Old-time musicians

Time passed by and it was the second month of the new calendar year 915.

In the Apel War Zone, when a large amount of urban infrastructure that could not be relocated was destroyed and a large number of citizens and farmers fled in panic, the area fell into an atmosphere of "discontinuous" dead cities.

And those urban areas and market towns that are still functioning and the civilians are barely surviving are also being occupied by the warring parties in a criss-cross fashion. At first, Lydia was generally in the south and Janus was generally in the north. But now, there is no straight line or slightly gentle curve on the map, which can divide the two sides into two sides according to the boundary of the confrontation.

Of course, they all call the areas occupied by the other side "enemy-occupied areas."

The small town of Hedgewell is located about 40 kilometers southeast of the original Apple County town. It was named because the Hedgewell River has a long direct flow here.

The geographical location here is advantageous. It is the southeastern gateway of the county. It is also dotted with many highlands of strategic significance. Since the Hedgewell River divides it into two, the "enemy-occupied area" and the "enemy-occupied area" are divided by the river. The boundaries are relatively clear-cut.

It was still less than six o'clock in the afternoon, and the heavy lead-grey clouds in the sky couldn't wait to cover up the last ray of twilight. On the road next to the river embankment, damaged gas nozzles and rusty steel coils gradually merged into a pile of sights. Unclear dark things.

On the back of a truck that had been bombed into only a shell, greasy gloves grasped the dark railings.

"cigarette."

"The last two, boss."

The young Lydian soldier who was sitting on the floor of the box stood up, took out two crumpled paper tubes, gave one to his commander, and hurriedly put on his splintered camouflage steel helmet.

The other party lit a match, lit it and took a sip, then took off the kettle from his body and threw it away.

The soldier thanked him and took it, "Gulu", his Adam's apple squirmed, and he took a long breath.

"How did you get mineral water?"

"Evian Company's shopping mall product. Two puffs of this thing is worth much more than your cigarette."

“So damn sweet.”

The young soldier raised his head "Gudong" again, looked at the other party's eyes that gradually narrowed, smiled coquettishly, and returned the favor.

Not to mention that these days, there are various dangerous pathogens in water sources even in peacetime. Nowadays, water plants and sewage treatment stations are key military targets, and any water source is questionable before it can be imported.

Compared with the murky water that is boiled and then added with chlorine disinfectant, this is simply a clear spring that is extremely sweet and makes the pores of the body open.

"They say the real dividing line between the front and the rear is the last intact theater, the town with clean hotels, the village with real restaurants, and the grocery store where you can buy cigarettes. I think I have to add one more: they can be thrown away completely When you throw away these damn disinfectants"

The sergeant tightened the lid of the pot, sucked the cigarette hard until it burned his fingers, threw it on the ground and stamped it out, then raised the telescope and looked first at the river, then at the other side.

The living areas of civilians on both sides of the river have all been withdrawn 1-2 kilometers. Looking around here, there are only various bombed shelters, gas stations and factory ruins, as well as the ruins of hundreds of people that come into view from time to time. A handful of friendly soldiers.

The original water entrances of several important docks were blocked by a large group of rusty torpedoes. They were floating up and down, like the mouthparts of monsters in horror folklore.

"Winter!—Winter!—Winter!—"

The next moment, the dark and heavy column chords of the piano sounded in my ears.

From the two C minor triads, to the F minor triad, and then to the E flat major dominant seventh chord... I imitated four sentences with the same sound pattern, climbing up and down with difficulty, and then turned into a two-tone passing sentence in the high range, with a roundabout descent. , like a light and melancholy sigh.

In fact, the bounce is a bit slumped and not very neat.

But the effect is coming.

According to the direction, it can be identified that it is coming from across the river, but in terms of sound, it is far away and right in front of you.

Logically speaking, this should be quite unexpected in this scenario.

But the two soldiers seemed to be a little used to it, and slowly jumped out of the scrapped truck.

They walked about ten meters toward the river embankment, sat sideways behind a bundle of scrapped steel coils, and continued to look in the direction of the music.

The piano once again took a solemn march, and a series of strange and urgent descending triplets came quickly, bringing out several heavy blows in a distant major key, and then collapsed into a group of cold arpeggios.

It is extremely dazzling and full of tragic temperament.

"What's the song today?" the sergeant asked.

"'Choral Fantasia in C Minor' was written by Fan Ning, a composer from the Northern Continent." The answer was not the person next to him, but the voice of a nearby friendly soldier with electric noise on the mini radio.

"It's the fourth day, and they've even found people who can play the piano, but we can't even find those who can play the trumpet." The young soldiers beside him muttered.

"But we can hear it clearly, which is amazing." In another trench dug on the river bank, a sniper with a haystack on his head lay motionless. He was not responding to the previous sentence, but saying to himself Talk to yourself.

In the scope, there is a hazy semi-open-air stage, and the dancing clothes of the artists are vaguely visible. Under a few brighter lamp poles, you can also see a pile of recently dismantled door and window frames that have been twisted and deformed by the high temperature. .

Since the confrontation between the two armies here, civilians have been repeatedly stressed that they must retreat 1-2 kilometers to ensure safety. The width of Hedgewell here is about 500 meters, and the distance between the church and the river is less than 300 meters. Maybe if they try, there will be a good hit rate.

But the sniper's finger is not on the trigger at all.

At present, he doesn't want to, and the most direct reason at the beginning is that he doesn't dare.

Because the person who is commanding on the stage is now basically known to everyone

No one would think that the deterrent power of a few sniper rifles would be greater than that of a team of bombers

This sniper is just using the gun as a telescope.

The cadenza solo ended, the cello played a tortuous "inquiry motive", the piano answered with warm colors of consolation and comfort, and the simple and warm "joy theme" gradually brewed in the posture of a new thing.

From the flute and piano duet, to the woodwind trio, and then to the string quartet, after sufficient transformation and exploration, the music gradually strengthened, ushering in the highlight moment of the full band.

The strings are not neat, the high notes are not very accurate, and the brass is always bubbling

But the spirit is not bad.

It can barely be described as "the radiant voice of praise resounding through the river"

After the stormy fierce struggle, the gentle intoxicated andante, and the sonorous and passionate military march, the "inquiry motive" mixed with the mood of seeking and hesitating reappears, and the piano hits the head with a diminished seventh chord, and a group of fast arpeggios whistling from low to high, bringing an infinite dynamic C major background sound stream.

"Pleasant, and lovely!" "Pleasant, and lovely!"

The melodious singing of the woman floated out, and the man answered with a deep response.

"The harmony of our lives sounds pleasant and lovely;

Once beauty is radiant, flowers will bloom forever!

Peace and joy fly together, just like the rise and fall of waves;

All cruelty and hostility have turned into sublime joy!"

"It's really a chorus, and there are really many people singing." Under the sniper's lens, a few people in tattered clothes can be vaguely seen coming onto the stage from the side.

"It sounds good." According to the patrol regulations, the pilot on the reconnaissance plane twisted the steering column 180 meters after approaching the river bank, and the flight trajectory changed to a parallel line. After flying low for a few kilometers again, it turned back.

"It's fun today. There are piano players, singers, and bands are also there."

At dozens of other places on the river bank, the soldiers squatting under the barbed wire simply leaned their heads on the thick wooden poles.

The idle soldiers were like this, and those who were on duty or patrolling, although their physical movements were not slack, all their attention was on the dim light source on the opposite bank.

In the civilian living area further inside, the workers also slowed down their movements.

Everyone was used to it.

It had been more than a week.

The concert hall in the "enemy-occupied area" on the other side of the river took four days to build based on the church, and then performed for another four days.

Every time it started at six in the evening, and the time was not long, 1-3 songs, and it ended in about half an hour.

At first, this incident greatly aroused everyone's sensitive nerves, and the scouts reported it to the highest level.

Because that day an airship floated across the river, and then dozens of official knowledgeable people came out of it. Later, it was learned that there were at least three high-ranking people and at least two profound people.

Even if there was a rule of "no interference in secular wars", this group of people pressed to the front, and no one dared to breathe.

And I didn't dare to ask, so I could only stare at what they were doing from a distance all day long.

Building a bunker? Or digging underground fortifications?

Later, it was gradually discovered that it seemed to be a concert hall.

The Lydian military leaders also consulted the people of the Lingyin Discipline Association. The priests said that although they didn't know what the other side was doing, it didn't look like they were "doing magic to harm people". The only mysterious factor was that there was an altar that could expand the sound field.

After getting a reassuring answer to this question, the next worry came one after another.

Wouldn't they take the opportunity to preach and persuade surrender, or try to disturb the morale of the army with something?

The Apel area is a mixed area. The Janus and Lydians account for 50% and 30% of the population, and there are nearly ten other ethnic groups. In the past, the attitude of the two orthodox churches in the discussion group on the issue of preaching in this area was relatively "muddy", but now if it is so ostentatious to exert influence, then we have to ask the priests to come forward to negotiate.

However, for three consecutive days, they found that the other side did not sing religious genres at all. They basically performed some small songs in the style of orthodoxy or early romanticism, or pure instrumental music without titles, or excerpts from famous operas.

It was quite in line with the conservative musical aesthetics of Lydians.

In addition, in the past few days, several newly captured Janus soldiers also said that the other side was really just building a concert hall for performances and teaching, because it would not cost extra money to have more people listen, so they did not mind people from the "enemy-occupied area" listening together, and civilians also needed entertainment.

In addition, they also said that Miss Luo Yin from a neutral country should also negotiate the establishment of a college in Lydia at that time. There is no need to spend extra money, just pass the inspection, and maybe it will be built on the other side of the river, if you can occupy it all the time.

There is no other meaning.

Don't worry, fight your own way, and both sides should not have psychological burdens.

By the way, these words were heard from the "bishop master".

So now a tacit understanding has been formed. After listening to the concert, it was dark at night. The two armies were too lazy to test again. They either rested or went back to the rear to produce. This continued until four or five o'clock in the morning the next day, and the fighters were tested first. The sound of gunfire and gunfire started one after another, and the two sides started fighting normally again, leaving some corpses of flesh and blood and open flames of destroyed objects until six o'clock the next night

“When music dominates magic and speaks magical words;

The great glory appears and the night and storm turn into light!

External peace and inner happiness rule the lucky man;

However, the spring of art makes both of them shine! "

The recapitulation of "Choral Fantasia in C minor" has reached the moment when it is about to fly to the country of freedom. After experiencing the suffering and struggle and hesitation and contemplation at the beginning, the joyful and comforting trio leads the choir to "soar" in unison. Stand up.

"This battle is more lively than the shooting during the day." The sniper saw in the scope that some people opened a dark thing that looked like a music book in their hands.

“When greatness enters the soul, beauty and new life bloom;

Once the soul takes the stage, there is always a spiritual chorus that responds!

Then your beautiful souls will happily receive the gift of this wonderful art;

When love and power are united and married, divine grace will sweep over all mankind! "

In the collective strong performance of the piano and the band, under the leadership of six singers, the final glorious chorus of the music finally broke out.

"Is there a possibility?"

"Through spiritual relaxation and enjoyment, can our army feel lazy and war-weary?" A man who looked like an officer threw his pistol aside, dug a hole in the mud, frowned and lay on the ground, holding a match and reading a book of Lange Comparative lyric text in Hofmannian and Hofmannian languages.

"No, if this is an indiscriminate attack, wouldn't their army's laziness become more serious?"

"Ding ding dong ding ding dong ding ding dong ding ding dong..."

A warm triple bass and cheerful melody appear on the piano, interspersed with vocal shouts, and the band's brilliant pillar chords burst out one after another.

The texture is a bit messy, but the volume is strong, even at full load.

On the vast and dark land, tens of thousands of people were already applauding without knowing anything else.

The chorus hovered over the dazzling light group, and was brought back to the earthly world by the rolling timpani, and ended with a burst of fortissimo.

"Bravo!" These Janus people, like the Theolians, all imitated the trend brought about by the opera culture of the South and cheered.

At the end of the performance, some singers who were in poor health sat on the stage out of breath, while others stood firmly and accepted the applause from the audience.

The retired musicians accepted the pork and canned fruits distributed by the soldiers beside the steps, while the young man playing the piano saluted hastily, picked up the engineer repair box next to him and quickly disappeared into the night.

A cleric came on stage and started shouting at the top of his lungs.

"We will continue to accept applications for musical instruments now. If necessary, go to the left cordon!"

"The age for instrumental music must be between 4 and 16 years old! For vocal music, it is extended to 24 years old! You must have a legal household registration, the whole family must be registered with their real name, and no repeated applications are allowed!"

"The six types of instrumental music currently accepting applications are violin, flute, trumpet, guitar, harmonica and percussion set. The fee is 3 pence! Vocal music is 1 pence, and teaching materials are provided! Every night from 7 to 8 p.m. For introductory open classes, vocal music classes are held every day, and instrumental music classes are held on a rotating basis. They are closed on Sundays!”

"Also, an important announcement, an important announcement, an important announcement!"

The clergyman repeats this three times in a row.

"Bishop Lavoisier will sit in the confession room of Hedgewell Church from 8 o'clock tomorrow morning and personally perform the Sacrament of Penance for everyone. The time limit is two days. Please convey this to each other!"