

史蒂芬·克里欧贝瑞爵士，担任英国剑桥大学国王学院合唱团音乐总监37年，于11月22日去世，享年70岁。

Snow seldom falls in England at Christmas time. Yet cards habitually show woods, cottages and robins sunk deep in it, with more star-flakes descending. For Christmas Eve—once the wrapping is done, the turkey timetable worked out, the door locked for the late-night journey to church—brings with it an enveloping quiet that seems closest to the stillness of snow.

圣诞节期间，英格兰鲜有下雪。然而，贺卡上却一如既往地呈现迷人的雪景——树林和小屋银装素裹，知更鸟在雪地觅食，大片的雪花从空中飘落。因为平安夜里——当人们包裹好礼物，安排好节日计划，锁好门深夜里前往教堂——大地笼罩在无边无际的安宁中，像极了雪日里的寂静安详。

注：
英國人對寄送聖誕卡有著非比尋常的熱忱。而世界第一張聖誕卡，便是在維多利亞時代、1843年的英國被寄出，從此英國人對寄送聖誕卡非常著迷。聖誕節是基督教國家最重要的節日，能在聖誕節佔有一席之地的事物，來源一定與基督教有密不可分的關係。知更鳥會與基督教扯上關係的其原因主要有以下兩種說法：

 說法一：當耶穌在馬槽裡誕生時，保溫用的火正在熄滅。這時，一隻棕色的知更鳥注意到了，牠為了幫剛生產的瑪麗亞與耶穌保持體溫，便用它的翅膀搧風點火。在過程中，火星接觸到牠的胸口，牠的胸前就被火烤焦了，而這個印記便流傳到的下一代。

 說法二：當耶穌被釘在十字架上時，知更鳥從他的棘冠上拔走一根刺，並試著在耶穌耳邊哼歌減緩他的痛苦；知更鳥不斷徘徊在耶穌身邊，耶穌的血染在知更鳥的身上，從此牠的胸口就被染成了紅色。

 不論是哪一種由來，這種傳說總是令節慶染上一層浪漫的色彩。而透過這樣的傳說，我們更能確信知更鳥確實在英國人心目中有不可動搖的地位。英國以前沒有官方認證的「國鳥」，在五年前，民間曾發起國鳥票選，而約35%的投票者選擇了知更鳥！第二名的倉鴞及第三名的黑鶇僅僅佔11%與12%。由此可知，英國人們也認同牠象徵了英國精神與對基督教的重視。

选自文章聖誕卡上的「英國國鳥」知更鳥，链接如下 （强烈推荐）

https://www.myscopers.com/britishrobin/

Traditionally this quiet is broken by carolling. It may be the local waits, clustered under a streetlamp with gloves and torches, but more often over the past few decades it has meant the broadcast service of Nine Lessons and Carols by the choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Seamlessly, in their red and white robes in the candlelit choir-stalls, the choristers fill listeners’ heads not only with their favourite Victorian hymns—“Once in royal David’s city”, “The first nowell”, “Hark! The herald”, all stirring tears with memories of Christmases past—but also with the rhythmic, driving freshness of true carols, the dancing medieval folk tunes rescued from the hills and lanes of Derbyshire or Sussex by Cecil Sharp and Ralph Vaughan Williams in the early 20th century, just at the point of disappearing.

按照传统习俗，欢快的颂歌声将打破这片宁静。这歌声或许来自当地报佳音的人——他们戴着手套、拿着火把、簇拥在路灯下翘首等待——然而，在过去几十年间，这歌声更多时候是广播里传来的来自剑桥大学国王学院唱诗班的“九段经课颂歌”。在烛光交相辉映的诗班席上，身披红白相间礼袍的唱诗班成员，吟唱心爱的维多利亚时代优美流畅的圣歌——《昔日在大卫王城中》、《天使报佳音》、《听啊，天使唱高声》，过往圣诞，如在昨日，惹人泪目——这歌声也带着原始颂歌强劲的节奏，使听众耳目一新。二十世纪初，塞西尔·夏普和拉尔夫·沃恩·威廉姆斯在德比郡和萨塞克斯乡间挽救了这些濒临失传的中世纪民歌舞曲。

注释：

Christmas Waits：报佳音的人。圣诞夜指12月24日晚至25日晨。教会组织一些圣诗班（或由信徒自发地组成）挨门挨户地在门口或窗下唱圣诞颂歌，叫作“报佳音”，意思是再现当年天使向伯利恒郊外的牧羊人报告耶稣降生的喜讯。“报佳音”的人称为Christmas Waits，这项活动往往要进行到天亮，人数越来越多，歌声越来越大，大街小巷满城尽是歌声。

When Stephen Cleobury took up this precious task in 1982, as the new director of music at King’s, he was terrified. (Being given to understatement, that was not a word he used lightly.) His training was more than adequate: chorister at Worcester Cathedral, organ scholar at St John’s, Cambridge, later a fearless conductor, with the Philharmonic and the Britten Sinfonia, of new works for orchestra. But the choir’s reputation awed him. The carol service in particular, always beginning with “Once in royal” from an unaccompanied treble, always sung by men and boys in keeping with the founding charter of 1441—was in a sense a piece of public property. He could not radically reform it, any more than he could alter the glorious fan vault of King’s chapel to achieve what he had to work hardest for, greater clarity of texture.

1982年史蒂芬·克里欧贝瑞接受国王学院新音乐总监这份珍贵的工作时，他的内心是惴惴不安的。（这么说其实言辞夸张了，这个词他自己也轻易不会使用）。其实他受过的训练足以胜任此职：在伍斯特大教堂做过合唱团成员，在剑桥大学圣约翰学院做过助理管风琴师，后来在爱乐乐团和布列顿管弦乐队作为勇敢无畏的指挥，指挥过管弦乐队演奏新作品。但是，国王学院唱诗班的声望仍另他望而生畏。尤其是他们的圣诞颂歌吟唱——常以男子和男童的无伴奏高音演唱《昔日在大卫王城中》，伴随着1441创始章程的诵读开场——因此，他不可能对此做大幅修改，正如他不能改变国王学院教堂雄伟的扇形拱顶一样。尽管如此，他依旧竭尽全力追求明晰的和谐。

He had various ideas, though, to nourish new growth in it. He applied them equally to the week-by-week chapel services and to other jobs he held, such as chief conductor of the BBC Singers. Those changes began with teaching. His own music lessons as a chorister had been hit and miss: theory at desks set up in the cathedral nave, huddling round an ancient stove, and harmony and counterpoint in the deputy organist’s house over ten-shillings’ worth of cake. But four years spent teaching O- and A-level music at Northampton Grammar gave him insights into dealing with boys—how to keep them up to the mark, affirm that they were good, without giving them any idea that they had arrived—that proved invaluable. Though teaching was not in his contract at King’s, he instructed the first-year students in harmony and counterpoint to lay down the basics. He saw to it, too, that each chorister had singing lessons. Meanwhile, to be equally strict or even stricter with himself, he went on learning to play the organ better.

不过，史蒂芬·克里欧贝瑞总是有各种办法，让这份工作焕发新的生命力。他不厚此薄彼，不仅教堂每周的礼拜仪式中富含新意，他所担任的其他工作中也同样创意满满。例如任职BBC歌手合唱团的首席指挥时，各种变化皆始于教学。作为合唱团成员，他自己曾经开过的音乐课却不总是尽如人意的：有被安排在大教堂中殿，书桌紧挨着一个年代久远的火炉围成一圈的理论课，还有就着十先令的蛋糕在副风琴手家里上的对位和和声课。但是在北安普顿语法学校四年教授O水准和A水准音乐课的经验，使他深谙与男孩打交道之道——通过给予他们积极的肯定，而坚决不告诉他们早已达标来使得他们达到标准——这份经验十分宝贵。尽管与国王学院签订的合同中并没有教学方面的条款，但他还是教大一学生和声和对位来夯实他们的音乐基础。他也确保每个合唱团成员都上声乐课。同时，他更加严以律己，继续深造以便更好地演奏管风琴。

注：

（1）A-Level:

英国高中课程及考试(General Certificate of Education Advanced Level)它是英国的普通中等教育证书考试高级水平课程，是英国的全民课程体系，也是英国学生的大学入学考试课程，就像我国的高考一样，A-Level课程证书被几乎所有英语授课的大学作为招收新生的入学标准。该课程体系的教学大纲、课程设置及其考试分别由英国四个主要考试局Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR), Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) 和EDEXCEL等设计并组织，正因为其专业性和权威性，A-level考试是英国本土，新加坡，香港等国家及地区同样适用的大学入学考试。

（2）O-Level:

“O” LEVEL——新加坡剑桥O水准考试(英文名Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level Examinations，简称GREO-LEVEL)是由新加坡教育部和英国剑桥大学地方考试委员会共同主办的统一考试，考试成绩受到英联邦各个国家所承认和接受。

Under him the carol service became more ecumenical and open. It had more Latin, like the weekly services, which now featured Latin masses and canticles. His Anglican suspicion of the Roman church had been soothed, when he was really quite young, by singing an especially wonderful melody in Verdi’s “Te Deum”, and later by the beauty, which he thought inexpressible, of Gregorian chant. In 1979 he became master of music at Westminster Cathedral, falling deeply in love with the rhythms of the Catholic liturgy. The singing of Latin brought purer vowels into the King’s sound, which was pleasing. So too did singing carols in other languages, including Latvian and Church Slavonic. This tested the singers, and made them more expert musicians. It also reminded them—if they needed reminding, with worldwide tours, frequent recording sessions and televised broadcasts of the carol service all over America—that their singing now spanned the globe.

在史蒂芬·克里欧贝瑞的领导下，圣诞颂歌变得更为开放和包容。更多的拉丁语歌被收纳，譬如现在每周的仪式以拉丁语弥撒和颂歌为特色。年幼时，他演唱了威尔第的《赞美颂》中旋律至美的一段，后来又听到了格利高里圣歌，其美丽的旋律在他看来已无法用语言来形容，至此，他身为圣公会教徒而对罗马教堂的怀疑烟消云散了。1979年，他担任威斯敏斯特大教堂（Westminster Cathedral）音乐大师，深深痴迷于天主教礼拜仪式的节奏。拉丁语的歌声为国王学院合唱团的颂唱增添了纯净的元素，令人心旷神怡。同样，用拉脱维亚语和斯拉夫语等语言演唱的颂歌也令人耳目一新。这也是对唱诗班歌手的考验，促使他们成为更专业的音乐家。此外，这种多语言的颂唱风格也提醒他们注意到—如果他们需要被提醒的话，以参与世界巡回演唱，大量灌制唱片，以及全美电视及广播的录音录像等活动--他们的歌声已经传遍世界各地。

Like his immediate predecessors, he wrote new descants to freshen up the well-known hymns. His most daring innovation, though, was to commission a new carol every year. A lot of new church music was not of very high quality, and he wished to show that fine composers were still willing to write for liturgical settings. Lennox Berkeley, Arvo Pärt and John Tavener all wrote one, and he regretted not asking John Adams, since no one said no. These new pieces were often taxing: a high B for solo treble in Thomas Adès’s “The Fayrfax Carol”, hectic stops and starts in Judith Weir’s “Illuminare, Jerusalem”, stamping in Harrison Birtwistle’s “The Gleam”. Quite hostile letters came into the director of music’s office. One suggested that he should be locked up.

和前几任国王学院的音乐总监一样，他为著名的赞美诗谱上新曲，添加新的元素。不过，他最大胆的创新是每年创作一首新颂歌。许多新的圣乐不具有好音质，他希望以此证明优秀作曲家仍愿意为宗教仪式谱曲。伯克莱( Lennox Berkeley)、作曲家阿沃·帕特(Arvo Pärt)和约翰·塔文纳(John Tavener )都曾有过创作。他后悔没有邀请约翰·亚当斯(John Adams)谱曲，毕竟只要他开口，就没人会拒绝。这些新作品演奏起来劳神费力，如阿德斯(Thomas Adès)创作的《费尔法克斯圣诞节颂歌》(The Fayrfax Carol)中有一个独奏高音B调。韦尔(Judith Weir)的《炫耀吧，耶路撒冷》(Illuminare, Jerusalem)嘈嘈切切、起止跌宕。哈里森·伯特威斯尔(Harrison Birtwistle)的《微光》(The Gleam)奏乐中有踢踏声。演奏办公室主任频频收到反对信。甚至有人建议将其监禁。

Countering those who objected was not too hard, though. The new carols were actually modern versions of the old: the voices of people of the time dancing, celebrating or reflecting, sometimes stridently or clumsily, but with raw devotion. His choristers could sing them with a freedom, edge and individuality they could not show in the weightier hymns or in the anthems. In 1918 Eric Milner-White, who had founded the service, wrote of his wish to bring in “colour, warmth and delight”. These qualities were definitely now back at King’s. They fitted the director’s conviction that choral singing was the best possible use of body, brain and heart, the whole self. Everyone should get out there and sing.

然而，应对这些反对者并不难。新颂歌实际上是旧版颂歌的现代翻奏曲，是当代人民欢舞、庆祝或沉思的声音，虽时而尖锐，时而拙劣，但不乏真挚的祷告。克里欧贝瑞的合唱团演奏新颂歌时轻松自由、独具优势、富有个性，这些是那些沉重的赞美诗大作体现不出的。埃里克·米尔纳-怀特(Eric Milner-White)创立了九段经课颂歌。1918年，他写下自己的期望“要多一些色彩、温情和喜乐”。这些品质毫无疑问国王学院的唱诗班的颂歌都具备了，符合了演奏指挥者的信念：合唱中身体、大脑、心灵应浑然一体，不可分离。每个人都应得到释放，大声歌唱。

At the same time, he made sure the choir did not lose its otherworldly sound. He treasured the thought that anyone who heard it might find peace and consolation there. For behind music, especially the music of Bach, lay something wondrous and beautiful that could be touched. Over the years he felt increasingly uncertain what to call it. But he found himself getting keener on the idea of the Holy Spirit, something around in the air and in the silences between the notes, as the choir sang.

同时，他还确保了合唱团演奏的超凡脱俗。他始终秉持着一个想法，即每个来听演奏的人或许都会从中得到平静和安慰。因为音乐的背后饱含着某种奇妙和美丽，尤其是巴赫的作品。多年来，他却越来越不确定该如何描述。但他觉得自己越来越执迷于圣灵。正如唱诗班所唱的那样，圣灵既萦绕于我们的周身，亦在悦耳动听的音符里。

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

初雪已来，雪儿纷纷，

Snow on snow,

纷纷飞

In the bleak midwinter,

在宁静的隆冬，

Long ago.

永恒的季节……

翻译组：

Alex，不务正业的理工男

Lucia，英语专业学生，经济学人爱好者

Lixia，女，爱爬山的健身小白，美食狂人

校核组：

Mosy，绘本、演讲、戏剧英文教育践行者

Qianna，追求专业的非英专，很讲逻辑，英伦摇滚迷

Dave，实力校对，肌肉男大学教师，文学翻译+CATTI一笔二口