Musique, ma patrie ! #59では、ブラームス(Johannes Brahms)の《いばらの薔薇は芽生え》(Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen)(*1)が紹介される。キット・アームストロングは、音色や楽器法、雰囲気(ムード)の変化を挙げ、「和声付け」や「装飾」(*2)について述べる。ここでは、通常“付け加え”とされる「装飾」が、全く異なる種類の変容を生み出す例を上げる。ブラームスは素朴な旋律を素材とし、その各音に追加音を与え、周囲の音との関係性によって、部分の総和を超える新たな音楽的意味を生成する。ここでは、元の主題は保持されつつも、「2音単位のグループ」といった新しいアイデアが浮かび上がり、全く別の主題が成立する。この新しい主題こそが旋律展開の基盤となるのだ。単なる付加のように見える処理は、実際には作品の構造そのものを変化させ、独自の雰囲気・性格・歌う線を持つ自律的な音楽となる。ここでの音楽は、装飾を通じて新たな主題を生成し、原曲から独立した存在へと転化する“変容の産物”として提示される。
①hello ladies and gentlemen. let's say we wanted to transform the essence of a piece of music.〔hello ladies and gentlemen「こんにちは、みなさん」(呼びかけ)〕〔let's say (that)「〜と仮定してみよう」〕〔we wanted to + 動詞(仮定的ニュアンス)〕〔the essence of「〜の本質」〕②we can do this by changing its sound, making it to be played by different instruments or using the instruments in a different way.〔we can do this「それは可能である」〕〔by + 動名詞「〜することで」(手段)〕〔making it to be played(使役的ニュアンス:〜されるようにする)〕〔using ... in a different way「異なる方法で使う」〕③We can also do this by changing the mood.〔also「また」〕〔by + 動名詞「〜することで」〕④harmonisation is one very common and effective way to do that〔harmonisation「和声付け」〕〔one of + 名詞「〜の一つ」〕〔to do that「それを行うための」〕⑤or we can embellish it.〔or「あるいは」〕〔embellish「装飾する」〕⑥now, embellishment is something which is a misleading term because sometimes the same processes that are used to embellish something, in the proper sense of the word as we know it, also lead to a different kind of transformation〔now「さて」(話題転換)〕〔something which is ...「〜であるようなもの」〕〔misleading「誤解を招く」〕〔because「なぜなら」〕〔the same processes that ...「〜する同じプロセス」〕〔in the proper sense of the word「言葉の本来の意味で」〕〔lead to「〜につながる」〕⑦and that's what I would like to show you with this beautiful piece by brahms, where he takes a folksy tune and makes it something that can only be described as brahms-like in his typical warm and intimate manner.〔that's what ...「それがまさに〜するもの」〕〔I would like to + 動詞「〜したい」〕〔where「そこで(関係副詞)」〕〔takes A and makes it B「Aを取ってBにする」〕〔can only be described as「〜としか言いようがない」〕⑧now let's look at how this actually came about〔let's + 動詞「〜しよう」〕〔how ... came about「どのように起こったか」〕⑨so the original tune is this...〔so「では/それでは」〕〔original tune「元の旋律」〕⑩we don't really hear the tune, do we?〔don't ... do we?(付加疑問)〕〔not really「実際にはあまり〜ない」〕⑪now this is because within each of the notes of this tune Brahms has added extra notes.〔this is because「これは〜だからだ」〕〔within each of「それぞれの中に」〕〔has added(現在完了)〕⑫this is what could be called very easily embellishment, but these extra notes have a special relationship in every case to the notes surrounding it which are part of the original tune, that they make something which is more than the sum of its parts.〔what could be called「〜と呼ばれうるもの」〕〔but「しかし」〕〔in every case「どの場合でも」〕〔surrounding「周囲の」〕〔which are part of「〜の一部である」〕〔more than the sum of its parts「部分の総和以上」〕⑬so between the first two notes... he adds two extra ones ... which makes now...〔between「〜の間に」〕〔adds「加える」〕〔which makes ...「その結果〜になる」〕⑭the thing to notice about this compositionally is that of course the first idea of the original is still there but there's one idea which becomes much more salient and that is the two groups of two notes.〔the thing to notice「注目すべき点」〕〔of course「もちろん」〕〔is still there「依然として存在する」〕〔but「しかし」〕〔becomes more salient「より顕著になる」〕⑮and thus by embellishing the theme he's actually made an entirely different theme and it's this different theme, the result of this first creative idea, which becomes the basis of the elaboration of the melody...〔thus「このようにして」〕〔by + 動名詞「〜することで」〕〔has made(現在完了)〕〔entirely different「全く異なる」〕〔which becomes「〜となる」〕〔basis of「〜の基盤」〕⑯now I'm sure you agree that seen like this it looks like he has really taken the original tune and simply put something on top of it,〔I'm sure (that)「きっと〜だと思う」〕〔seen like this「このように見ると」〕〔it looks like「〜のように見える」〕〔has taken ... and put ...(現在完了の並列)〕⑰but the genius of this piece is that when one hears it without having the tune in one's head one does not get the tune put into one's head,〔the genius of「〜の真価」〕〔when one hears it「それを聴くとき」〕〔without + 動名詞「〜せずに」〕〔one does not get ... put into one's head(受動的ニュアンス)〕⑱and the piece is therefore autonomous and has a mood, a character, and a singing line which does not depend on the reference〔therefore「したがって」〕〔autonomous「自律的な」〕〔a mood / a character / a singing line(並列)〕〔which does not depend on「〜に依存しない」〕 出典元(音声)Brahms : Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen | Musique, ma patrie !
(*1)Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen:ドイツの伝統的なコラール旋律(「エッサイの根より」)に基づく作品。ブラームスはこの素朴な旋律を素材に、独自の和声と書法で再構成している。