Spring is here already. When you don't have to get up early and fight traffic, you really appreciate the poem: 春眠不覺曉, 處處聞啼鳥. Around 5am, the mockingbirds are calling, & then the doves follow. I got awaken, but I know I don't have to get up, so I fall asleep again. But mockingbirds are tenacious. They arm with at least 10 different calls & easily make good music. Spring is such a nice season, full of life & energy. The followings are some things I remember related to spring while we were in school.
春, by 朱自清,
盼望著, 盼望著, 東風來了, 春天的脚步近了. ....春天像小姑娘,花枝招展的,笑着,走著 ....
康橋, by 徐志摩
春,這勝利的晴空彷佛在你的耳边私語. 春,你那快活的靈魂也彷彿在那裡回响.
四時田家苦樂歌, by 鄭夑
細雨輕雷驚蟄後, 和風動土, ....漸茅簷日暖,小姑衣薄.
Longing for Spring, by Mozart
This is a little piece of song longing for spring, especially delightful sung by Vienna Choir Boys.
Concerto Spring, by Antonio Vivaldi
This is the first concerto from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. You can sense all the spring environment in the first movement.
Spring Symphony, by Robert Schumann
Schumann composed this symphony right after he married Clara, one of the best time in his life. You can hear all the high spirit of spring season. Especially the first movement with title: Visiting of Spring.
Voice of Spring, by Johann Strauss
Everyone knows this delightful waltz. It sounds as if the dance occurs right at the mid-spring with everything in full bloom. I happened to watch a new year program two years ago. It featured this Voice of Spring with Ballet dancer from London Royal Ballet. You will always remember that performance if you watch it.
Rite of Spring, by Stravinsky
This is a heart-pounding music used in that famous movie Fantasia. You can exercise a much wider area of imagination in painting music. The movie shows all volcano erupting, the earth shaking & sends all dinosaurs into extinction. It is a very powerful portrayal.
Spring Song, by Mendelssohn
This is a short piece of gem, a song without word. It fits the mood of late spring. Although the melody is sweet & light, you just feel that you miss or lose something at the end of the song: 淡淡哀愁,若有所失.
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
This book is the forerunner of the current Green Movement. It is the warning of using pesticides uncontrollably in our environment. Carson also wrote that famous bestselling book: The Sea Around Us. There is a Chinese translation by 夏道平: 海的故事.
論語, by 孔子
莫春者,春服既成,冠者五六人,童子六七人,浴乎沂,風乎舞雩,詠而歸.
This sounds as if everyday is a holiday, what a good life. Our life should be like this, especially in spring. By the way, this text gives the hint that Confucius really had 72 disciples, 30 (5*6)adults & 42 (6*7) boys. Don't get serious, this is just for fun.
