2020年经济学人 电影配乐大师莫里康内(1)

Ennio Morricone, composer, died on July 6th, aged¹ 91

作曲家埃尼奥·莫里康内于7月6日去世，享年91岁。

The theme may have been written well over half a century ago, but in less than three minutes you hear everything that came to matter most to him in a lifetime of composing. There is the two-note howl at the Moon—once heard, never forgotten. Musically, it is that rare fusion² of heart and mind and as recognisable, in its way, as the opening notes of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Then there are the classic musical motifs³, like those Richard Wagner scattered⁴ through the “Ring” cycle, that mark out the good man, the bad and the ugly.

这段曲子可能在半个多世纪前就创作完成了，但是，在三分钟内你就能听到他的作曲人生中对他最重要的东西。里面有对着月亮吼叫的两个音符-听过了，就永远也忘不了。从音乐上讲，这是一种难得的心灵与思想的融合，就像贝多芬第五交响曲的开头音符一样清晰可辨。此外，还有经典的音乐主题，比如理查德·瓦格纳在《尼伯龙根的指环》系列中散布的那些主题，这些主题划分出了好人、坏人和丑陋的人。

And then there is the freewheeling range of sounds with which he chose to make that music: the whistling, the yodelling, the gunfire and the squeaky ocarina, an ancient Italian wind instrument that looks like a sweet potato and is better known to a younger generation as the soundtrack of a Nintendo video game. The range and audacity⁵ of his music surprised those who might have assumed that a working-class Catholic upbringing, not a mile from the Vatican, would have produced someone conventional rather than creative.

然后，莫里康内选择了一系列随心所欲的声音来创作音乐：哨声，岳得尔调，枪声和吱吱的陶笛，一种看起来像红薯的古意大利管乐器，年轻一代更熟悉它作为任天堂电子游戏的配乐。莫里康内的音乐的范围和大胆让那些认为他是在天主教工人阶级家庭长大的人吃惊，离梵蒂冈不到一英里的地方，就会产生一个墨守成规的人而不是有创造力的人。

But the Roman enclave of Trastevere, where he was born just after Benito Mussolini came to power, was an unusual place. A historical outsider-land on the far side of the Tiber, it has tall spindly houses that, for centuries, have been home to artisanal guilds⁶, small businesses, ancient synagogues and enterprising Jewish and Catholic families.

但就在贝尼托·墨索里尼上台后，莫里康内出生在罗马飞地特拉斯特维莱区，这是一个不同寻常的地方。它是台伯河对岸的一个历史悠久的外域，这里有高大细长的房屋，几个世纪以来，这里有手工行会、小型企业、古老的犹太教会堂以及有进取心的犹太教和天主教家庭。

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

3 motifs   

n. （文艺作品等的）主题( motif的名词复数 )；中心思想；基本模式；基本图案

参考例句：

• I try to develop beyond the old motifs. 我力求对传统的花纹图案做到推陈出新。 来自辞典例句
• American Dream is one of the most important motifs of American literature. “美国梦”是美国文学最重要的母题之一。 来自互联网

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

6 guilds   

行会，同业公会，协会( guild的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• View list of the guilds that Small has war on. 看目前有哪些公会是我们公会开战的对象及对我们开战的对象。
• Guilds and kingdoms fit more with the Middle Age fantasy genre. （裴）:公会和王国更适合中世纪奇幻类型。