Fan Ning looked down at the palm-sized piece of folded letter paper in the envelope.
When unfolded, it was only a small sheet, and the writing was written in light purple aniline ink.
There shouldn't be much content in the teacher's legacy letter.
The first thing he looked at was the payment time at the bottom.
November 8, 912 in the New Calendar.
Yesterday was the 22nd and today is the 23rd, written two weeks ago.
To dear student Carolne Van Ning:
I have been thinking about writing this letter recently, and I finally made up my mind today.
Because my condition is really bad. Frankly speaking, I will die at any time. I just don’t know the specific time, so I must explain a few small things first.
You gave me a lot of advice and inspiration for the symphony we are writing. Thank you very much. It definitely has subversive elements. After my death, you can continue writing it yourself. If it can be completed, it can be used as your "First Symphony"
"Music" will participate in the work selection competition, and then premiere at the graduation concert. There is no need to rank fifth, and there is no need to declare that it is related to me.
If you can achieve success in your first performance, you may be able to get a glimpse of some revelations that I have not received before.
Compared to those nobles, you came into contact with the piano too late. In my opinion, although you have talent, your basic skills are really worrying. Please go to No. 43 Keziton Street, East District, to visit Sir Viadrin. I have already contacted him, but he will be there recently.
After going out for a while, it would be safer to go again in December.
Please pay attention to this! Otherwise, whether you want to be a composer, conductor, pianist, or just a music scholar in school, this will become an obstacle to your artistic career.
My manuscript and all related information are in my notebook, and I will ask Xilan Conor to forward it to you.
May you be accompanied by music and sunshine in this life.
Your sincere teacher: Anton Konar
"May you be accompanied by music and sunshine in your life." Fan Ning felt his nose was a little sore when he saw this.
This was the first time that he felt that his memories and those of the original owner were indistinguishable from each other.
He read it several more times.
In fact, he was encouraged to finish writing the "First Symphony" before graduation, and he was told what inspirations he might get after its premiere, and then he was introduced to a piano teacher by the way.
"I will do as you say, teacher" Fan Ning read the letter over and over again, thinking silently in his heart.
This seems to be connected with participating in the selection contest of the school graduation concert and the content of time-travel text messages?
It seems that I have to go to the group meeting in the afternoon.
Fan Ning stuffed the letter paper back into the envelope, put it in his pocket, and opened the thick and large notebook.
On the first page of light gray engraving writing paper, there are a few large characters written as a simple cover:
"Symphony No. __ in D major" has a space in the middle.
More than two-thirds of the following pages are the manuscript of the score. Fan Ning didn't read it now and skipped it directly.
Next is
Diary? Teacher Anton’s diary?
The dates are intermittent, but all within the last few months:
August 11th. I bought a very interesting antique at Prudence Auction House today. Some of the chord sequences recorded on these scrolls are amazingly beautiful, and some are mysterious. Hey, no one raised the price at all, I just used
You got it for just 5 pounds. Those stupid nobles and capitalists only see sculptures and famous paintings as art. Where did this guy Spencer Cecil get the recommendation?
August 12th. Good things come in pairs. Occasionally, the old library of the school still has surprises. Today I discovered a book called "Sound Flow, Texture and Dreams". It was published in 1892, which is not that far away from now.
, I just didn’t expect that there are people who are so proficient in Noa language these days. It took me a whole day to translate more than one page, but I didn’t want to stop at all.
August 20th. I’m so tired. I don’t want to teach them tomorrow.
August 28th. Why is the weather still so hot? I think my translation work should be done in the swimming pool. The great sun god does not fall into the fire, can you take a break for a while?
August 29th. I froze to death during rehearsal today. The weather in Uflandsel is really stupid! I need to take a hot bath when I get back.
September 1st. My "Symphony No. 4 in E minor" premiered. I conducted it myself. The popularity was even lower than the previous one. My composition skills may really be getting worse. Alas, I don't care about those music reviews.
It’s sarcastic, but the fact that so many audience members left midway made me want to cry. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the musicians who had worked so hard to rehearse. This guy, Carolyn Van Ning, was sitting in the front row, but why did she end up crying after listening to it?
What's going on? Is it because you feel sad for me when you see my popularity waning?
September 12. If only I had an airship.
September 15th. Breakthrough progress has been made in translation and phonetic research. The book "Sound Flow, Texture and Dreams" records many methods of exploring musical inspiration in dreams. I am interested in the next symphony I am composing.
Qu has plenty of confidence.
September 18. So, after mastering the dream control method, you will become a knowledgeable person?
September 19th. Professor Zimmerman from the Holy Janus Kingdom Conservatory of Music wrote a letter saying that he had learned about the premiere of my "Symphony No. 4 in E minor" and had also purchased my published score. In the letter, he
I gave a lot of professional opinions. Although I expressed a firm conclusion in the end, I was really ashamed. Those opinions were so pertinent and so obvious. I should have discovered it myself! If I could revise it in advance, even in part, would it be possible?
The results of the premiere were different? I have to write a proper reply letter to thank him.
September 20. Zimmerman is an idiot! His musical ideas are as rotten as the old dung floating on the surface of the Pushol River! I don’t think my "Symphony No. 4 in E minor" needs any revisions
place, even though you can't understand it, my time will eventually come.
September 25th. It was Ciaran Connell’s birthday. We had a party at home with five or six students. Carolyn Van Ning played the piano well today, but when she was praised, she got into wrong notes. Her basic skills were really good.
It's so worrying.
September 28th. I had that dream about doors again. Various colors, dark red, pale, black and gold, various scenes, wooden house doors, playground doors, pet cage doors.
Door, when I woke up I felt someone whispering behind the bedroom door.
October 12th. My success rate in entering lucid dreams is getting higher and higher. This feeling of knowing that I am dreaming is really amazing! My control over dreams is getting stronger and stronger, and I can even create some characters and plots at will.
This experience is as fascinating as the Creator.
October 13th. To be honest, I often feel that the mysterious chords in the fragments are a bit scary, and they always appear in my dreams accompanied by some scary things.
October 14th. I tried to write a short prelude using mysterious chord materials. Its colors and sound effects are so charming.
October 16th. Maybe I shouldn’t enter lucid dreams so frequently. They do bring unprecedented experiences and musical inspiration, but I have been plagued by nightmares recently, and my heart feels very heavy.
On October 17th, I burned the score of the prelude. It should not exist at all.
October 19. In recent days, we have been rehearsing the Eighth Symphony by the great music master Gilles.
October 20th. Is this chief horn player an idiot?
October 30th. I have no chance, I am already old. My body has already been put into death in batches. Sometimes the hair falls out, sometimes the teeth become loose, and sometimes I am susceptible to fatigue. I saw 35 years ago seven years ago
The portrait of me when I was 25 years old is completely different from what I am now in my 40s. If I were 25 years old, I would be a wise person. Now? I have already died many times. (*Note 1)
November 7th. Haven’t I stopped dreaming? Why am I still █████ (can’t see clearly)
November 9. Hahahaha, it turns out that this is the feeling after becoming a knowledgeable person. It turns out that there are such lights, shadows and colors under the surface of the world!
November 10. The painting on the living room wall seems to be blinking.
November 14th. It’s rare to be completely awake today.
November 15. How did they come out?
The handwriting is already very messy at this point.
November 19th. I got angry at Sheeran over a trivial matter. I really shouldn’t have.
November ██. The existence of knowledgeable people must be false. If it is true, then it does not necessarily mean that the dream is false? This logic should be very clear.
The last page of the diary.
██, ██: I regret it, I shouldn’t have ██???, and I shouldn’t have snooped on ███???
Don't record your dreams!
Don’t even try to test dreams or control dreams!
They will come out on their own!!!!
…
The two separated in a hurry, one rushed to the group meeting, and the other cooperated with the school's funeral preparations.
Fan Ning was walking on campus, but the picture in his mind stayed on the last page of his diary for a long time.
Now he only thinks that this matter is really mysterious and scary, and even a little ridiculous.
The currently known source of the matter lies in the fragments of the sound series and the mysterious book "Sound Currents, Textiles and Dreams" obtained by Professor Anton Konar.
The professor followed a certain method discovered in the research, experienced magical lucid dreams, and began to explore the connection between this and becoming a "knowing person".
"Could it be that the music I just reproduced in my previous life, which gave me the feeling of spiritual strengthening, and the mysterious progress of the subtitles, may ultimately lead to this extraordinary road?"
In front of the winding cobblestone road is the open corridor outside the auditorium, with the hall doors with golden leaf patterns half open and half closed.
“I didn’t expect the registration queue to be so long.”
Fan Ning looked towards the stage.
Today is the preliminary registration for the work selection competition. There are two lines in front of the long table. Everyone comes forward to receive the envelopes of test questions and register them with the staff.
But the queuing situation at this moment was too obvious. There was a long queue in one line, and there were only about ten people in the other line.
This is because there are two types of entries, corresponding to envelope questions of different colors——
White envelope: Represents small solo or chamber music works. The content of the initial test is "limited time composition". Those who sign up can go back after the meeting and submit their works on time at the same time tomorrow.
Black envelope: represents a large-scale work that requires the participation of a symphony orchestra. The initial test content is "improvisation". You will soon be scrutinized by professors and judges in front of everyone.
At the annual graduation concert of the University of San Lenia, everyone is particularly eager to have their works accepted or to have the opportunity to perform on stage.
This is related to the success rate of staying in school after graduation and will also greatly benefit your future artistic career.
In an imperial public school, one can have a lifelong decent career and income security, or become a respected member of the family, or complete the consolidation and transition of the class, or take the first step to become a famous artist
However, the threshold for creating large-scale symphonic works is extremely high, and it is not at the same level of difficulty as small-scale works. Except for a few outstanding students in the composition and conducting departments of junior and senior years, everyone is willing to pursue it but is unable to participate.
If nothing else, the improvisation in the first trial was already very discouraging.
When asked to expand a musical material on the spot, most people couldn't even hold back eight bars, and were "publicly executed" when they got on stage.
This resulted in a serious imbalance in the number of people queuing on both sides.
Fan Ning walked towards the less crowded line and looked at the stack of black envelopes six or seven meters away from him.
"Caron, are you standing in the wrong place?" Several students majoring in music leaned out from the long queue on the opposite side in confusion.
More and more people were watching Fan Ning queue up, and they were talking a lot.
"Am I reading that correctly? Carolne Van Ning, is he from the composition department or the conducting department?"
"Music major."
"Have you made any mistake? Why do music majors join in the fun? Writing a sketch is enough."
"You can't get off the stage after a while of improvisation."
"Haha, does he think he is the chosen one? There is only one quota for large-scale symphony works to be staged every year, and one concert only lasts so long."
"Perhaps you learned some advanced composition techniques from Professor Anton Konar?"
"Professor Conor? His works when he was young were pretty good. Do you think anyone will listen to his later works?"
"I heard that Professor Conor committed suicide last night."
Team leader Cecil, who had just refused his request for leave, also turned around from the front of the team.
"Director Fan Ning, what masterpiece are you going to write?"
He watched with interest, with a trace of imperceptible contempt in his eyes.
-----
*Note 1: Adapted from Montaigne's "Random Thoughts"