At the onset of a northern winter, many dream of warmer climates. In 1934 the Canadian-born composer Colin McPhee did more than dream. He set out for the island of Bali.
北方一进入冬季，很多人就渴望生活在更温暖的气候环境中。1934年，加拿大出生的作曲家科林·麦克菲没有仅仅停留在空想上，他出发去了巴厘岛。
In his book A House in Bali, Colin McPhee describes how he first gained insight into the essence of Balinese music. For about a month he had been working on transcribing a complete score to a Balinese play he had seen. It seemed impossible that so much beauty could he achieved with a scale of only five tones.
在一本名为《巴厘岛的一座房子》的书中，麦克菲描写了他如何最先发现了巴厘音乐的精华。麦克菲用了近一个月的时间，给一出他看过的巴厘语戏剧编上完整的乐谱。他发觉仅凭五个全音音阶根本无法将如此美妙的音乐完全表达出来。
But the distinctive embellishments of the music eluded him. A young household helper and his friend decided to assist. One morning they set two objects next to McPhee’s piano. They were gangas—metal keyed instruments. The two boys played them in what struck McPhee as ”a fast duet in Morse code”.
音乐的独特修饰技巧让他困惑了。他的一个年轻家庭助手和一位朋友决定帮他。一天早晨，他们在麦克菲的钢琴旁放了两件物品，钢嘎——一种金属键盘乐器。这两个男孩演奏起了钢嘎，麦克菲认为他俩玩得“像电报码一样快”。
At last the composer had found the key to Balinese music. “Wait!” McPhee would call out from the piano as the boys flew along, “Stop! Please! That bit once more!”
最后，麦克菲找到了打开巴厘音乐殿堂的钥匙。“等等！”当男孩们如行云流水一般演奏时，麦克菲就从钢琴后面喊出来，“请停下来！那段再来一遍！”
Patiently the boys would stop and begin again. But soon they were flying again, faster than ever, amazing McPhee with their memory and precision. Sometimes the patterns repeated. Sometimes they opened up into something new. Then, suddenly the whole duet would fly apart and the boys would burst out laughing, breaking the spell.
男孩们很耐心地反反复复地演奏，不久他们又弹得飞快，比任何时候都要快，他们的记忆力和准确性让麦克菲惊呆了。有时候，他们在已有的音乐模式中反复，有时候又加入一种新的模式。突然，刚才还浑然一体的二重奏分开了，两个男孩大笑起来，这种着迷的状态被打破了。
Although Colin McPhee left the island in 1939, he remained spellbound by Balinese music. And its rich, distinctive sound would colour many of the compositions he would write for the next quarter century.
尽管科林·麦克菲于1939年离开了巴厘岛，但他始终对巴厘音乐情有独钟。巴厘音乐中丰富而独特的旋律为这位作曲家的很多作品增添了生命力，在余下的四分之一世纪里，他将此奉献给了世界。
重点单词及短语
1. at the onset of：phr. 在...刚开始的时候
2. dream of：v. 渴望，梦想
3. Canadian-born：adj. 加拿大出生的
4. set out：phr. 启程，出发，动身
5. essence：n. 精华，精髓
6. Balinese：adj. 巴厘岛的
7. burst out laughing：phr. 突然大笑起来
8. spellbound：adj. 入迷的，着魔的
