VOA标准英语2011--Civil War Songs Reset for 21st Century

Civil War Songs Reset¹ for 21st Century

The U.S. Civil War may be a century and a half behind us, but American emotions about the conflict can still be raw. Director Peter Sellars has taken music by Pulitzer-prize winning composer George Crumb² and updated it to present day. Crumb's "Winds of Destiny" recasts familiar Civil War-era songs in a jagged, haunting style.
Sellars was attracted to Crumb's score after realizing that the situation in the United States today mirrors that of the Civil War 150 years ago.
"The kind of virulence³ and anger and fury of one part of the country towards another part of the country is bitter, and the same loneliness, bitterness, sourness, that these songs reflect from the Civil War period - "The Battle Hymn⁴ of the Republic," "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," but also the songs of longing⁵ - "Shenandoah." These were American songs from a time when the country was torn apart, and they reflect the kind of emotional intensity⁶ of the divide and also the longing to come together."
Crumb first set these songs in 2004. He remembered hearing Dawn Upshaw perform one of them years before. He decided⁷ to incorporate her interpretation⁸ into his music.
"Dawn Upshaw performed some folk songs, including "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," and she repeated the first verse in a kind of funereal⁹ way, very sad, like the words were there, "We'll shout," and "The girls will applaud," and all that, and yet she gave it an ironic¹⁰ twist."
In the new Sellars staging, Upshaw sings "Winds of Destiny" including that song about a soldier returning home after the war. She says it's one of the most astonishing moments in the song cycle.
"There's fear and there's danger, and there's even anger in the singer, because the singer yells at the ends of many phrases," Upshaw says. "That's a really extreme and serious moment in the whole piece, one of several, but because it is taking this tune¹¹ that we all kind of know from our past as being filled with a fair amount of pride or something, but it kind of turns it inside on itself, in this painful introspection."
Sellars has created a character and a narrative¹² out of the original song cycle. A female U.S. soldier is returning home from the war in Afghanistan.
"And so the intensity with which women return and the harrowing experiences, both on the battlefield - things they've been asked to do that they cannot live with the rest of their lives - in addition to things that have happened to them that still can't be talked about or acknowledged. It's very, very intense," says Sellars.
Pianist Gilbert Kalish and the Red Fish Blue Fish percussion¹³ quartet accompany Upshaw on stage, and all the performers are dressed in camouflage¹⁴.
Kalish says that Sellars' direction is subtle.
"And he's very clever. He knows I'm not an actor. And so he has me doing very simple things, very slow walking and going over to Dawn, the soldier, and in some very quiet way, trying to comfort her. I say nothing. I almost do nothing.....The music is so powerful and what he asks us to do was so connected to the music that it felt right. It felt as if I was really involved in this drama."
The drama of war and its aftermath were very much a part of Crumb's initial inspiration. But there's also reverence¹⁵ for the songs themselves. Crumb calls "Shenandoah" one of the most beautiful folk songs of any country.
Sellars says its poetry and ambiguity¹⁶ allow the audience to make its own interpretation.
"The song is so haunting and it resonates on so many levels, it remains¹⁷ poetic¹⁸. I hope what we're making is the same, that it's extremely evocative and at the same time poetic and open. And every audience member puts their own images there and their own experiences, and it stimulates¹⁹ your own imagination."

1 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

2 crumb   

n.饼屑，面包屑，小量

参考例句：

• It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
• Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。

3 virulence   

n.毒力，毒性；病毒性；致病力

参考例句：

• The virulence of the café owner's anger had appalled her.咖啡店老板怒气冲天，充满敌意，把她吓坏了。
• Medical authorities were baffled,both as to its causes and its virulence.医疗当局对其病因及有多致命都还不甚了解。

4 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

5 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

6 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

9 funereal   

adj.悲哀的；送葬的

参考例句：

• He addressed the group in funereal tones.他语气沉痛地对大家讲话。
• The mood of the music was almost funereal.音乐的调子几乎像哀乐。

10 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

11 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

12 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

13 percussion   

n.打击乐器；冲突，撞击；震动，音响

参考例句：

• In an orchestra,people who play percussion instruments sit at the back.在管弦乐队中，演奏打击乐器的人会坐在后面。
• Percussion of the abdomen is often omitted.腹部叩诊常被省略。

14 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

15 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

16 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

17 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。

18 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

19 stimulates   

v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用

参考例句：

• Exercise stimulates the body. 运动促进身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Alcohol stimulates the action of the heart. 酒刺激心脏的活动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》