歌词
In order to show you how a big symphony orchestra is put together
为了向大家展示一个大型交响乐队是如何组织起来的
Benjamin Britten has written a big piece of music, which is made up of smaller pieces that show you all the separate parts of the orchestra.
本杰明·布里顿用很多展现乐队不同部分的小音乐片段，创作了一部大音乐杰作。
These smaller pieces are called variations, which means different ways of playing the same tune.
这些小片段被称为变奏曲，意为演奏同一曲调的不同方式。
First of all, let us hear the tune, or the theme, which is a beautiful melody by the much older British composer Henry Purcell.
首先，让我们聆听这一曲调或说主题——一段由更久之前的英国作曲家亨利·珀塞尔写作的优美的旋律。
Here’s the Purcell’s Theme played by the whole orchestra together.
以下是由管弦乐队全体演奏的珀塞尔主题曲：
Now Mr.Britten lets you hear the four different families of the orchestra playing the same Purcell theme in different ways.
接着，布里顿先生让你们听到的是：管弦乐队的四个不同家族以不同方式，演奏同一首珀塞尔主题曲。
First, we hear the woodwind family, the flutes, the oboes, the clarinets and the bassoons.
首先我们听到的是木管家族，长笛、双簧管、单簧管以及巴松管。
Here comes the Brass family, the trumpets, the horns, the trombones and the tuba.
然后是铜管家族，小号、圆号、长号以及大号。
Now Mr.Britten arranges the Purcell Theme for the String family, the violins, the violas, the cellos and the double basses. And of course, the harp.
接着，布里顿先生为弦乐家族编排了珀塞尔主题曲，小提琴、中提琴、大提琴以及低音提琴。当然了，还有竖琴。
And finally the Percussion family, all those drums and gongs and things you hit.
然后终于到了打击乐家族，所有的各种鼓和锣以及所有你需要敲击的东西。
After this, you will hear the theme by Purcell played once more in its original form by all four families together. That is the whole orchestra.
接着，你将会再次听到由四个家族一齐演奏的珀塞尔主题曲最早的形式。这就是整个交响乐团了。
Now Mr.Britten begins to write his variations. One for each instrument in turn.
现在布里顿先生开始写他的变奏曲们，每个乐器轮流一首变奏曲。
He begins at the very top of the woodwind ladder with a little piccolo and two flutes.
他首先从木管乐器阶梯最上端开始，一只短笛和两只长笛。
Coming down the woodwind ladder, we reach the oboes, which have a piercing, sad quality.
木管乐器阶梯往下，我们会遇到拥有尖锐、悲伤音色的双簧管。
Next, the clarinets, which are so athletic - they can play almost anything. And they make a beautifully smooth, mellow sound.
下一个是健壮的单簧管，它们几乎可以演奏任何旋律，而且它们的音色甜美平顺。
Down of the bottom of the woodwind ladder are the bassoons, the largest members of the woodwind family with the deepest voices.
木管乐器阶梯的最底部是巴松管，木管家族中体积最大的成员，拥有最低的音调。
The next variation starts at the top of the string ladder with the violins. They play in two groups, first and second.
下一个变奏曲从弦乐器阶梯的最顶部——小提琴开始，它们由两个小组演奏，第一小提琴和第二小提琴。
Violas are a bit larger than violins, so they are deeper in sound.
中提琴体积比小提琴稍大，因此它们的声音更低。
Cellos are even larger than violas, and their tone is rich and warm and wonderful.
大提琴比中提琴还要大，它们的音调饱满、温暖、令人赞叹。
And at the bottom of the string ladder, we find big heavy grumbling double basses.
在弦乐器阶梯的最底部，我们有又大又重的低音提琴。
The harp is the whole string ladder in itself, because it can play as high as violin and as low as double bass.
竖琴就是木管乐器阶梯它本身，因为它既能像小提琴一样演奏高音，也能像低音提琴一样演奏低音。
When Mr.Britten comes to the Brass ladder, he begins right in the middle of it with the horns, which can also be very high and very low.
当布里顿先生来到铜管乐器阶梯，他从阶梯的中间开始——能高能低的圆号。
The trumpets are the highest brass instruments. I guess everybody knows their sound.
小号是音调最高的铜管乐器，我猜所有人都知道它的音色。
The trombones have low heavy stern voices. The bass tuba is even lower and heavier, in fact, the lowest brass instrument of all.
长号的声音低沉厚重而严厉。而低音大号甚至更加低沉厚重。
There is an enormous number of Percussion instruments, we can’t play them all, but here are the most familiar ones.First, the kettledrums, often called timpani.
打击乐器有很多种，我们并不能全部演奏它们。但以下是大家最熟悉的几种。首先，锅鼓，又称为定音鼓。
Now, the bass drum and the cymbals.
现在是低音鼓和钹。
The tambourine and the triangle.
铃鼓和三角铁。
The snare drum and the Chinese block.
小鼓和中式木鱼。
The xylophone.
木琴。
The castanets and the gong.
响板和锣。
And finally, the whip.
最后，铃舌。
And now, altogether.
所有打击乐器一齐。
So you see, the composer Benjamin Britten has taken the whole orchestra apart.
所以你能看到，作曲家本杰明·布里顿把整个管弦乐队拆开了。
Now he puts back together again in a fugue.
现在他又把乐队装配进一首赋格曲里。
The instruments are coming one after another in the same order as before, beginning with the piccolo.
乐器将按照之前的顺序，一个接一个地开始演奏，从短笛开始。
And at the end, when all the instruments have finally come in, the brass will play all Henry Purcell’s melody
最后，当所有乐器都开始演奏后，铜管乐器将演奏珀塞尔主题曲。
while the other instruments go on play young Benjamin Britten’s fugue.
而其它的乐器都会继续演奏本杰明·布里顿的赋格曲。
专辑信息