Undine – Legends from Northern Europe
Flute Music by Joachim Andersen and Reinecke
Grieg: Lyric Pieces
Alexis Kossenko (flute), Vassilis Varvaresos (piano) (Aparté)
(scroll down for English review)
這張長笛專輯將三位19世紀北歐或德國作曲家，以「傳說」做主題串連在一起，三人比重大致一樣。有德國的Reinecke及丹麥長笛家Joachim Andersen創作的長笛音樂，前者的《水精靈長笛奏鳴曲》就是點題之作。第三位則是挪威的葛利格，但這兒長笛休息，因為是給鋼琴獨奏的幾首《抒情小曲》。
兩位演奏者都用上大約在19世紀製造的樂器，長笛主要是吹Meyer長笛，鋼琴一部是1912年的Bechstein，一部是1855年的紐約史坦威，頭七軌用Bechstein時，採用較低的A=437Hz音高，當然長笛要照跟。
短曲及長曲都有，但我覺得還是長的較好聽。兩首Reinecke，《敘事曲》（軌八）及《水精靈長笛奏鳴曲》（軌11至14）都很有飄逸的「從前，有一個…」味道，分別不過是後者有四樂章（快板、諧謔曲、慢板及快板）的框架，前者是較自由的慢、快、慢。
我孤陋寡聞未聽過Joachim Andersen（1847-1909）的名字，軌一《海邊》頗有陰森的氣勢，軌18《敘事曲及仙女之舞》如題分成慢及快兩部分，此曲放在最後當然有壓軸的意味，也是全碟最為炫技的一首，Andersen無論在慢及快都有能力表現到長笛的炫技，卻又不失音樂感，我相信長笛愛好者以外的樂迷也會滿意。
至於本碟其餘的三分一：葛利格《抒情小曲》我覺得可以略過不聽，一來樂曲本身不怎麼樣，二來演奏者Varvaresos彈得太矯扭。
Three 19th century composers: Reinecke (Germany), Joachim Andersen (Denmark) and Grieg (Norway) were brought together under a “Legends from Northern Europe” theme. They have almost equal shares, but the Grieg selections (Lyric Pieces) were all for piano solo, making this only a two thirds flute music album.
The instruments used were all from 19th century, or not far beyond. Kossenko used mainly Meyer flutes, while Varvaresos played a 1912 Bechstein on the first seven tracks and an 1855 New York Steinway piano on the rest of the album. On those Bechstein tracks the pitch of A=437Hz was used.
This is a mix of short and longer pieces but I preferred the longer ones. The Reinecke selections, Ballade (track 8) and Undine Sonata (tracks 11-14), shared a strong “once upon a time…” feel. The difference between the two was more of a formal nature. The Ballade was a free slow-fast-slow movement while the Undine Sonata was tightly framed within a four-movement structure.
The name Joachim Andersen was new to me and this was a discovery. Au bord de la mer (track 1) had a gloom that I wouldn’t imagine out of a flute and piano duo. The closing track, Ballade et la Danse des Sylphes (track 18), was in two part, slow and fast. Yet in both sections Andersen was keen on utilizing the flute’s virtuosity, but such virtuosity was still highly musical. I’m sure ordinary music lovers would enjoy these pieces as well.