歐羅巴十二寶之馬德里的吉他

For the Travel section’s Oct. 19 issue on Europe, writers and editors selected special items to profile from a dozen cities. Below, explore everything from chocolate in Brussels to silk in Florence to design in Copenhagen.

在歐洲版10月19日旅遊板塊，作者與編輯精選了十二個城市的獨特珍寶，下面，我們從布魯塞爾的巧克力、佛羅倫薩的絲綢到哥本哈根的設計，逐一欣賞吧。

Madrid: Guitars

馬德里的吉他

Crossing the threshold of one of Madrid’s storied guitar makers’ workshops can feel like stepping into the past. Curly wood shavings, from the palest pine to ebony, cascade to the floor as artisans hone a few humble planks into acoustic works of art. It’s painstaking work — all done by hand — with classical guitar models and the methods of making them changing little over the last century. The monthly production of even the most seasoned craftsmen typically maxes out at two instruments per month.

邁過馬德里一座多層吉他作坊的門檻，就像踏進了古代。捲曲的刨花翻滾着落在地板上，有色澤最淡的松樹，也有深色的黑檀。吉他工匠將幾片平凡的木板打磨成了樂器藝術品。這是一件非常複雜的工作，依照古典吉他模型和製造工藝，完全由手工打造而成，在過去的一個世紀中幾乎不曾改變。最老練的工匠，每月通常也只能造出兩隻吉他。

The finished products will someday go out the door, gleaming with varnish and polished metal fittings, to seduce audiences from stages around the globe. But here in Madrid, the tiny workrooms and the simple tools — as well as the last names of the artisans employing them — have often not changed in generations.

造出來的吉他總有一天會走出房門，帶着清漆和金屬配件的閃光，在舞臺上吸引全世界觀衆的關注。但在馬德里的這個地方，狹小的作坊、簡單的工具和工匠的姓氏，若干世代以來幾乎不曾改變。

My first encounter with luthiers, or guitarreros (guitar makers), took place deep in the heart of Madrid’s historic center, where I went looking for one workshop and found several.

我第一次見到吉他工匠是在馬德里的歷史中心。我去那裏尋找吉他手工作坊，果然找到了。

The door is usually open at Mariano Conde’s shop (Calle Amnistía 1; ), a tiny two-level workshop near the Teatro Realm where Mr. Conde, his son — also named Mariano — and two other craftsmen move between molds, saws, planes and files. Prices are 2,800 euros ($3,500) for a standard flamenco guitar to 18,000 euros ($23,000) for his finest classical concert guitar.

馬里亞諾·孔德(Mariano Conde)的吉他鋪(Calle Amnistía 1; )是一座兩層的手工小作坊，位於皇家劇院附近。孔德先生和他的兒子（名字也叫馬里亞諾）帶着兩名手工藝人在模具、鋸子、模板與銼刀之間辛勤勞作。一隻標準的弗拉門科吉他售價2800歐元（合3500美元），最精美的古典音樂會吉他售價18000歐元（合23000美元）。

Mr. Conde is a third-generation guitar maker from the fabled (and now defunct) house of Hermanos Conde, and his brother Felipe also continues the family legacy at his own shop nearby (Calle Arrieta 4; ). A 10-minute walk away, on the other side of Plaza Mayor, is another cluster of luthiers, including José Ramírez (Calle de la Paz 8; ), Pedro de Miguel (Calle Amor de Dios 13; ) and Juan Álvarez (Calle San Pedro 7; ).

孔德先生是第三代吉他工匠，過去，他的祖上在傳說中艾爾瑪諾·孔德(Hermanos Conde)的住宅裏製造吉他，儘管那座房子現在已經堙沒了。而今，他的哥哥菲利浦也傳承了這份家族產業，在附近開了家店鋪(Calle Arrieta 4; )。十分鐘步程之外，市長廣場的對面是另一片吉他作坊聚集地，包括何塞·拉米雷斯(José Ramírez，Calle de la Paz 8; )、佩德羅·德·米格爾(Pedro de Miguel；Calle Amor de Dios 13; )和胡安·阿爾瓦雷斯(Juan Álvarez; Calle San Pedro 7; )的店鋪。

A guitar’s colorful mix of woods is less an aesthetic choice than a science. Each element of the instrument’s anatomy has specific physical and acoustic demands, and its maker knows which woods can accomplish each function. It’s fascinating to consider that the materials for today’s instruments may have been purchased by the artisans’ fathers 30 or 40 years ago, just as the German spruce and Canadian cedar today’s guitarreros acquire will sit drying for decades until it’s suitable to be turned into guitars by their children or grandchildren. ANDREW FERREN

吉他是多姿多彩的木製工藝品。它不僅是審美，更多是科學的選擇。每一把樂器中的每個因素都有特殊的物理與聲學要求，工匠懂得哪種木板能夠完美呈現相應的功能。想到今天這些制琴材料有可能是這些工匠的父輩們三四十年前採購而來，如今的吉他工匠購買的德國雲杉和加拿大雪松也將堆積在庫房中等待子孫們數十年後才啓用，真讓人會心一笑。安德魯·菲林(ANDREW FERREN)供稿。