Nikolaus Bruhns: Cantatas and Organ Works Vol.1
Masaaki Suzuki / Yale Institute of Sacred Music (BIS)
(scroll down for English review)
鈴木雅明的新碟是英年早逝的北德巴洛克作曲家Nikolaus Bruhns（1665-1697）的作品集，此為第一集，以Bruhns流傳後世的作品數量來說，應該第二集就完。此錄音是在美國，於耶魯聖樂學院灌錄，已是五六年前錄下來的。
本碟的作品分成兩類，一為管風琴作品，由鈴木雅明彈奏。Bruhns是布克斯泰胡德愛徒，此兩曲的名稱《「大」E小調前奏曲》（軌四）及《來吧外邦人的救世主》（軌九）一時令人想起巴哈的前奏及賦格，以及聖詠前奏曲，其實風格較接近布克斯泰胡德的幻想曲，有多個段落而且頗為生動。
另一類作品是清唱劇，同樣也和巴哈的格式不同，並非合唱、詠嘆調及聖詠的混合，反而是一個或多個獨唱從頭唱到尾。而這裏收錄的幾首，多數以《詩篇》作歌詞，例如第130篇的《我從深處向祢求告》（軌一）、第100篇《普天下當向耶和華歡呼》（軌二及三）。
但重點是Bruhns的聲樂寫法，和世俗音樂尤其是歌劇相去不遠，往往去到不易唱的音域，而且他會分成很多段落，有不同的速度及氣氛，當成歌劇詠嘆調去聽也可以。Bruhns除了管風琴，在小提琴也有極高造詣，相傳他很喜歡一邊拉小提琴，一邊用腳彈管風琴來給自己伴奏。於是這些清唱劇的音樂伴奏，獨奏小提琴扮演重要角色，幾乎時時都和獨唱一起。
The latest album from Masaaki Suzuki is this volume one of the collected works of Nikolaus Bruhns (1665-1697), a Buxtehude pupil who was equally proficient on the organ and the violin. Probably there is just one more volume, as not many of this works have come down to us.
What’s left could be grouped into two categories, the first being organ works and they’re played by Suzuki. On first sight these two works: Prelude in E minor (track 4), Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (track 9) seemed to be a prelude and fugue, and a chorale prelude. But as a Buxtehude pupil, Bruhns’ style in these works was more to the stilus phantasticus with its multiple sections.
Two thirds of this album is made up of cantatas or “sacred concerto” depending which terminology is preferred. But to me these are music not far from secular music, in particular opera, and one might just listen to them as opera arias. Mostly settings on the Psalms, Bruhns varied his material a lot, resulting in a vocal works with many different tempi and moods. Also, the solo violin features prominently in them and Bruhns might have played the solo violin part while using his feet on the organ’s pedals.