巴爾夫歌曲之分析與詮釋:以1858年出版六首採用朗費羅詩詞之歌曲為例

Abstract

麥可‧威廉‧巴爾夫(Michael William Balfe,1808-1870)，為十九世紀歐洲紅極一時的愛爾蘭作曲家、男中音與指揮家。他在巴黎和米蘭求學，身處於義大利美聲歌劇(Bel Conto Operas) 蓬勃發展的年代，待他返回倫敦時，英國音樂的發展仍舊低迷，於是他將在義大利與法國所學的歌劇經驗，致力於創作英國聲樂作品，透過成功的歌劇，推動音樂的風氣；創作更多歌曲，讓歌唱藝術更普及。本論文是以巴爾夫1858年出版六首採用朗費羅詩詞之歌曲為主軸，藉由文獻探討，瞭解其時代背景，並提供六首歌曲的中文翻譯與內涵，透過樂曲分析，整理作曲家的創作手法，理解音樂與詩意的關係，並以此作為演唱詮釋之建議。 這六首歌曲的歌詞皆選自美國詩人亨利‧沃茲沃思‧朗費羅(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882) 的詩，分別出自詩集《夜吟》(Voices of the Night)、《布魯日鐘樓及其他詩選》(The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems) ，以及劇本《西班牙學生》(The Spanish Students)。六首詩的題材，皆有不同的面向，展現生活中不同層面的情感，音樂上各自獨立發展，沒有相對應的關係，巴爾夫將六首歌與一首重唱曲集合成冊出版。 從這六首歌曲中，可以看到巴爾夫的寫作手法與音樂風格。他使用許多歌劇創作手法，像是宣敘調、踏瓣音、延音記號等；也藉由改變速度、調性、節奏來表現情境的轉變；明確標示速度、力度、表情與聲音的術語，以此增加樂曲戲劇張力；鋼琴處於伴奏地位，但適時支持歌曲情感的表達。作者以自己的演唱經驗給予詮釋建議，希望對有意演唱這六首歌曲的歌者，有所幫助。Michael William Balfe, 1808-1870, was an Irish composer, baritone, and conductor in the 19th century, who enjoyed a short-lived fame. He studied in Paris and Milan, where he immersed himself in an environment where bel canto operas flourished. When he returned to London, he channeled his creativity into his English vocal works, utilizing what his experiences in Italian and French opera; through these successful operatic works, it conjured a new wave in English music. More vocal works were then composed, allowing the vocal arts to become more prevalent, thanks to Balfe. This thesis will focus on the six songs that Balfe had composed in 1858, using the poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Through gathering information from documents, understanding the cultural and social importance of the poems, structural analysis of the music, techniques of the compositional methods, understanding the relationship with the music and poetry, I have provided the Mandarin translation and the all the related contents, and have based my performance interpretations on all my findings. These six songs were gathered from the various collections of poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882, from Voices of the Nights, The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems, and The Spanish Students. In the six poems, different emotions and aspects of life are exhibited, allowing the music to develop differently, without any relevance. Balfe published these six songs and a duet altogether in the same book. From these six songs, one will notice Balfe’s compositional techniques and musical style. He uses many operatic compositional techniques, such as recitative, damper pedal, and sustaining pedal; through changes in the tempo, tonality, and rhythm, he shows us the changes in the mood as well. When he accurately harnesses the tempo, energy, emotions and inflections, he is able to dramatize the music; the piano plays a supportive role accompanying the singer, but provides an appropriate amount of emotional support to the development of the music. Through my knowledge and experience as a performer, I will provide my own interpretation of these six songs, and I hope my interpretation will be of assistance to those who wish to perform these works.