VOA慢速英语2013 People in America - Jerome Kern, 1885-1945: The Father of American Musical Theater

 

People in America - Jerome Kern, 1885-1945: The Father of American Musical Theater

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about and play music by songwriter Jerome Kern. He was the man who helped invent the modern musical play.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Jerome Kern is often called the father of American musical theater. Kern is remembered for the hundreds of songs he wrote for musical plays and movies. Music historians¹ say that Kern gave artistic² importance to American popular music for the first time. And, they say, he led the development of the first truly American theater music. 

VOICE TWO:

Jerome Kern was born into a middle-class family in New York City in eighteen eighty-five. Jerome's mother, Fanny, loved the piano. She began to teach Jerome how to play when he was very young. He became a fair piano player but not so good that anyone expected him to become a great musician. 

Jerome was a quiet boy and not a top student. When he completed high school, his father said he would have to work in the family's store. Mister³ Kern said his son could never make money writing music. But he later came to believe that Jerome might do better in music than in business after all. So he let the boy go to Europe to study music, as almost all serious young musicians did at the time.

VOICE ONE:

Jerome Kern began his career as a songwriter in theaters in London and New York City. Success came quickly. By the early nineteen twenties, Kern was a successful young composer⁴ for Broadway musical comedies. In one three-year period alone, he wrote music for nineteen shows. 

Other people wrote the words for Kern's songs. Kern wrote only the music. And he worked with each song until he was satisfied⁵ that the music was perfect. He almost never changed his music to fit the words. One of Kern's best-loved songs is "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," sung by Dinah Washington⁶.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO: 

Although Kern's songs are easy to remember after hearing a few times, they are not simple. His melodies⁷ -- the musical line of the song -- are always inventive, even demanding. An example of his inventiveness is the song "All the Things You Are." Several composers⁸ say they consider it the greatest song ever written. Singers continue to like Kern songs because they can be sung in many different ways. The melody⁹ remains¹⁰ the same. But different singers can change the feeling of the song completely¹¹. 

Here are two versions¹² of "All the Things You Are" sung in very different ways by Ella Fitzgerald and Willie Nelson. 

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Jerome Kern once said he was trying to bring modern art to music. One critic¹³ wrote this about his music: Kern's songs are like black and white drawings. They need no color, no decoration. A Kern song is always in balance, perfect in form and pleasing in design. Here is an example, "Why Do I Love You?" played by Andre Previn and friends.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

All but one of Kern's songs were written for musical plays. American musical plays at that time were still usually copied from European ones. Often the stories seemed foolish and the people in them did not seem real. Songs and dances often had no connection to the story.

Kern wanted to try something completely new. He thought a musical play should be a real work of art, not just a collection of songs and dances. He thought songs should help move the action of the play along, by showing a person's feelings. Kern wanted to do a truly American musical, with real American characters and real situations. 

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen twenty-seven, he found the story he wanted. It was the book "Show Boat" by American writer Edna Ferber. "Show Boat" takes place in the eighteen eighties on a passenger steam boat that travels along the Mississippi River. The boat is called a show boat because singers and dancers entertain¹⁴ the passengers. The captain of the show boat has a daughter who is a singer on the boat. She falls in love with a man who earns his money by gambling¹⁵ with cards. 

VOICE TWO:

The story dealt with some unusually serious issues¹⁶ for a musical. It showed the hard lives of African-Americans in the South. And it showed marriage between people of different races, which was against the law at that time. Although serious in places, "Show Boat" was not a tragedy¹⁷. 

The public and critics¹⁸ loved it. "Show Boat" became the greatest work of American musical theater. Music critics said Kern's effect on musical theater was revolutionary. It was Kern's music that made the show a great success. Perhaps his most famous song was written for "Show Boat." It is called "Ol' Man River. " 

It is about what life was like for black people who worked along the Mississippi River. Edna Ferber later remembered her excitement when Kern first played the melody for her. She said her hair stood up, and tears came to her eyes. Listen as Paul Robeson sings the song.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Edna Ferber said it was great music -- music that would live forever. Kern died in nineteen forty-five at the age of sixty. But "Show Boat" has been performed thousands of times all over the world. 

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Barbara Klein. 

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. You can read scripts¹⁹ and download audio²⁰ from our Web²¹ site, www.voanews.cn. Join us next week for People in America in VOA Special English. 

1 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

3 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

4 composer   

n.作曲家，作家，设计者

参考例句：

• Brooks is an excellent composer.布鲁克斯是一位杰出的作曲家。
• The composer expresses his sorrow in his music.这位作曲家用音乐表达他的悲伤。

5 satisfied   

adj.满意的，满足的；清偿过的；确信的，毫无疑问的v.使满意( satisfy的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• She's never satisfied with what she's got. 她对自己的所得从不感到满足。
• He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. 他脸上挂着得意扬扬的笑容。

6 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

7 melodies   

曲调( melody的名词复数 )； 旋律； 乐曲的音符编排； 美妙的音乐

参考例句：

• The two melodies are played in counterpoint. 用对位法来演奏这两首曲调。
• And now for your further delectation, we present a selection of popular melodies. 为使你们更加愉快，我们奉献给你们一组精选的流行歌曲。

8 composers   

n.（尤指古典音乐）作曲家( composer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He excels all other composers of his period. 他胜过同时代的所有其他作曲家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Composers write music that is more easily comprehensible without sacrificing originality. 作曲家写出既更易为人们理解，又不失其个人独创风格的音乐作品。 来自辞典例句

9 melody   

n.旋律，曲调，悦耳的音乐

参考例句：

• She struck up a folk melody on the piano.她开始用钢琴演奏那首民歌。
• After she wrote the melody,she asked us for criticisms.她做好曲之后，请我们提意见。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。

12 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 critic   

n.批评家，评论家；爱挑剔的人

参考例句：

• The critic classed him with the best writers of the age.评论家把他列入当代第一流的作家的行列之中。
• He became a fierce critic of the tobacco industry.他成了烟草业的强烈反对者。

14 entertain   

vt.招待，款待；使欢乐，使娱乐；vi.款待，请客

参考例句：

• Emma will be happy to entertain you.爱玛会很高兴招待你的。
• They entertain a great deal.他们常常招待客人。

15 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

16 issues   

（水等的）流出( issue的名词复数 )； 出口； 放出； （特别重要或大众关注的）问题

参考例句：

• Let's start with the more easily addressable issues. 我们先从较容易处理的问题着手。
• Employment and taxation are the bread-and-butter issues of politics. 就业和征税是很重要的政治问题。

17 tragedy   

n.悲剧；惨事，惨案，灾难

参考例句：

• The news of the tragedy really knocked us out.关于这一惨案的消息确实使我们感到震惊。
• The play was a tragedy,but the acting was laughable.戏是悲剧，可是演得却令人发笑。

18 critics   

n.批评家( critic的名词复数 )；评论员；批评者；挑剔的人

参考例句：

• He felt no animosity towards his critics. 他对批评他的人并不心怀怨恨。
• The move was widely seen as an attempt to appease critics of the regime. 普遍认为，这一举措是试图安抚批评政权的人。

19 scripts   

剧本( script的名词复数 )； 文字； 笔迹； （一种语言的）字母系统

参考例句：

• Many felt he was prostituting his talents by writing Hollywood scripts. 许多人觉得他给好莱坞写剧本是滥用自己的才华。
• The scripts had a rather tired plot. 这部陈旧的剧本的情节是非常俗套的。

20 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。

21 web   

n.网，蛛丝，蹼，织物，圈套，卷筒纸；vi.生蹼，形成网；vt.织蜘蛛网于，使落入圈套

参考例句：

• The spider weaves a web.蜘蛛织网。
• You mean the World Wide Web?你是说国际互联网？