陳蕙雅思教材 - 雅思閱讀精選 (Piano)

Piano

The ancestry of the pianocan be traced to the early keyboard instruments

of the fifteenth andsixteenth centuries    -- the spinet, thedulcimer, and

the virginal. In theseventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the    

harpsichord became thechief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy

they maintained until the  piano        supplanted them at the end  of the

eighteenth century.The  clavichord's tone was metallic andnever  

powerful;      nevertheless, because of  the variety of tone possible to it,

many composers found theclavichord a sympathetic   instrument forintimate  

chamber   music. The  harpsichord  with its  bright,  vigorous tone  was

the favorite instrument  for supportingthe bass of the small orchestra of

the period and forconcert use, but the character of the tone    couldnot be

varied save by mechanicalor structural devices.

The  piano was  perfected  in  the  early eighteenth  century  by  a

harpsichord  maker in Italy(though  musicologists  point       out several  

previous   instances of   the  instrument). This instrument was called a  

piano e forte (softand  loud), to indicate  its dynamicversatility;  its

strings were struck by arecoiling hammer with a felt-padded head. The

wires    were much heavier in  the earlier  instruments.  A series  of  

mechanical  improvements continuing  well  into the nineteenth  century,

including  the introduction  of  pedals to  sustain  tone or  to  soften

it,  theperfection of a  metal frame, and steelwire of the finest

quality, finally producedan instrument capable of myriad tonal effects

from     themost delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness

of sound, from a liquid,singing tone to a sharp,          percussivebrilliance.

鋼琴

鋼琴的家系可以追溯至 15 至 16 世紀早期的鍵盤樂器，包括小型撥弦琴、洋琴和維金娜 琴。  17  

世紀時風琴、敲弦琴和撥弦琴成為鍵盤樂器類的主要成員。  這種至高無上的地位 一直為它們所保持，直到 18 世紀末期鋼琴將它們取代。  

敲弦古鋼琴的音調有金屬的音質， 缺乏雄勁。  然而由於它的音調變化多，許多作曲家發現對於親切的室內樂是一種得體的樂 器。  

人們最喜歡用具備明快有力音調的撥弦古鋼琴來配合當時小型管弦樂團的低音樂器以 及在演奏會上演奏。  但它的音調難以變化，除非使用機械或構件裝置。18

世紀早期的意大 利，鋼琴在一位元撥琴鋼琴製造者手中得到完善(儘管音樂理論家們指出有更早的例子)。  這 種樂器被稱為 piano eforte

(義大利語，柔和而響亮的)，以顯示它有力的多樣性。  演奏者用 一個頭部帶皮氈的彈擊樂錘敲擊琴弦。 更早的這種樂器之上的金屬絲要重得多。 從此，持

續到 19 世紀的一系列機械上的改進，包括引入踏板以維持音調或使其柔和，改善金屬框架， 以及使用最佳性能的鋼絲，最終產生了一種具備無數音調效果的樂器。

這些效果涵蓋了從 最精緻的和聲到幾乎全部的管弦樂音響，從明快流暢的吟唱的音調到尖銳的打擊樂器的清晰 動人的恢宏氣勢。