放牧地に響くクラシック音楽、牛も演奏家もリラックス　デンマーク

【ステウンスＡＦＰ＝時事】聴衆は、牛だけ──。デンマークで活動する英国人チェロ奏者、ジェイコブ・ショーさん（３０）は、新型コロナウイルス流行によってコンサートが開けなくなった後、珍しいお客さんの前で演奏を披露するようになった。その経験はとても有意義だったため、コンサートホールが営業を再開した後も活動を続けている。（写真はデンマーク・ステウンスで、クラシック音楽を演奏するチェロ奏者のジェイコブ・ショーさん＜右＞とバイオリニストのロベルタ・ベルナさんの前に集まった牛）
　「牛のために演奏するのは、ソリスト（独奏者）として私がずっと心掛けてきたことの延長線上にある」と、ショーさんはＡＦＰに語った。「私は、クラシック音楽をコンサートホールの外に持ち出すことに情熱を注いでいる」
　スペイン・バルセロナのマーシャル音楽院で教えるショーさんは、デンマークの首都コペンハーゲンから南へ車で１時間ほどの田園地帯の町ステウンスにチェロ教室を開校し、地域を回って演奏活動を行っている。
　音楽好きの農家に、飼育する牛の福利向上のためクラシック音楽を聴かせてはどうかと提案したのは、昨秋のことだ。「その話を聞いたとき、クレイジーだとは思わなかった。むしろ、わくわくした」と、畜産農家のモーンス・ハウゴーさんは語る。
　「音楽のリラックス効果は私自身が体感していたから、牛にも同じ効果があるだろうと思ったが、それは正しかった」
　まず冬の間、畜舎に設置したスピーカーからさまざまなクラシック音楽を流してみたところ、たちまち牛たちの琴線に触れたようだった。そのまま音楽を流し続けた結果、「牛たちは以前よりおとなしくなり、リラックスしていて近づきやすくなった」とハウゴーさんは言う。
　ショーさんによれば、牛たちは「素人」なので音楽の機微までは分からないかもしれないが、好きな曲と嫌いな曲があるという。「曲ごとに違う反応がみられる。ちょっとばかりキャッチーでモダンな曲を演奏したら、多くの牛が気に入らず、向こうへ行ってしまった」
　人気が高いのは「牛の声に最も近い曲」だという。ショーさんは「牛の鳴き声は実際、チェロの音に似ている。それが人気の理由だろう」と話した。
　チェロ教室の生徒や他の音楽家と一緒に、牛たちに演奏を聴かせることもよくある。ショーさんによると野外で、おそらくそれほど耳の肥えていない聴衆を前に演奏するのは、演奏家にとっても緊張がほどけて音楽をより楽しめる効果があるという。「牛の前であれば、演奏家も生徒らも、もっとリラックスして楽しむことができると思う」と、ショーさんは話した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/08/02-13:24）

A concert for cows? Unable to perform during the pandemic, a cellist in Denmark turned to an unusual audience, an experience so rewarding that he is continuing even after concert halls have reopened.
Playing for cows is a continuation of what I've always done in my solo career: I'm passionate about taking classical music out of the concert hall, Jacob Shaw told AFP.
The British musician, who is also a professor at the Marshall Academy in Barcelona, has set up a cello school in the rural countryside in Stevns, an hour south of Copenhagen, performing throughout the region.
During corona, of course, it wasn't always possible and we decided to move on to the next best thing: playing for animals, the 30-year-old said.
In the autumn, he convinced a music-loving farmer to expose his beef cattle to classical music to improve their welfare.
When he told me about it, I didn't think it was crazy but rather exciting. I feel the calming effect of music on my own body, so I thought it would be the same for the cows, and I was right, Mogens Haugaard said.
The cows were first introduced to the classical repertoire through loudspeakers installed in their barn in the winter, but it quickly seemed to strike a chord with the bovine audience.
- 'They liked it' -
Everyone could see from the first time that they liked it, so we continued. Now they are getting used to it and the result is that they are fantastically pleasant and healthy animals, the cellist, who also runs a music festival in France's Charente department, said.
They are calmer and more relaxed. They are easier to approach, Haugaard said.
Cattle even have their preferences, Shaw argues, even if the subtlety may escape the layman.
They react differently to different pieces, we played something that was slightly catchier and a bit more modern and a lot of them didn't like it and left, he said.
I think the type of piece that is closest to their voice, their mooing, is actually similar to the sound of a cello, which is why it's so popular with them, he added.
While he sometimes comes to play alone, the cellist is also often accompanied by one or more musicians who have come to spend time at his institution, the Scandinavian Cello School, opened in 2016.
According to Shaw, playing in the open air in front of this perhaps less discerning audience helps visiting artists relieve some of the stress of a performance.
If they get a chance to play in front of the cows, I think it allows them to relax and enjoy what they are doing more.
- 'Different perspective' -
Roberta Verna, a 22-year-old violinist, came to Stevns to get a different perspective on things.
Holding a Stradivarius, Verna, together with Shaw, played pieces by Reinhold Gliere and Bela Bartok for the ruminants, who were seemingly as moved by the beauty of the melody as they were by the distribution of food.
It was a different situation than usual, but not worse. It was really interesting because they really listen. And they respect us, the young musician explained.
At the end of the fifteen-minute concert, the second of the day for the cattle, calves and cows calmly graze the pasture awaiting the next recital.
I think it's going to be very interesting in the next few years: their children and their children's children are going to grow up with classical music... the normal thing for a cow in this field is to listen to music, Shaw said, adding that he has no plans to stop.