邂逅桑图尔

在这个城市住了差不多四年了，竟从未在小城的中心街道上好好逛逛，那天闲来无事，我们逛进了一家旧乐器店，店里有手风琴，有电吉他，还有一些看着有些眼熟，又叫不上名字的乐器。

店老板是个五十岁左右的中年人。看着店里很冷清，我问他生意好吗？他回答说还好吧，因为他从不要求太多。这是个挺随和的人，我心想。先生和他闲聊，我走到里面，坐下来，把一个看着像非洲鼓似的手鼓夹在腿中间敲了几下，老板大老远地为我鼓起掌来。 “是非洲鼓吗？”看着那鼓的形状，我不确定的问。“是波斯鼓！” 老板一边回答，一边向我走过来。非洲鼓上部是上宽下窄，有些锥状，这个鼓上部是上下一样宽，怪不得。老板为我做示范，非洲鼓是夹在腿中间敲，波斯鼓则要横放在腿上敲。他敲得很好，看他的长相，该是中东那疙瘩人。

非洲鼓

波斯鼓

放下鼓，他掀开身边的一块布，露出了一个小“扬琴”。他让我试，我不会，先生便坐下来试着敲了几下，敲出《花儿为什么这样红》的调子，很适合这个琴的音色。老板介绍说这个是波斯乐器，叫桑图尔（Santur），我们告诉他，中国也有一种类似这个样子、但较之大几号的琴，叫扬琴。老板是个音乐爱好者，他不待我们提要求，便正襟危坐在琴前面，一曲波斯风格的曲子在他轻巧的敲击下流淌而出，音乐时紧时慢，不高昂，也不缠绵，清清爽爽，是典型的西域风情，让你想到驼队，想到悠远，想到赤脚披纱的娇艳姑娘在起舞…… 好听！

一曲终结，我们为他鼓掌，所谓“只有民族的才是世界的”，真是如此，民族音乐的魅力把我们打动。

老板不为向我们推销这件乐器，看得出他是因本民族音乐之美生发出一份骄傲，因此愿意向我们做介绍。我们接着聊音乐，他提到马友友，话题就转到几年前马友友和他“丝绸之路乐团”的各国音乐家带给温哥华的一场音乐会，那么巧，我们都去听过那场音乐会。老板说，音乐会的合奏中就有桑图尔。他盛赞那场音乐会，说各民族乐器的融合所产生的音乐效果是他闻所未闻的。我们也很欣赏马友友大胆浪漫的把东西方文化通过丝绸之路这一“古代互联网”融入音乐的计划，他的“丝路”计划从98年启动，发掘各国各民族优秀音乐家，用自己的大提琴与他们合奏，把许多新作品介绍到世界各地。

与这位老板相谈甚欢，在他的店里邂逅桑图尔，回来后我在网上找到一些用桑图尔演奏的古老波斯乐曲，听来的确是别有一番风味。生活中不经意的一瞬，当你把握、玩味时会变得很有味道。


2014.6.14



下面是桑图尔的演奏、马友友的“丝路”乐团的演奏及更多……

In this well-known Chinese folk song, Kazakh in origin, the singer addresses a girl named Yanzi (swallow), praising her bright eyes, graceful neck and long hair. "Please do not forget your promise and change your heart," he sings. "I am yours, and you are my swallow."

Wu Tong, who studied the sheng (Chinese mouth organ) at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, also has a career as a rock vocalist. His former classmate, Zhou Lin, was moved to arrange "Yanzi" for voice and cello after hearing Wu Tong's a capella rendition. Here he sings "Yanzi" with cellist Yo-Yo Ma during a Silk Road Ensemble concert.

"Night Thoughts" was inspired by a ninth-century Buddhist pipa tune and represents for pipa virtuoso and composer Wu Man a chance to rediscover the pipa's native, regional language. She was particularly drawn to its ancient tune scale, which is very different from today's mostly pentatonic pipa music, and to the peaceful, meditative sound of the pipa in the low register.

This performance took place at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre in March 2011, as part of a concert by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. The Silk Road Project is affiliated with Harvard University.

Santur player Siamak Aghaei and violinist Colin Jacobsen arranged a traditional folk melody that was inspired by mythology. "Ascending Bird" tells the popular legend of a bird attempting to fly to the sun. After two failed attempts, the bird finally makes contact with the sun, losing its physical body in fire, and in this way achieving a metaphorical spiritual transcendence.

The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma performed this piece in Sanders Theatre at Harvard University, where the Silk Road Project is acting as a working laboratory to explore intersections between the arts and academics. The Ensemble draws performing artists from around the world to share traditions from various cultures and explore and expand contemporary musical crossroads.

Opening a Silk Road Ensemble concert, three musicians perform an improvisation entitled "Wandering Winds." Kojiro Umezaki begins alone on the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute often used in Zen Buddhist meditation, whose breathy voice can mimic sounds of nature such as bird calls, wind or water. He is joined by Wu Tong on the bawu, a Chinese instrument also made of wood, which sounds somewhat similar to a clarinet. Dong-Won Kim rounds out the processional with improvised vocals and the Korean jang-go, a two-toned hourglass drum.

Yo-Yo Ma and Chris Botti Live in Boston with the Boston Pops Orchestra.