VOA标准英语2011--Cellist Yo-Yo Ma Joins 'Goat Rodeo'

Cellist¹ Yo-Yo Ma Joins 'Goat Rodeo'

Most classical music lovers know cellist Yo-Yo Ma as one of the world’s greatest classical virtuosos³. But what happens when this unique mega-star teams up with luminaries⁴ from bluegrass and other genres⁵ in a rural setting, with no agenda other than to have fun and see what kind of musical magic they can make?

You just might get their runaway⁶ hit “The Goat Rodeo Sessions.”

That’s the title track from “The Goat Rodeo Sessions,” a CD featuring Yo-Yo Ma on cello⁸; Chris Thile, the mandolin virtuoso² from the Punch Brothers bluegrass band; Edgar Meyer on the classical bass⁹; and the famed fiddler Stuart Duncan. All four are stars in their own right.

Goat Rodeo refers to something where 100 things have to go absolutely right, or it all goes terribly wrong. It captures the spirit of this experiment.

Getting these overly-scheduled musicians in the same place to record for a week was a feat⁷ in itself. But they also came together without knowing what the outcome would be.

Most of the music on the album hadn’t been written yet. What these four friends did have, they say, was creativity, an openness to where the moment might lead, and mischievous¹⁰ good humor.

"You know, what’s nice is that every time we get together we seem to start to get sillier and start to feed off each other’s energies and then in between serious stuff gets done," Ma says.

Thile agrees. "I think levity¹¹ is essential toward establishing intimacy¹² and trust. There is a lot at stake in a situation like this, a musical process. There is a lot riding on us doing a good job."

"I find that I play better right after someone has said something so clever," says Meyer, "it’s all I can do not to burst out laughing."

A hint of that levity is apparent in “Where’s My Bow,” one of the cuts on the CD.

Their studio was nestled in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts, next door to the home of Yo-Yo Ma’s friend and sometime collaborator¹³, James Taylor. The singer/songwriter fashioned a state-of-the-art facility in an old wooden barn on his property.

"There was a little bit of anxiety attached to that of thinking about one of the world’s greatest guitarists down in his shop with a power saw and a hammer," Duncan says.

The music itself is varied¹⁴. There is more than a hint of bluegrass, funk and jazz in “Quarter Chicken Dark.”

Ma concedes that all three genres are far from his home turf in the classical world. But he relished¹⁵ exploring new musical terrain¹⁶ with his buddies¹⁷. “It’s that kind of feeling where I know I am going to be taken care of and I will do my best. But they will more than meet me halfway¹⁸.”

Sometimes the music seems steeped in specific genres, yet transcends¹⁹ them. For stars accustomed to being in control of their studio sessions, collaborating²⁰ as equals was a challenge at first. But Thile says things eventually fell into place.

"We’d gotten our bearings and we started to get more comfortable with the kind of writing I like which is just sitting there with a group of people and talking about what you want to hear that you are not hearing yet."

It appears to have worked. "The Goat Rodeo Sessions” is topping the charts.

1 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

2 virtuoso   

n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手

参考例句：

• He was gaining a reputation as a remarkable virtuoso.作为一位技艺非凡的大师，他声誉日隆。
• His father was a virtuoso horn player who belonged to the court orchestra.他的父亲是宫廷乐队中一个技巧精湛的圆号演奏家。

3 virtuosos   

n.艺术大师( virtuoso的名词复数 )；名家；艺术爱好者；古董收藏家

参考例句：

• Like all virtuosos, Fermi had a distinctive style. 像所有的艺术家一样，费米有他自己的独特风格。 来自互联网
• In terms of musical performance, there are many very good French musicians, but few virtuosos. 从音乐演出来看，优秀的法国音乐家不少，可是缺乏演奏大师。 来自互联网

4 luminaries   

n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式）

参考例句：

• In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 亚14:6那日、必没有光．三光必退缩。 来自互联网
• Includes household filament light bulbs & luminaries. 包括家用的白炙灯泡和光源。 来自互联网

5 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

6 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

7 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

8 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。

9 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

10 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

11 levity   

n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变

参考例句：

• His remarks injected a note of levity into the proceedings.他的话将一丝轻率带入了议事过程中。
• At the time,Arnold had disapproved of such levity.那时候的阿诺德对这种轻浮行为很看不惯。

12 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

13 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

14 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

15 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

16 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

17 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

18 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

19 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

20 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。