戴著口罩的合唱

小瓊：在美國，雖然各個城市正在以不同的速度從全球疫情中復蘇，現場的室內音樂會仍然非常罕見。不過上個月底，我參加了一個合唱節，這讓我感到既驚訝又高興。

小薇：因為新冠病毒是通過飛沫傳播的，所以大多數國家對開口唱歌，尤其是一群人一齊唱歌，難道還不夠謹慎嗎？我很高興中國的疫情控制是卓有成效的。

小瓊：美國的許多城市已經放寬了對疫情防控的限制，因此人們可以在做好充分預防措施的情況下在室內聚集。但這通常意味著對上座率的限制。為了確保音樂會能夠順利舉行，表演者在排練和表演時都佩戴口罩，以減低傳染病毒的風險。我參加的是辛辛那提以五月節合唱團為特色的演出，辛辛那提是美國中部的一個城市，由于地處連接東海岸的一條主要河流沿岸，19世紀初因貿易和工業而迅速崛起。許多德國移民在那里定居并參與建造這座城市。你可能已經猜到了，德國人喜歡音樂！

小薇：因此，除了歌劇和交響樂團在那里成立，古老的德國合唱傳統也被移植到了辛辛那提？

小瓊：的確如此。合唱是市民生活的一部分。辛辛那提交響樂團和辛辛那提歌劇院是作為專業院團成立的，而五月節合唱團則是一個業余團體。五月標志著春天的到來，德國各地的人們用音樂和活動來慶祝萬物復蘇。當然，辛辛那提的德國移民們在1873年創立了音樂節，這實際上促成了辛辛那提音樂廳的建設，這是一座于1878年落成的建筑地標，至今仍是該市的旅游景點之一。

小薇：所以雖然該合唱團有著悠久的歷史，成員們參加演出卻沒有報酬，只因他們對音樂的熱愛而表演！從照片中我們可以看出，歌手們使用的是更舒適的特制口罩，讓嘴唇有更大的活動空間。

小瓊：今年五月節合唱團的節目清晰地反映出新冠疫情對藝術的影響。以往，合唱團通常有120多名歌手表演大型的交響合唱或清唱劇，觀眾座位多達2300個；這次，只有一個由24名女性歌手組成的室內合唱團為同樣數量銳減的觀眾表演（24人的男聲室內合唱團在一周前剛有機會表演）。

Joan： Indoor concerts are still few and far between in America， as cities are recovering from the global pandemic at their own pace. But late last month， I was surprised and delighted to attend a festival of choral singing.

Valery： Arent most countries still wary of singing， especially in large groups， since the virus spreads through droplets？ Im glad Chinas situation is so much better.

Joan： Many cities in America have relaxed their COVID restrictions， so people can gather indoors with sufficient precaution. This usually means limiting seating capacity. To ensure that concerts can take place， performers wear masks both in rehearsal and performance to reduce the risk of exposure to the public and themselves. The performance I attended featured the May Festival Chorus in Cincinnati， a city in the middle of America that rose in prominence in the early 19th century from both trading and industry because it is located along a major river connecting with the East Coast. Many German immigrants settled there and built the city. As you might have guessed， Germans love music！

Valery： So along with the opera and symphony orchestra， the old German traditions of choral singing were also transplanted to Cincinnati？

Joan： Indeed. Choral singing is part of civic life. While the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Opera were founded as professional organizations， the May Festival Chorus is an avocational group. The month of May marks the arrival of spring， and people all over Germany celebrate with music and events. Naturally， the German immigrants in Cincinnati founded a music festival （in 1873）， which actually led to the building of Cincinnatis Music Hall， an architectural landmark completed in 1878. It is still one of the citys tourist attractions today.

Valery： So theres a long history of choral singing， where members dont get paid but perform solely because of their love of music！ I could see from the photographs that the singers were using special masks that were more comfortable and allowed more space for their lips to move.

Joan： The program for this years May Festival clearly reflected the impact of COVID. The chorus usually features more than 120 singers performing largescale choral symphonies or oratorios， with audience seating of nearly 2，300. This time around， only a chamber choir of 24 women performed for a similarly reduced audience. （The 24-men chamber choir had their chance to perform the week before.）