"The appearance of the world is a prison, and art is the shortcut to freedom."
"Anyone who has worked with me for a period of time will feel this. At those times, I was full of enthusiasm, I couldn't help myself, but I belonged to myself. There were many times late at night when I was at my desk creating, inspiration came to me and I didn't know where to start.
The notes that filled the paper were just written down, but when I looked at them, I was convinced that they were all of my own free will and reflected the essence of summer from the Saint-Overney Estate..."
""We are not creating, we are being created." Music is an involuntary expression from the depths of the human soul. Behind it, there seems to be the unknowable invisible force of the "candle" driving it. When the candle is lit, everything
When all the lights are on, no shadow can be tolerated there, and everyone and everything has to take a back seat..."
"From the above meanings, creators must endure long periods of silence and isolation, must be immersed in themselves, and completely isolated from the world. However, judging from the current situation, this is whimsical..."
"The school study activity is a big event, and the time is very suitable for you. In the last semester of graduation, most people spend their days mediocrely after deciding where to go, but it was at that time that I completed the most important thing in my life so far.
The important "First Symphony", and the Marquis's expectations for your future will not stop at a high level... I don't know the length of your recent outdoor activities. I think there is still a long time before the temperature rises.
, because the one-hour walk every day while sitting at the desk is an unbreakable arrangement, and the scenery of the streets and hills near Turner Hall has been experienced, and they are still lingering in the cold weather of early spring..."
"Walking is good for dispersing or summarizing inspiration, but many times when I have a good idea, I can't wait to write it down, but I can only record fragments of it temporarily because of rehearsal work, teaching work or a bunch of administrative signs.
The submission is still waiting for me. This is based on the fact that the number of concerts I personally conduct has been greatly reduced... Yesterday, Mr. Kaplan jokingly called me the "midnight composer". I immediately retorted, "From 6:30 in the morning to
"Eight o'clock is also my time to compose music." Indeed, since I have insisted on getting up on time at six o'clock and taking half an hour to wash and eat, the time available to me has become a little looser..."
"The performance schedule after the New Year covers symphonies conducted by guest conductors, piano solos, choruses and chamber music with several combinations of musicians. For the old symphony orchestra that has jumped to the top of the first-class echelon, external resources for cooperation invitations
The choice is in our hands... And in the few concerts where I personally went on stage, the fans' appreciation for me was still overwhelming. It is no exaggeration to say that the cheers were like a storm. After every curtain call, the entire audience shouted
You won't give up until I reappear..."
"This is not a tone of showing off or sharing pleasure. In fact, when I find time and time again that there is so little time to write and create, I am really a little irritated... A person who is tied to administrative work and performing arts chores has confirmed that it is difficult to be like several people.
As prolific as those composing masters from an era ago, only at midnight and early morning can all my spirituality be concentrated on hard work and creation. This is also the reason why I am slow to reply to you..."
"Fortunately, the awe of that unknowable tower will be fully expressed in this song for the first time - "The living must be destroyed, but the destroyed must be resurrected", "You were struck by a stick
Knocked down to the ground, and then soared on the wings of angels" - these answers that were once discussed but could not be found have become obvious. Human beings will still struggle to pursue the sudden flash of eternal salvation amid endless doubts and confusion.
moment……"
"Sometimes I also think that the success of my conducting career should allow me to exchange money for the precious time and freedom needed for a large number of creations. The most urgent thing is to put this idea into practice, but I still have hundreds of dollars on my back.
The livelihood and career dreams of the people, the large-scale implementation of the 'theater chain' and the 'music aid' plan also require more than this financial resources..."
"In short, the initial plan is to spend the whole year of this year, when Turner Hall has accumulated enough loyal fans and sponsor partners, when the sales volume of the released records is enough, when the performance of the old symphony orchestra
When my skills reach another level, I will begin to gradually withdraw into the pure world..."
"I live by conducting, but I live to compose music."
"Ms. Roy McAdam personally"
The tip of the classical quill pen jumped out of the paper, and there was a slight rustling sound in the office.
The night of early spring came early as before, and it was already dark outside the window.
Fan Ning sometimes raised his wrist and meditated, and sometimes wrote furiously. After a long time, he gently stuffed the letter into the envelope, made the last stroke on the cover, and then leaned on the seat and held his forehead, concentrating for a while.
After being struck by the spark of inspiration of "resurrection", what comes next will be extremely difficult and complicated work, including the breakdown and dismantling of the initial inspiration, the investigation of a large number of cases of combining literature and music, and the purely rational,
Technical difficulties need to be overcome, and from time to time they will create a gap in the creative path, leaving people with no hope of crossing for days and nights.
Take the first problem Fan Ning encountered before: Although the text of the original poem of Bassani's "Ode to the Resurrection" is brilliant, it is too short.
It has only two verses, and according to Fan Ning's idea, the musical vocabulary of the chorus part needs at least eight verses to be carried. Naturally, the lyrics cannot be repeated over and over again. The cadence of the syllables also needs to be consistent with the music.
Emotions match.
The adaptation and expansion of poetic texts ran through Fan Ning's entire composition process, and a large amount of previous thinking and accumulation played a role. He was once grateful that "musicology majors seem to have somewhat better literary literacy than other music majors."
This work sometimes made progress, and sometimes had to be overturned. It is only now that two months have passed that the lyrics and text of the eight verses/sections have been basically finalized.
In the imagination, they will be matched with several connecting band intermezzos to carry different inspiration fragments disassembled by Fan Ning, such as "Declaration Motive", "Resurrection Hymn", "Pleading Motive", "Ascension Motive" and
Its transformation and counterpoint... constitute the entire chorus part.
But it should be noted that after all this, the chorus is only the recapitulation of the fifth movement!
They also need to complete the foreshadowing through the introduction, presentation and development parts like the "C Minor Choral Fantasy", and then they can be sublimated in the last part of the journey.
Then the length of the finale alone will far exceed that of the Chorus Fantasy, reaching a performance time of more than 30 minutes, plus the first four movements, a huge arrangement and complex sound...
According to Fanning's understanding of the Church of St. Janingo in front of Marquis MacAdam that day..."the sublimity of quantity" and "the sublimity of power", the "Second Symphony" must have both, so that it can be a magnificent and powerful symphony.
A large-scale epic that makes people cry.
Otherwise, how can we "defeat" the "ninth" peak and obsession in the hearts of every later composer?
"Dang...dang...dang..." The clock announced six o'clock in the afternoon, interrupting Fan Ning's meditation.
He suddenly thought of something and said, "Sorry, come here."
On the sofa on the other side of the partition screen, several employees who were sitting and waiting stood up holding a pile of signatures.
Following closely behind was the chef carrying the dinner plate.
"It's already cooled down. Do I need to serve it to you again?"
"Need not."
Fan Ning quickly flipped through the signatures one by one, and selectively read or asked questions. At 6:20, everyone dispersed. Fan Ning moved the plate to him, raised his knife and fork and started to devour it.
After filling his stomach, he entered the door of the living room, stretched out on the soft bed, and stared at the ceiling for five minutes.
He got up and moved for another five minutes, and finally played two of his favorite Bach's Well-Tempered pieces in front of the piano. After relaxing, he picked up a few pieces of music and went out.
At 7 p.m., most of the 32 small piano rooms on the first floor were lit up, and 2 of the 3 large music classrooms were also in use.
There is a class schedule hanging on their door plate, or the name and number of the instrument is marked, and intermittent music or singing comes from inside.
At the door of the large rehearsal hall, Fan Ning vaguely heard Kaplan leading everyone in the "sample pre-processing" of the first movement of "Second Symphony".
He walked around without disturbing anyone, and then opened the door of a medium-sized rehearsal hall.
The thirty or so boys and girls here cast their gaze over. The seats they were sitting in were probably arranged like the parts of a symphony orchestra, but it was obvious that the scale was less than half of the three-piece orchestra.
There are only six people in the first violin, only four in the second violin, and only two or even one person in the wind section.
"Good evening, Mr. Fanning." Lausanne, a young musician who is currently the guest conductor, greeted happily.
"The Youth Symphony Orchestra's first stage appearance is scheduled for April 15th, so, Miss Lausanne, the arrangement work can begin in a month." Fan Ning handed over three thick books of scores.
"That's exactly what I thought." She responded after taking it, "Because members with a good foundation, or members with strong understanding after two months of training, can already put together the parts and meet the small sound balance requirements.
Already."
Fan Ning said "hmm".
These people are first lined up, and other members who are still taking the above small lessons are then qualified one by one to join the group. This not only takes care of the actual learning needs of musicians at different levels, but also ensures the maximum rehearsal efficiency.
"10 pieces, 3 books, that's 30 pieces?" Lausanne opened the catalog and exclaimed immediately, "They are all new works? Mr. Fanning, aren't you writing the "Second Symphony"? What are you doing...
We can do it...and although they all seem to be short stories that are not too difficult, we can’t eat so much at one time.”
"It's just a music library." Fan Ning explained with a smile, "When we had this plan a long time ago, we started preparing in advance. Aren't the songs you have listened to before included?"
"Besides, I don't want you to premiere them all at once. My idea is to fill the second half of the first concert, about six or seven songs, and then premiere two or three songs at each concert."
"As for what to rank first and what to rank next, it depends on your personal preference. It is also up to you to choose the repertoire of other composers. Just follow the principles of pleasing melody, short length, and low threshold for appreciation. At the same time, the repertoire should also be taken into consideration.
As it is not too difficult and easy to produce results, a simple symphony in classical style is selected for each concert, plus a series of small works."
"Remember, our goal is to 'popularize art', both for players and listeners." Finally, Fan Ning emphasized, "For you, experience will make an orchestra's level from scratch.
The process of bringing them up is very helpful to improve the commanding ability. Commanding is not only a skill, but also a working method of communication and exchange."
"Hmm..." Luo Sang lowered his head and flipped through the pages, his eyes lingering on a few music scores at random, and he imagined the general hearing in his heart.
Then she was not surprised to find that although these works were "entry-level" sketches, in terms of the moving degree of the melody, the maturity of the technique, the distinctive character, the elegance of the temperament, the quality was all at the level of the famous works handed down from generation to generation.
!
Fan Ning's selection of repertoire for the Youth Symphony Orchestra concert this time is basically a careful selection of 30 pieces from the "100 Classical Songs" in his previous life!
For example, the first score in Lausanne's hands includes, in addition to the previously performed "The Blue Danube", "Lightning and Thunder Polka", "Radetzky March" and "Flight of the Bumblebee", as well as Tchaikovsky's ballet "
Scene II from "Swan Lake", Dvořák's "Slavonic Dances" No. 8, Overture to the operetta "Bat" by Johann Strauss the Younger, "Quick Chat Polka", "Peasant Polka", Val
Deutfer's "Skating Waltz".
"By the way, Miss Lausanne, I forgot to mention." Fan Ning, who was about to step out, stopped again, "By the end of this month, the invoicing and publicity can almost begin. Please take the time to talk to the senior tea artist from the comprehensive operations department.
Let’s connect.”
"Okay." Lausanne responded, "By the way, how to calculate the performance ticket price? Should our artistic committee make the request, or should Mr. Congreve do it himself?"
"You can just mention it, about 2 shillings." Fan Ning made a casual gesture.
"Okay, isn't 2 pounds a bit too low?" Lausanne's first attention was mainly on Fan Ning's gestures rather than his voice, and then he said to himself, "Well, it's reasonable. After all, it's a youth symphony orchestra.
The level and depth of the repertoire cannot be compared with the symphony orchestra of the old days..."
"Two shillings." Fan Ning repeated helplessly.
"Ah..." Luo Sang was taken aback, "Sorry for the preconception, the main thing is this currency unit, maybe... it seems... it seems... I think... no one has ever used it in the entertainment industry?"
She carefully confirmed: "Is it so cheap? That means that from 2/4/6/8, the premium ticket will cost up to 10 shillings. Will you not even be able to recover the cost?"
"Two shillings is a distinguished ticket." Fan Ning couldn't laugh or cry, "In other words, going down, it can be like 2 shillings/1 shilling/8 pence/4 pence..."
"Crack-" "Click."
The score in the female composer's hand fell to the ground along with the conductor's baton.
"Mr. Fan Ning, this time I am sure that no one has really used this currency unit..."