神韵2008年舞蹈《顶碗舞》。（图片来源：公有领域）
在神韵作品网站上，观看了一个视频《二胡、大提琴二重奏—蒙古族顶碗舞片段》，神韵二胡演奏家王真与大提琴演奏家雅克·弗勒，共同演奏一段神韵艺术团2017年的节目：蒙古《顶碗舞》，并展示和讲解了他们如何将东西方乐器融合到天衣无缝的地步。艺术家在各自对于东西方乐器的深厚造诣基础上，还融入了对于蒙古民族音乐的文化底蕴和艺术韵味的深刻体会。短短不到三分钟的视频，其中的音乐合奏片段不到1分钟，但已经给了我美不胜收的心灵触及。这又引发我极大的兴趣，找到神韵作品网站上《顶碗舞》这一期节目完整的4分46秒长度的交响乐演奏。在不看台上舞蹈的情况下，充分感受到了神韵交响乐，特别是东西方合璧的交响音乐的魅力。感受到音乐本身给舞蹈提供了一个更大、更丰富、更加多维的舞台，为舞者提供的是一个天造地设的更加美好的天地。音乐的世界里，看不见舞蹈，却听得见舞蹈。音乐中的天地万物，看似无人，却处处有人。音乐有空，却给人提供了最大的活动空间；音乐有无，却给人提供了应有尽有的自由；音乐有花，花开、花落、花飞都记载着人生的轨迹；音乐有草，记载着人类的奔忙或舞蹈的脚印；音乐有风，保存着人舞者的每一个舞蹈动作；音乐有云，收集着人类的气息、人间的色彩；音乐有群山，回荡着人们的歌声；音乐有湖水，映记着人们的舞姿……交响乐丰富的内涵用千言万语难以名状。这里仅就这其中不到一分钟的二胡和大提琴两种乐器合奏的部分，以诗歌来表达个人有限的观感。
二胡声起月朦胧，转眼云开照夜空。
一片天心霜雪落，光临大地伴秋风。
提琴随响野茫茫，一颤弦歌九曲肠。
夜色如水草如浪，风吹草低见牛羊。
天高地广风中草，地久天长人易老。
何故人活天地间？天经地义何人晓？
交响乐丰富的内涵用千言万语难以名状，仅以诗歌来表达个人有限的观感。（图片来源：专栏作家李唐风）
Below is the English Translation by the ChatGPT:
[Dreams Return with Shen Yun]Series:Between Heaven and Earth
—Reflections on the Shen Yun Erhu and Cello Duet of the Mongolian“Bowl Dance”
By Li Tangfeng
On the Shen Yun Creations website,I watched ashort video titled“Erhu and Cello Duet—Mongolian Bowl Dance Excerpt.”It features Shen Yun’s erhu musician Wang Zhen and cellist Jacques Forestier performing apiece from Shen Yun Performing Arts’2017 program:the Mongolian“Bowl Dance.”They also share how they seamlessly merge Eastern and Western instruments.The musicians draw not only from their deep mastery of their respective traditions but also from their profound understanding of Mongolian musical culture and artistry.
Though the entire video is less than three minutes,and the actual duet segment under one minute,it delivered astunning spiritual impact.Inspired,I sought out the full 4-minute-46-second symphonic version of“Bowl Dance”on the Shen Yun Creations site.Even without watching the dance itself,I was fully immersed in the brilliance of Shen Yun’s symphony orchestra,particularly its fusion of East and West.The music provided dancers with astage not just grander,but more vivid and multidimensional—a heaven and earth crafted perfectly for beauty.
In music,though we do not see the dance,we can hear the dance.In the musical world,things seem uninhabited,yet humanity is felt everywhere.Music contains emptiness,yet grants boundless freedom;music may seem abstract,yet contains all things needed.It holds blooming flowers,their blooming,falling,and flying recording life’s path;grass that traces the rush of human steps or dancers’footprints;wind that preserves every movement of the dancers;clouds that collect the breath and colors of the human world;mountains that echo with human song;and lakes that reflect the dancers’forms.The richness of symphonic music cannot be fully expressed in words.
Here,I’ve chosen to express just the erhu and cello duet—less than aminute—in the form of ahumble poem:
When the erhu rises,the moon is veiled,
A breath—the clouds part,and night is unveiled.
From heaven’s heart,frost and snow descend,
Bringing their glow with the autumn wind.
The cello joins in with the wild expanse,
A trembling string stirs the soul’s deep dance.
The night flows like water,the grass like waves,
The wind brushes low—and sheep emerge from the haze.
The sky is vast,the earth is wide,the grasses wave in wind and time.
Time moves on,and man grows old—
But why must we live between heaven and earth?
Who truly knows what destiny holds?
