Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 489 Roman Music

"Thump thump thump, thump thump thump thump..."

From an ordinary house in the west of the city, the sound of musical instruments was heard.

After playing for a while, Li Xuanying took back her hand from the keyboard and shook her head: "The sound is a bit strange. Is it the wrong style? It just doesn't fit. What do you think, Mr. Luo?"

"I don't think it's good either. I'm afraid this thing can't be used as military music." Opposite, an old man with a gray beard put down his tea and said: "The ancients called military music 'advocacy', which is not unreasonable. According to my experience, Young Master, it’s better to pay attention to those musical instruments.”

"Moreover, musical instruments in different places have different characteristics. Not to mention in places like this, even in the Central Plains, the musical instruments in various places are different, and over time they have formed a fixed impression. It is said that someone told Su Dongpo that Liu Yong The lyrics are suitable for a girl of seventeen or eighteen years old, holding a Jiangnan type of red wooden board that makes rhythm, and singing "The Dawn Wind Waning Moon on the Willow Bank"; for Su Dongpo's own lyrics, he had to find a big man from Guanxi, holding a copper pipa and an iron wooden board. , singing 'Da Jiangdong Goes East'. He said that the big man from Guanxi was holding a copper pipa, but he didn't say that the big man from Jiangnan was holding a copper pipa. You see, this is the cultural impression."

"The music of Rome is different from that of the Central Plains and Nanyang. It gives me a feeling of Western style." He thought for a while and said: "I am actually not good at music. I just came into contact with it when I traveled around. How should I do this? The expression is not very clear.”

"You are too modest. This is actually not difficult to understand. It is not that Roman music has a Western style, but that the current Western music and Roman music both have a Persian style." Li Xuanying told him: "Because from Greece to the Western Regions, there are two directions, east and west. , have always been greatly influenced by Persian culture.”

"The pipa you just mentioned was invented by the Persians. So in the Tang Dynasty, many famous musicians were from the Hu people. The same is true for the harp and harp. As for military music, the suona should also be from Persia. I even I heard people say that there is no direct connection between the zither and the zither. The early zither appeared directly in Qin because it was actually introduced from the west and was later modified by the Qin people to become what it is now."

"As for the erhu, you can tell its origin just by looking at the name. Not only music, but also dance, clothing, and many other things are like this. Until now, many of the paintings, dances, and even women's clothing that appear in daily life were designed by Persians. For example, the streamers that express a sense of lightness and the gauze hanging on the head are all of this kind. Many of the artistic elements that we think are the ancient styles of the Central Plains were strictly speaking invented by the Persians. Their influence on the Central Plains is so Big, not to mention the nearby Rome.”

"So that's it." Mr. Luo nodded and seemed to have gained a lot: "Before, I thought that these musical instrument dances were invented by the barbarian people on the grassland themselves."

"The living conditions on the grasslands are very bad. Most of the barbarians are very poor and can only struggle to survive. There are not many people there who can spare their time to engage in artistic creation. They are just closer to Persia and can do it first. When you get someone else's things, just bring them over." Li Xuanying answered.

"It seems that the barbarians around the Central Plains are only good at fighting and killing. They are not as good at singing and dancing as the Persians." Mr. Luo said with an eye-opening look: "But if you put it this way, I came all the way from Nanyang , we also found that this phenomenon also exists on the east and west sides of Tianzhu. Maybe like the Persians, they are also a center of artistic creation."

"Yes. And I heard Brother Guo Kang say that Tianzhu people and Persians are actually the same kind of people." Li Xuanying also told him: "I think this statement makes sense. They are the kind you said...especially good at singing. Dance, those who are good at art and religion."

"They also handled the introduction and improvement of some items. For example, high-heeled shoes are also available in Europe, but they are only worn by men. But the Indians and Persians gave them to women. Then this method was used It reached us and became what it is now.”

"It's still like this until now. You can tell by looking at the costumes and props in the troupe. Even the singing and dancing costumes here have gradually become Persian, and they are no longer what they were in the classical era. There is no way, Everyone likes to see Persian-style dancers dancing..."

"So, I really need to think about it more." Mr. Luo said thoughtfully: "The storybooks I brought are very popular with the citizens here, but the lyrics and dramas are not so popular. Yes. Thinking about it, it should still be a problem with the way of performance. If we want the audience here to accept it, we still have to improve it overall."

"I think it's not that complicated." Li Xuanying suggested: "I don't think that drama is bad. At another time, many people will definitely be willing to watch it. But now, everyone is keen on the story of the Three Kingdoms. You can play it together, no? Does it mean that you are robbing your own audience?"

"Furthermore, there happens to be a triumphal ceremony during this period. All major theater troupes have received orders in advance and are rushing to rehearse. This is a major political matter, and temporary changes are generally not allowed. You can just stagger the time next time. I can introduce you to a familiar theater group and let them discuss with you how to deal with it."

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Li first." Mr. Luo cupped his hand.

"You're welcome, you're welcome." Li Xuanying waved her hand: "I'm also very interested in your storybook. Where did you talk about it recently? How did the audience react?"

"I talked about the defeat in Maicheng before, but I had to interrupt it." Mr. Luo replied: "Many viewers were not able to accept this story..."

"what?"

"I didn't even react at the time. I knew that some spectators were very excited. The crowd exploded. Some women screamed loudly. There were also excited spectators who rushed up to arrest me and asked what it meant. They seemed to I feel that I deliberately wrote an uncomfortable plot to embarrass them..." Mr. Luo said helplessly: "But you can't blame me. History is like this. If you change it casually, wouldn't it be bad? Fortunately, I have been traveling around all year round, and my legs and feet are still flexible, so I managed to escape that time."

"I can't help it. During the second scene, I made a special statement to tell them that although there was literary creation in the storyline, the entire event was narrated according to history. This time, most people didn't curse. , but they started to sit down and cry - it seemed that after knowing that this thing was true, everyone was even more sad. I saw a few strong men crying so much that they almost fainted. I was afraid that something would really happen, so I had to go again Ended hastily."

"We haven't talked about the third scene yet. Several old people came to me and said that they were philosophy professors at the University of Constantine and wanted to discuss tragedy with me. It turned out that those strong men were their students. They had been affected by it before. It was very exciting, so I told them a little bit about it. After I told them, they also sighed with emotion, saying that although they had read the history of the Central Plains, after the story was spoken, the appeal was indeed different."

"After describing the story, the tragedy in it even surpassed that of their first hero in Greece, the heroic man. Compared to the subjective intervention of several gods, this mysterious 'situation' is like fate itself. , is even more shocking.”

"What these people said makes sense." Li Xuanying also agreed: "Have they given you any more specific suggestions?" "They suggested that I stop talking recently, as I will be attacked by extreme audiences..."

"Uh……"

"I didn't believe in evil at first, but eventually someone came to my rented house and blocked my door. So, I had to find you quickly and find another place to live." Mr. Luo was a little worried: "Hey, these people seemed to be here before. I have never heard of such a story, so my reaction is a bit excessive. What should I do if this comes to Wuzhangyuan in the future..."

Li Xuanying didn't know how to answer for a moment, and the two sides fell into silence.

"Forget it, let's adapt to the situation when the time comes." Mr. Luo said first: "Let's continue talking about this military music thing. Are there any other instruments you want to try?"

"That's it for the time being." Li Xuanying replied: "The main reason is that this is a relatively new thing, so I want to find more people to ask. I originally thought about it, but in the past few days, a lot of things suddenly happened. I can only run here at night."

Mr. Luo narrowed his eyes and nodded without asking any more questions.

"The reason why I'm thinking about it is because I think the sound production method of this type of instrument is more advantageous." Li Xuanying didn't care too much and introduced his own ideas: "You see, first of all, each note is independent. , all correspond to a separate string. And brother Guo Kang said that he has studied that as long as the length, thickness, and tightness of the string are controlled, the tone can be strictly controlled. These factors can be directly quantified. So we I think this is easier to standardize than other alternative instrument solutions.”

"Then you must have higher needs." Mr. Luo said directly: "If it is just a drama, now it is actually enough."

"We want to make unified military music." Li Xuanying said: "Brother Guo Kang said that he hopes to add more instruments and musicians to respond to each other, so as to have a more powerful effect. This kind of momentum, It cannot be compared with a single instrument and a single tune. But the current musical instruments generally have poor intonation. If there are too many instruments, they all have to be remodeled. How to do it is more complicated."

"The church has been studying this issue for a long time and has accumulated a lot of experience. We used to do it for entertainment, but they did it for religious purposes, so they studied it very carefully and achieved a lot. We are also based on them. on the basis of.”

"It really has something to do with religion..." Mr. Luo said with emotion.

"Yes, any place where music research is particularly outstanding is basically a place where religion is developed. They really do it at any cost and have been doing it for generations. Unlike us, we can only rely on the occasional push from a few people. "Li Xuanying thought for a while and explained: "After all, everyone has a lot of business. You see, I can only sneak out to have fun while the family can't control it..."

"In that case, military music is also a good research subject." Mr. Luo comforted: "Isn't everyone concerned about whether what you are studying is serious business? If it is really useful to the army, then there is no need to worry."

"I think it is really useful. I agree with Brother Guo Kang on this point." Li Xuanying nodded: "Music is not only used for ceremonies before going out and for ceremonies after returning. During marches and battles, songs can also boost morale and make people fight. Cheer up. Back then, my ancestor Zhuang Zong personally composed some military songs and taught them to the soldiers. Every time he went into battle, he would sing loudly with the soldiers when he came back from the battle. It is said that it can boost everyone's morale and make them forget about their lives. Death. These are all successful cases."

"However, this method is indeed rare, and people at the time regarded it as a spectacle. Especially after his defeat, everyone regarded these as counterexamples. In fact, it was the same in Rome. Many people believed that chaos on the battlefield Roaring and jumping is a barbarian behavior. Regular troops should charge and kill the enemy in silence. Also, when marching and camping, some people also think that the more silent the better. I have some doubts about this view."

"It just so happens that brothers Guo Kang and others support me, so I just want to give it a try."

"Besides, Officer Xiao Zhu is also willing to help."

"The church's current tuning method is to divide the scale into twelve points and calculate the value required for each tone. Then use a set of tools to adjust the length of the strings or brass pipes and tune the instrument." He patted the keyboard. The iron frame stood up and said: "This is the same."

"There is something wrong with their algorithm, and there are always some errors, so the harmonies are not consistent. But when we asked Xiao Zhu to help get some suitable strings, he told us that he was quite happy with it. I have some ideas. It’s just that he’s been too busy recently, and it will take some time before he can find time to try it. For now, I’ll just make do with this.”

"Is that Prince Wu? He still studies these things..." Mr. Luo was a little surprised.

"He knows everything." Li Xuanying pointed to the strings and said, "Look at the harp I have on hand. Its prototype also comes from Persia and is called the dulcimer. In theory, it's probably about turning the harp upside down, remodeling it, and then using Bamboo and wood strike the strings to produce sound. However, the original strings cannot be tightened, so the sound is not loud and soft, which does not meet our needs. The reason is also very simple. Their materials are not good, and if they are tightened, either The frame is broken, or the strings are broken, making it difficult to adjust. Even the strings cannot be hung too much, otherwise the frame will not be able to support it."

"But Officer Xiao Zhu has made a kind of iron with very good elasticity. Originally, he made this thing when he helped Brother Guo Kang study the gun mechanism, but I thought about it, aren't the strings and plucking devices also required? Does it need to be strong but also flexible? So I also asked them to cut these parts and assemble a set."

"Look, this thing is much smaller than a pipe organ, and its pitch and range exceed that of today's dulcimer." He happily pressed the keyboard twice and said with emotion: "The progress of technology is really huge."

(End of this chapter)