Me and My Cello

Me and My Cello¹

Written by Christian² Williams

 

Six years ago I, then a fellow of 35, was struck by an ¹⁾impulse of the romantic and ²⁾irreducible sort, which I have since compared to a torrid scene in The Godfather except that it was not a Sicilian virgin³ who fired my thoughts but a shapely ³⁾descendant of the violin family, the cello.

Straightaway I obtained a rental⁴ instrument of heavy ⁴⁾plywood and appeared before Wendell Margrave, professor of musical instruction. It was winter.

"You can be as good as you want to be," Margrave said rather ⁵⁾mysteriously. On a scrap⁵ of paper he drew a staff with the notes E and F. He showed me where to put my fingers on the neck and how to draw the bow. Then he entered my name in his book: 10 a.m. Tuesday. Tuesday followed Tuesday, and soon it was spring.

      Thus began my voyage out of ignorance and into the dream. Is there one among us who has not had this dream? Who has not picked up a friend's guitar and felt the songs locked inside? Who has not wondered if he could learn to play the Moonlight ⁶⁾Sonata⁶, at least the easy beginning part?

It was most remarkable⁷ to have a teacher again. E-F, E-F, we played together - and moved on to G. It was a happy time. I was again becoming, and no longer trapped in what I had become.

Surely the most ⁷⁾abominable⁸ recognition of middle life is that we are past changing. Oh, we switch -- switch salad dressings⁹ and mutual¹⁰ funds -- but we don't change. We do what we can already do. The cello was something I ⁸⁾demonstrably couldn't do. Yet each Tuesday I could not do it slightly less.

No one was watching, and a good thing. In an upstairs room of my city house, at midnight, I would send out through the open windows long, tortured ⁹⁾fragments of Alwin Schroeder's 170 Foundation Studies for Violoncello to mingle¹¹ with the squeals¹² of cats. The footfalls of unseen passers-by would curiously¹³ stop, and then ¹⁰⁾resume in haste.

Riding home on the bus one snowy night and perusing¹⁴ the score of Mozart's C-Major ¹¹⁾Quintet, I felt the page burst into music in my hands. I could by then more or less read a score, and was humming the cello line, when suddenly all five parts blossomed ¹²⁾harmonically in my head. The fellow across the aisle¹⁵ stared. I met his glance with tears, actually hearing the music in my head for the first time. Could he hear it too, perhaps? No, he got off at the next stop.

       As the years slipped by, my daughter passed into the teen-age vale, developing a youthful proficiency¹⁶ on the piano. My goal was that she and I would one day perform together. I also wanted to perform in public with and for my ¹³⁾peers, and to be secretly envied.

I continue to play, to perform, but it is not the same. Fantasy, it turns out, is ¹⁴⁾debased in the ¹⁵⁾attainment¹⁷. Before, when I heard a cello, it was all beauty and light. Now, as the TV camera pushes in close to Rostropovich's face, I recognize that ¹⁶⁾charismatic grin as a mask of fierce determination. Even for him, the cello is an ¹⁷⁾intractable instrument, unforgiving of ambition.

I picked up my cello, ¹⁸⁾screw tight the hairs of the bow and soar once more into Belle¹⁸ Nuit, the ¹⁹⁾vibrato still wobbling like an unbalanced tire. As good as I wanted to be, I am as good as I'm going to get. It is good enough.

 

有谁没做过这样的梦？我就是这样开始了从无知驶向梦想的航行……

 

我和我的大提琴

六年前，我已是35岁的人了，心里却突然产生一种浪漫却又无法减弱的冲动，我把这种冲动比作电影《教父》里热烈的一幕。不过，激起我这种想法的，不是西西里岛上的少女，而是提琴家族中外形优美的后裔——大提琴。

我立刻租了一具厚胶合板制作的大提琴，然后来到音乐教授温德尔·马格瑞夫面前。那是冬天的事。

“你想拉得多好就可以有多好，” 马格瑞夫的话说得很玄妙。他在一张纸上画出五线谱，标上E和F两个音调符。他向我示范手指应放在琴颈的什么部位，怎样运弓。然后，他在记事簿上记下我的姓名：星期二上午10时。一个又一个星期二过去，很快就到了春天。

我就是这样开始了从无知驶向梦想的航行。我们当中有谁没做过这样的梦？谁没拿起过朋友的吉他而感觉到其中所藏着的妙歌仙曲？谁没有思忖着自己能否学会演奏《月光》奏鸣曲，哪怕是开头容易的那部分？

再次有个老师真是再好不过了。E——F，E——F，我们一起拉，然后移到G调。这是一段愉快的时光。我再次有了变化，变得不再深陷在已成形的自我里了。

当然，中年人最不愿承认的，就是自己已经错过了能改变的时候。噢，我们也改变——变变色拉的调料，换换互惠基金——但我们自己并无变化。我们做已经会做的事情，拉大提琴是我显然不会做的事情，不过，每星期二，我多少总得学会一点。

没有人看我拉琴，这是件好事。午夜时分，我在城里住宅的楼上房间里，经常拉阿尔温·舒罗德的《大提琴基本练习曲170首》，从敞开的窗户传出长时间折磨人的练习曲片段，和猫的抗议声混在一起。看不见过路人，但闻其脚步声好奇地停下，然后又匆匆走开。

在一个飘雪的夜晚，我乘公共汽车回家，在车上仔细阅读莫扎特C大调五重奏的总谱。我觉得乐谱在我手中突然变成了音乐。当时，我已多少能阅读总谱，小声哼着大提琴的调子，突然，那五个部分如花一般很和谐地在我脑中开放。坐在我对面的人盯着我看。我迎着他的目光时，眼里含着泪，这的确是我第一次在心中听到了音乐。也许他也能听到？不，他第二站就下车了。

时间一年年地过去，我女儿已是十几岁的少女，成长为熟练的青年钢琴手。我的目标是有朝一天能和女儿一起演奏。我还向往能同像我一样的音乐爱好者们在公共场所演奏，而且有人在暗中羡慕我。

我继续练琴、演奏，但情形和从前大不一样了。结果是，幻想在实现后魅力大减。从前我听到大提琴，觉得那声音是美丽和光彩的组合。现在，电视镜头放出罗斯特罗波维奇的面部特写时，我发现他那充满魅力的笑脸其实是坚定决心的面具。即使对他来说，大提琴也是难以驾驭的乐器——它对雄心万丈的人也一样铁面无情。

我拿起我的大提琴，拧紧弓毛，再一次悠扬地奏起《夜色美丽》，颤音仍然颤抖如同不平衡的轮胎。以前我想拉一手好琴，现在我已做到了，我和我想的一样好。这就已经够了。

 

注释：

1) impulse [5impQls] n. 推动，冲动

2) irreducible [7iri5dju:sEbl] a. 不能削减的

3) descendant [di5send(E)nt] n. 后裔，后代

4) plywood [5plaiwud] n. 夹板，合板

5) mysteriously [mis5tiEriEsli] adv. 神秘地

6) sonata [sE5nB:tE] n. 奏鸣曲

7) abominable [E5bCminEbl] a. 最令人憎恶的，讨厌的

8) demonstrably [5demEnstrEbli] adv. 确然

9) fragment [5frA^mEnt] n. 碎片，未完的作品

10) resume [ri5zju:m] v. 再继续

11) Quintet [kwin5tet] n. 五重奏

12) harmonically [hB:5mCnikEli] adv. 协调地

13) peer [piE] n. 同等的人

14) debase [di5beis] v. 使降低

15) attainment [E5teinmEnt] n. 达到

16) charismatic [7kAriz5mAtik] a. 超凡魅力的

17) intractable [in5trAktEbl] a. 难处理的

18) screw [skru:] v. 旋，拧

19) vibrato [vi5brB:tEu] n. [音]颤音，振动

 

1 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

4 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

6 sonata   

n.奏鸣曲

参考例句：

• He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 abominable   

adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的

参考例句：

• Their cruel treatment of prisoners was abominable.他们虐待犯人的做法令人厌恶。
• The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

9 dressings   

n.敷料剂；穿衣( dressing的名词复数 )；穿戴；（拌制色拉的）调料；（保护伤口的）敷料

参考例句：

• He always made sure that any cuts were protected by sterile dressings. 他总是坚持要用无菌纱布包扎伤口。 来自辞典例句
• I waked the orderly and he poured mineral water on the dressings. 我喊醒勤务，他在我的绷带上倒了些矿质水。 来自辞典例句

10 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

11 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

12 squeals   

n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. 铁笼子里传来一阵吱吱的叫声。 来自英汉文学
• There were squeals of excitement from the children. 孩子们兴奋得大声尖叫。 来自辞典例句

13 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

14 perusing   

v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字）

参考例句：

• She found the information while she was perusing a copy of Life magazine. 她在读《生活》杂志的时候看到了这个消息。 来自辞典例句
• Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

15 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

16 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

17 attainment   

n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣

参考例句：

• We congratulated her upon her attainment to so great an age.我们祝贺她高寿。
• The attainment of the success is not easy.成功的取得并不容易。

18 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。