The History in Music 4 - Ballade No. 3 音乐中的历史4 - 肖邦《第三叙事曲》

The polish composer Frederic Chopin composed four ballades. While his most renowned ballade might be his Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23, No.5, his other ballades deserve a greater attention. While Chopin’s surging patriotism and heroic sentiments reverberate across the notes of his Ballade No. 1, Ballades No. 2, 3, and 4 portray a more exquisite, fantastical side to his style. The author’s favorite ballade, aside from Ballade No. 1, is his third ballade in A-flat major. As one of the most defining works during the last decade of his life, Chopin finished and published Ballade No.3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 47 in 1841.

The poems of Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz inspired Chopin’s composition of this ballade. Musical historians have debated over the specific poem that this ballade aims to narrate, but some surmise that the poem Undine might be the most possible. The poem Undine tells a riveting story between a young man and a forest nymph. The nymph transforms into a fair maiden to encounter him. He swears an oath of chastity to the maiden. To test his love, the maiden eventually transforms back into her nymph form to tempt him. Unfortunately, the young man does not pass the test and betrays his oath of love. The nymph then swallows him into Lake Świtez. This commentary will first explain the uniqueness of this ballade and then delve into its storytelling elements. The commentary will end by pondering the relationship between music and literature.

Listeners of the music of Chopin might associate a “ballade” with an epic sense of grandiosity. This association might be attributed to the popularity of Chopin’s first ballade. In that ballade, he adeptly employs majestic chords and resonating passages with thick textures to convey his fiery patriotism and the imagery of a gallant national hero fighting for a noble cause. However, Ballade No. 3 does not aim to deliver any sense of grandiosity or heroism. Instead, it seeks to present a more nuanced and subtle range of sentiments. Hence, Ballade No. 3 has fewer “epic” passages with unquenchable energy and passion. It contains more quieter and lighter ones comprised of compact phrases and orchestic rhythms. The ballade abandons the grand narrative that the first ballade revolves around, rather focusing on a story that is much smaller in scope and yet more dramatic in its plotline.

To serve its storytelling purpose, Chopin employs several musical elements to pair the music with the poem. First, consider the melody. There are three major melodies in this ballade. The first melody appears at the very beginning of the ballade. The phrasing of this melody is in A-flat major and not too long. The overall dynamics is relatively low. There is a call-and-response pattern between the part of the right hand and that of the left. This melody corresponds to the initial conversations between the nymph and the young man in the poem. These conversations seem to be light and friendly, creating the atmosphere for the love story to unfold. Following this melody, there is a second melody that reminds one of an elegant dance. The melody begins with a group of simple, hollow notes, resembling the voice of the nymph calling from beyond. Then, as the left hand joins in, the melody becomes quite vivacious, allowing the audience to imagine the scene in the poem when the two characters play on the lake. There is a final third melody, a more dramatic one first appearing in the form of octave chords with strong dynamics. This melody symbolizes the inherent dramatic tension within the poem. The young man, after all, is not a chaste gentleman – he betrays the solemn oath of love to the nymph. This melody is the only one written in a minor key, adding to the music the tragicness of the story.

In this ballade, there is always a clear musical voice. One can especially catch the upper texture throughout the music. For the first melody, Chopin instructs each hand of the pianist to play one voice – that of the young man for the right hand and that of the nymph for the left. At least at the start, there is a marked difference between the two voices. The young man’s musical voice is brighter, more pronounced, and cheerful. The nymph’s voice, on the other hand, is more reserved and unpredictable. Chopin effectively crafts these voices to sprinkle some vividness onto the musical phrases and strengthen the storytelling of the piece. Later, just as the two characters mingle and interact, it is more difficult for the audience to recognize the different voices. Nonetheless, the increasing murkiness of the musical voices serves Chopin’s intentions. The later sections of this ballade aim to portray the inherent complexity of the poem and the chaotic nature of its climax. A mix of various voices and textures might hence fulfill this aim.

While Ballade No. 1 shows the explosive power of this type of music, Ballade No. 3 invites the audience to contemplate the natural relationship between music and literature. As this piece’s melodies and musical voices demonstrate, music allows literature to be more powerful in its delivery. This ballade achieves this effect by making imageries and obscure language in the poem “specific.” Through each call and response, modulation, and change of musical voice, Chopin brings his listeners back and force between the two central characters. Readers of the poem might struggle to sense the buildup of drama and conflict due to the obscureness of the language. Yet through music, the audience can sense dramatic elements more readily.

For a grand piece like Ballade No. 3, it may additionally appeal to the human senses that literature fails to. Namely, such a piece appeals to the auditory sense. In the poem, there are many such auditory elements that might not be deeply felt by the reader, whether it is the wailing of the young man, the giggle of the nymph, the murmuring voice of the lake, or the whistling of the night wind. All these elements spring to life in the ballade in the form of distinct musical voices, changing dynamics or harmonic discords. Readers of the poem might focus excessively on the plot or the characters, forgetting the importance of these auditory elements. Without them being effective, the poem may struggle to paint an immersive scene for its audience. By listening to the ballade, a dynamic immersion into the poem’s storytelling becomes possible. The turns of the riveting plot and the ultimate grand release of dramatic tension hence grip the heart of every listener.

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波兰作曲家弗雷德里克-肖邦创作了四首叙事曲。他最著名的叙事曲可能是《G 小调第一叙事曲，作品 23 之 5》，但他的其他叙事曲同样值得关注。肖邦澎湃的爱国主义与英雄主义情怀在《第一叙事曲》的音符中回荡，而第二、第三及第四首叙事曲则展现了他风格中更为细腻与充满幻想的一面。除《第一叙事曲》外，作者最喜欢的是《降 A 大调第三叙事曲》。作为肖邦生命最后十年最具代表性的作品之一，肖邦于 1841 年完成并发表了这首《降 A 大调第三叙事曲，作品 47》。

波兰诗人亚当-密茨凯维奇的诗歌启发了肖邦创作这首叙事曲。音乐史学家们对这首叙事曲所要叙述的具体诗句争论不休，但有人推测《Undine》这首诗可能是最有可能的创意来源。诗歌《Undine》讲述了一位年轻人与森林仙女之间的爱情故事。仙女化身为美丽的少女与他相遇，年轻人向这位少女许下了永远忠贞的诺言。然而，为了考验他的爱情，少女最终又变回了仙女，引诱这位年轻人。不幸的是，年轻人没有通过考验，他又爱上了仙女，背叛了爱情誓言。最终，仙女将他吞进了圣维茨湖。本评论将首先解释这首叙事曲的独特之处，然后深入探讨其故事元素，最后将提出音乐与文学之间的可能关系。

肖邦音乐的听众可能会将 "叙事曲 "与史诗般的宏伟感联系起来。这种联想可能要归功于肖邦第一首叙事曲的流行。在这首叙事曲中，他巧妙地运用了雄浑的和弦和具有厚重质感的共鸣段落，表达了他炽热的爱国主义情怀，以及一位英勇的民族英雄为崇高事业而战的意象。然而，《第三叙事曲》并不旨在传达任何宏伟或英雄主义的感觉。相反，它试图表现的是一种更加细致入微的情感。因此，《第三叙事曲》中没有那么多 "史诗 "般的段落，也没有那么多激情澎湃的段落。它包含了更多由紧凑的乐句与灵活节奏所组成的更安静、更轻巧的乐段。这首叙事曲放弃了第一首叙事曲所围绕的宏大叙事，而是专注于一个范围更小、情节更戏剧化的故事。

为了达到讲故事的目的，肖邦运用了几种音乐元素将音乐与诗歌搭配起来。首先是旋律。这首叙事曲有三段主要旋律，第一段旋律出现在叙事曲的开头。该旋律的乐句不太长，为降 A 大调，整体力度也相对较轻。右手部分与左手部分之间有你呼我应的旋律关系，这段旋律与诗中仙女和年轻人之间最初的对话相呼应。这些对话看似轻松友好，为爱情故事的展开营造了氛围。在这段旋律之后，第二段旋律让人联想到优雅的民族舞蹈。旋律以一组简单而空灵的音符开始，仿佛是仙女从远方呼唤的声音。随后，随着左手的加入，旋律变得生动活泼，让听众可以想象诗中两位主人公在湖边嬉戏的场景。最后的第三段旋律更具戏剧性，首先以八度和弦的形式出现，具有较强的力度。这段旋律象征着诗中内在的戏剧张力。年轻人毕竟不是一位坚贞的绅士--他背叛了对仙女庄严的爱情誓言。这段旋律是唯一用小调谱写的，为音乐增添了故事的悲剧色彩。

在这首叙事曲中，始终有一个清晰的音乐声部。在整首乐曲中，我们尤其能捕捉到最上层的声部。在第一段旋律中，肖邦要求钢琴家的两只手分别弹奏一个声部--右手弹奏年轻人的声部，左手弹奏仙女的声部。至少在一开始，两个声部就有明显的区别。年轻人的声音更加明亮、清晰与欢快，而仙女的声音则更加含蓄、难以捉摸。肖邦对这两个声部进行了有效的处理，为乐句增添了一些生动性，加强了乐曲的故事性。后来，随着两个角色的交融和互动，观众更难辨认出不同的声部。尽管如此，声部的模糊还是符合肖邦的意图。这首叙事曲的后段旨在描绘诗歌内在的复杂性及其高潮的混乱性。因此，各种声部与质地的混合可能会达到这一目的。

若《第一叙事曲》展现了这类音乐的爆发力，那《第三叙事曲》则让听众思考音乐与文学之间的自然、纯粹的关系。正如这首曲子的旋律与乐声所展示的那样，音乐能让文学作品的表达更加有力。这首叙事曲通过将诗中的意象及晦涩的语言 "具体化 "来达到这一效果。肖邦通过每一次对声部间呼唤与回应、调式或乐声变化的运用，将听众来回聚焦在两个中心人物之间。由于语言的晦涩难懂，这首诗的读者可能很难感受到戏剧性和冲突性的积累。然而，通过音乐，听众可以更容易直接地感受到戏剧元素。

对于像《第三叙事曲》这样气势恢宏的作品来说，它还能吸引文学作品不能吸引的人的感官，尤其是听觉。在这首诗中，文字里蕴含了许多听觉元素，无论是年轻人的哭泣声、仙女轻蔑的微笑、湖水波涛的呢喃声，还是夜风的呼啸声等。然而读者可能都无法深刻地感受到这些听觉元素。所有以上元素在叙事曲中都以独特的音乐声音、力度变化、和声不和谐等形式变得鲜活、灵动与真实。诗的读者可能会过分关注情节或人物，而忘记了这些听觉元素的重要性。如果没有这些有效元素，诗歌可能难以为听众描绘出一个身临其境的场景。通过聆听叙事曲，观众就有可能动态地沉浸到诗歌的故事情节中，引人入胜的情节转折与戏剧张力最终的宏大释放因此才能紧紧抓住每一位听众的心。