Saijōtai Yamata[i]-K[h]itan No. 2 罪狀體邪馬臺綺譚其二

Program Notes

The earliest known version of this piece is said to have been written by the Italian composer Pérotin. According to legend, the manuscript reached the Korean peninsula in the hands of the Venetian explorer Marco Polo. A giant shellfish is said to have exhaled a cloud of mist from which a mountain emerged. A monk residing on that mountain retrieved the manuscript, translated it into an unknown ancient Sinitic language, and eventually carried it to Japan.

For several centuries it remained with a female Japanese collector-scholar who, despite her efforts, never quite understood it. The only successful yield was an esoteric chart. I have translated it to English and put it on the right. During the Second World War, a Japanese general, an amateur musicologist, brought the manuscript to Shanghai in hopes of finding someone who could interpret it. Copies were made at that time; one fell into the hands of a wealthy merchant who later emigrated to North America, bringing with him a version marked with baffling, ungrammatical Japanese pronunciation guides. This appears to have been the last surviving copy.

Soviet agents reportedly sought it during the Cold War, but the anonymous keeper chose to destroy the physical manuscript and commit the entire piece to memory instead. I was fortunate to be able to transcribe the music on the day before the final keeper passed away. His last word was:

sempre ad lib. e espr. assai…

節目說明

這部作品已知最早的版本，據說出自義大利作曲家佩羅坦Pérotin 之手。傳說中，這份手稿經威尼斯探險家馬可‧波羅之手抵達朝鮮半島。據說有一隻巨大的貝類吐出一團霧氣，霧中浮現出一座山；山上一位僧人取得了手稿，將它譯成一種不明的古代漢語，最終把它帶到了日本。

此後數百年間，它一直由一位日本的女性收藏家兼學者保存；儘管她竭盡心力，卻始終未能真正讀懂。唯一的成果，是一張玄奧的圖表——我已將它譯成英文，置於右側。第二次世界大戰期間，一位兼為業餘音樂學者的日本將領，將手稿帶到上海，盼能尋得能解讀之人。當時謄抄了若干副本，其中一份落入一位富商之手；他後來移居北美，隨身帶著一份標註著令人費解、不合文法的日語讀音的版本。這似乎是僅存的最後一份。

冷戰期間，據傳蘇聯特工曾尋訪此稿，但那位匿名的守護者選擇銷毀手稿實物，轉而將整部作品全數記誦於心。我有幸在最後一位守護者離世的前一天，將這部作品記譜下來。他的遺言是：

sempre ad lib. e espr. assai…

Text (Right to Left)

夫それ所謂いはゆる　相あひ愨つつし^ミ　結けつ伴ばん之の事こと、泥どろ足あし天てん下か、

一ひと^タビ如ごと^シ_二旅りょ鴛えん^ノ_一、之の枕まくら下もと^ニ長なが^ク曇くも^リ、其その心こころ空むな^シク有あ^リ_二

爽そう快かい、蒼そう海かい^ニ、

向コウ^ニ往ゆ^キ_二「清せい輝き・明日錚あすとら」^ニ_一、

一いち應おう「趨陽性すうやうせい・蘋梨穗吐露へりおとろぷ^ナリ」。

盍なん^ゾ與とも^ニ友とも^ト出で逢あ^ヒ寥々れうれう、汎あまね^ク則すなは^チ總すべ^テ焚や^キ_二析さ^クヲ_一

娑々ささ、

亂らん意い求きゅう神しん^シテ、又また亦また擊げき築ちく錚々さうさう、

但ただ圖づ^スル_二喧けん騷そう^ヲ_一、常つね^ニ射い^ル_二別べつ的てき^ヲ_一、

一いっ派ぱ負ふ妄もう、並なら^ビ_レ自じ立りつ^シ、偉皋すたんす之の地ち^ニ、

耽たん溺でき^ニテ_レ於お^ケル_二君くん子し^ノ_一來らい迎ごう^ヤ、游ゆう逸いつ…

「喚かん・理微動りびど」

與と「原げん愉ゆ・頌生讚酥じゅいさんす／釋しゃく」

之の二に元げん^ノ「胴どう體たい・動どう態たい・

墮菱無靡苦だいなみっく^ナリ」。

鄭てい素そ　尚なほ不_レ能あた^ハ磨ま劍けん、

寅とら兒こ^ハ憑よ^リ來きた^ル_二此この夢ゆめ^ニ_一…？

古ふる池いけ^モ如い何かん^ゾ續つづ^ク_二石せき音おん^ヲ_一、

山やま鳩ばと^ハ又また如い何かん^ゾ曉わか^ル_二晨しん歌か^ヲ_一！

神しん饌せん已すで^ニ由よ^リ_二香こう灰かい^ニ_一埋うづ^メ、

愁しゅう詩し既すで^ニ託たく^シ_二濁だく漿しょう^ニ_一窮きわ^ム。

罪状體邪馬臺綺譚　其二

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