圣诞将至：乌克兰“钟声颂歌”响彻卡内基音乐厅

卡内基里响起乌克兰童声合唱

The Shchedryk Children's Choir from Kyiv, Ukraine has travelled to America, to sing a historic concert in the hallowed walls of New York's Carnegie Hall.

乌克兰基辅的谢德里克童声合唱团来到美国，在纽约卡内基音乐厅里进行了一场历史性的音乐会。

Many of the young singers have lost friends and relatives in Russia's war in Ukraine. They were forced to leave their homes and watched as bombs destroyed their schools, churches and neighbourhoods.

许多小歌手在俄乌冲突中失去了朋友和亲人。他们被迫离开家园，眼睁睁地看着炸弹摧毁自己的学校、教堂和社区。

But, this week, their response has been in music. In New York as part of their preparations for a concert at Carnegie Hall, the choir stopped off at another iconic Manhattan location. In the city's Grand Central station, in jeans and winter coats, they sang the seasonal Ukrainian song "Carol of the Bells".

但本周，他们能用音乐发声。到达纽约之后，为了准备在卡内基音乐厅的音乐会，他们在曼哈顿另一个著名的地标进行了预演。在城市的中央车站，他们穿着牛仔裤和冬衣，唱着乌克兰圣诞颂歌《钟声颂歌》。

图源：https://www.classicfm.com

Bridget Brink, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, shared a video of the performance on Twitter, calling it "light amid darkness."

美国驻乌克兰大使布丽奇特·布林克在推特上分享了表演的视频，称之为“黑暗中的曙光”。

1922年10月至12月，乌克兰国家合唱团在美国各大学和城市间巡回演出，首演地点是卡内基音乐厅。图源：https://www.npr.org

民谣到圣诞颂歌的蜕变

"Carol of the Bells" is one of the most recognizable Christmas songs on Earth, and we have Ukraine to thank for giving "Christmas magic to the world."

《钟声颂歌》是世界上最知名的圣诞歌曲，我们要感谢乌克兰人“将圣诞魅力传递给全世界”。

According to the Ukraine government website, "Carol of the Bells" was not a carol: It was "Shchedryk," written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1916, a four-note melody dating back to the pre-Christian era that Ukrainians sang in the spring when swallows returned from their winter migration. The song was part of New Year celebrations meant to bless each other with a prosperous harvest.

乌克兰政府网站显示，《钟声颂歌》原本并不是一首颂歌，而是由乌克兰作曲家米克拉·列昂托维奇1916年创作的《谢德里克》，这是一段可以追溯到前基督教时代的四音符旋律。当时的乌克兰人会在春天燕子归来的时节吟唱这首歌。这首歌是新年庆祝活动的一部分，传达了对于来年丰收的祝福。

The Ukrainian National Chorus brought the carol to the U.S. a few years later, when they performed it during a concert at Carnegie Hall in October 1922. It was the first stop on their tour of North America, as part of a cultural diplomacy mission. At that time, Ukraine was working to assert its independence and define its own identity.

几年后，乌克兰国家合唱团将这首颂歌带到了美国。1922年10月，他们在卡内基音乐厅的一场音乐会中演唱了这首歌曲。这是他们北美之行的第一站，也肩负着乌克兰文化外交的使命。当时，乌克兰正努力争取独立和民族认同。

圣诞颂歌Shchedryk的黑胶唱片(Brunswick, 1922) 图源：https://www.fox7austin.com

American composer Peter Wilhousky gave the song its English lyrics and title in 1936, creating the contemporary Christmas staple. Its Ukrainian roots have been largely buried — until now.

1936年，美国作曲家彼得·威尔豪斯基给这首歌填了英文歌词，并取了英文歌名“钟声颂歌”，使其成为当代圣诞节日上的主打歌曲。然而，该歌曲发源地是乌克兰这件事，却再也无人提及。

Exactly a century after the song's North American debut, and during Ukraine's latest fight for freedom, Ukrainian musicians brought Shchedryk back to Carnegie Hall this weekend.

在北美亮相一个世纪以后，正逢乌克兰为自由而奋斗时，乌克兰音乐家们再次把《谢德里克》带回了卡内基音乐厅。

周日，谢德里克童声合唱团的成员参加演出。图源：https://www.npr.org

童声致敬百年：黑暗中的曙光

"A 1919 review of the Ukrainian Republic Choir in the Genevan journal La Patrie Suisse mused that the Ukrainian National Republic established its independence through the motto, 'I sing, therefore I am,' " concert organizers wrote. "Ukraine continues to sing and continues to be." Funds from the concert will be specifically allocated towards the reconstruction of public services, organizers say.

“1919年，日内瓦杂志《瑞士爱国者报》上的一条评论提及了乌克兰合唱团，称乌克兰共和国的独立性是由一句名言确定的——‘我歌唱，因此我成为了我。’”音乐会主办方写道，“乌克兰人坚持唱歌，也坚持做自己。”主办方称，音乐会筹集的基金将专门捐用于重建公众服务。

Marichka Marczyk, one of Sunday's soloists, spoke to NPR's All Things Considered last week about performing in such an important concert — "it's responsibility, it's happiness, it's like everything," she said.

玛丽奇卡·马契克是周日音乐会上的一名独唱歌手。上周，她向美国全国公共广播电台的“万事揭晓”节目，分享了将在这场重要音乐会上演出的感受——“这场演出是责任、是快乐，似乎包含了一切。”

"My brother is on the front line, fighting for our freedom, independence for me to be free, live in a peaceful sky and sing Ukrainian old traditional songs," she added. "So my performance I am dedicating to him and for all the Ukrainian people who are now fighting for freedom."

“我的哥哥正在前线为我们的自由和独立而战斗，独立是为了让我们能够自由、和平地生活，能够歌唱那些传统的乌克兰歌曲。”她继续说道，“所以我要把演出献给他，献给所有为了自由而战斗的乌克兰人民。”