VOA标准英语2010年-A 'Novel' Way to Listen to Music

Romantic thriller¹ 'Nocturne' comes with a CD of Chopin favorites

Faiza Elmasry | Washington, DC 30 March 2010

Do you think a little music would enhance your reading experience? 

Musicologist, pianist and novelist Harrison Gradwell Slater thinks so. In fact, he's integrated music into the text of his new novel, "Nocturne." The romantic thriller comes with a CD of Chopin favorites performed by the author, to be played at specific points in the book.

'Nocturne' comes with a CD of Chopin favorites performed by the author, to be played at specific points in the book.

Slater says playing Chopin is one of the greatest joys in his life. "Chopin's music touches me with its incredible nostalgia². It immediately brings us into a world of passion, and of great sensitivity."

"Nocturne" is Slater's second book and he wanted to experiment with giving his readers a chance to hear Chopin's music as part of the story, from beginning to end.

Slater's protagonist³, Artemisia, is a photographer who travels from New York to Paris to photograph the places that were part of Chopin's life for a magazine story. The assignment comes just as she ends her relationship with her fiancé, Clifton, who has proven to be unstable⁴ and violent. While in Paris, she meets Matthew, a Chopin expert who will write the story that accompanies her photographs. As their relationship grows, Clifton appears in Paris and begins to stalk Artemisia.

Musicologist, pianist and novelist Harrison Slater integrated music into the text of his new novel.

Slater uses Chopin's "Prelude⁵ in E Flat Minor⁶," to convey Clifton's disturbed state of mind and provides a leitmotif for his character.

The author says Chopin's music enhances the text in other ways. When an old diary revealing much of Chopin's past is discovered, Matthew and Artemisia travel to Warsaw to determine the document's authenticity⁷. That's when Slater inserts a sentence into the text, suggesting his readers play track 11 on the CD - Chopin's "Mazurka in C Sharp Minor" - in which the composer uses Polish folk rhythms and modes.

Slater says it wasn't just Chopin's music that inspired his novel, it was the composer's life as well.

"There are many parallels between what goes on with this young couple - Artemisia being followed by her obsessed⁸ boyfriend who has turned into a killer⁹ - and what happened in the life of Chopin and his mistress George Sand, who was the famous novelist of the 19th century," he says. "For example, George Sand had to break up with her boyfriend. He didn't take it very well. That was when she had met Chopin and decided¹⁰ to live with Chopin. So he showed up one night and, if she hadn't run, he might have taken her life."

"Nocturne" is only one part of Slater's celebration of Chopin in the bicentennial year of the composer's birth. He is also artistic¹¹ director of an international Chopin piano competition coming to his city of Boston in May.

Slater hopes providing a CD along with the book will give Chopin's admirers a chance to enjoy his music in a different setting while also introducing the great composer to a new generation.
 

1 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

2 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

3 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

4 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

5 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

8 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。