At the onset of a northern winter, many dream of warmer climates.In 1934 the Canadian-born composer Colin Mcphee did more than dream. He set out for the island of Bali. In his book A House in Bali,Colin Mcphee described how he first gained insight into the essence of Balinese music.For about a month he had been working on transcribing a complete score to a Balinese play he had seen. It seemed impossible that so much beauty could be achieved with a scale(音阶)of only five tones. But the distinctive embellishments(修饰音)of the music eluded him.Fortunately a young household helper and his friend decided to assist. One morning they set two objects next to Mcphee’s piano.They were gangas--metal keyed instruments.The two boys played them in what struck Mcphee as”a fast duet(二重奏） in Morse code”. At last the composer had found the key to Balinese music.“Wait!” Mcphee would call out from the piano as the boys flew along,“Stop!Please!That bit once more!” Patiently the boys would stop and began again.But soon they were flying again,faster than ever, amazing Mcphee with their memory and precision. Sometimes the patterns repeated.Sometimes they opened up into something new. Then, suddenly the whole duet would fly apart and the boys would burst out laughing,breaking the spell. Although Colin Mcphee left the island in 1939,he remained spellbound by Balinese music.And its rich,distinctive sound would colour many of the compositions he would write for the next quarter century. 小题1:From the passage we can learn that_______________________.
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