《雙鶴聽泉》Listening to the Flowing Stream

《雙鶴聽泉》好像是琴曲《猿鶴雙清》的引子（待考察），最早紀錄於明代萬曆年間（1573-1672）的《文會堂琴譜》（明胡文煥於1596年編）。（從網上抄的）

Two cranes listening to the flowing stream is (apparently) the prelude to the guqin piece “Two clarities of the Ape and the Crane” (?), and was earliest recorded in the Wenhuitang Collection of Guqin Scores, compiled by Hu Wenhuan in 1596. (baidu & wiki)

Here are some relevant and interesting ancient records describing the intent of the piece, as well as how we should play it:

「水中鷗鷺，山中野鶴，或息栖於汀州或怡情於泉石，唯不受世人樊籠之苦，是以無憂無慮，無驚無恐，逍遙自適於山水中也。噫！浮生若夢，為歡幾何，士不得志則山林而已矣，雖貧賤，何傷。」

——《一峰園琴譜》（清）禹祥年（康熙四十八年，1709）

“(Look at the) river gulls and herons, the wild cranes in the mountains. They may reside on islets or roam by the streams, but never will they be caged by mortal sufferings. Unfettered and unrestrained, they wander in the mountains fearless and unperturbed. Oh! For the fleeting life is nothing but a dream, how many joyous moments can we have? If my aspirations are left unseen and unacknowledged, then I would rather live in the mountain wilderness. So what if it brings me a poor and humble life!”

——– Yifengyuan Scores for the Guqin, by Yu Xiangnian (1709)

「《聽泉》短曲耳，宽转平和，音節大雅，静夜以中音奏之，何异置身磴间，聆山溜清韵洗涤。」

——《指法汇参琴谱》（清）王仲舒（道光元年，1821）

“‘Flowing stream’ is a short piece that starts broad and turns calm and harmonious. The notes are akin to the music of the Major Court Hymns (1). When played in a balanced tone (2) in the middle of a quiet night, it is as though one is seated by the mountain steps, cleansed by the clear charms of trickling streamlets.”

——– A Study of Guqin Fingerings and Playing Techniques, by Wang Zhongshu (1852)

(1) the Major Court Hymes, or Daya (大雅), refers to one of the six chapters in the Book of Songs (詩經), the earliest collection of poetries in ancient China. The music and poems of the Daya chapter is recognised as a very elegant, pure, and sophisticated genre, so by alluding this piece to the music of Daya, that is a very high form of compliment.

(2) Yes i think 中音 here refers to a balanced tone (中和之音) instead of the music pitch i.e. alto range.

古琴感想IX：自律

這週上課後對自己有點失望。

最近在學「雙鶴聽泉」，由於之前感冒+偷懶，所以課上得斷斷續續的，拖了也有一個多月也沒什麼進度。老師早就提醒我要多練吟揉的指法（尤其是無名指）、手腕要動、手指要有形、要穩……可是前幾週練得不夠。所以儘管我最近一週有勤練，還是沒能做到，吟不吟得動全憑運氣。所以最近兩堂課老師一直在重複之前已經重複的。

本來老師在上節課說，希望我這週把這曲彈過一遍（主要是拖太久）。但等我真的開始彈時，只彈了第一句他就聽不下去了。除了吟揉這些技術上的問題，我整體彈得也缺乏方向感，每一樂句之間沒有細心斟酌，所以現在還是停留在彈音符而不彈音樂的階段。結果一堂課下來老師又開始逐句帶。

課後的我感到透徹的沮喪。學了這麼多年的音樂，這些道理、練習的方式我都清楚，但為什麼我還需要老師一遍遍重複，像一個初學者一樣蹣跚學步呢？難道不是我最近幾週過於懈怠、過於放縱自己、沈浸在安逸和得過且過之中嗎？難道不是心懷僥倖心理，該練琴的時一拖再拖嗎？難道不是該慢練時心太急，有些細節沒仔細斟酌就略過嗎？看似學了「一個多月」，其實真正練琴的時間只滿一半，那也難怪我彈的不盡人意了。

希望之後的練琴能自律。