Bach: Trio Sonatas BWV 525-527, Sinfonias Nos.4 & 9
Luc Beauséjour (harpsichord), Stick&Bow: Krystina Marcoux (marimba), Juan Sebastian Delgado (cello) (Analekta)
(scroll down for English review)
巴哈六首管風琴三重奏奏鳴曲，雖然是寫給管風琴作獨奏用，但由於明確區分到三個聲部（工整的對照管風琴的右手、左手以及腳踏的低音），不時有人拿來給三支樂器演奏，例如Holliger就用雙簧管吹主聲部（管風琴的右手），再找中提琴、大提琴及古鍵琴演奏其他聲部。而這六首三重奏奏鳴曲，本身就是「不怎麼」管風琴的管風琴音樂，它們不是賦格這種令人生畏的曲式，於是也很雅俗共賞。
加拿大古鍵琴家Luc Beauséjour這個改編，先是特別在用上古鍵琴、大提琴及完全不屬於巴哈時代的馬林巴，更重要是三支樂器擔當的角色是有點意外。古鍵琴照樣雙手彈奏，但彈的是頂及底，即是右手的主聲部及腳踏低音，馬林巴負責副聲部（管風琴的左手），大提琴則與古鍵琴的左手重疊，加強腳踏低音。
這種組合，我覺得首先令主聲部不會太搶，其次是馬林巴既令我聯想到管風琴的音色，也和古鍵琴的觸感有對比。雖說古鍵琴令主聲部不會太搶是個好處，但這同時也是弱點，因為較易會悶。這張碟只收錄三首奏鳴曲，其實剛剛好。間隔着的兩曲，是《三聲部創意曲》第四及九首，在第九首（軌八）稍有變動，改由馬林巴奏最高音的聲部。 回覆有Holliger六首奏鳴曲錄音的連結。
Bach’s six Trio Sonatas were no doubt written for solo organ but their very clear three-voice structure prompted non-keyboard players to play them as trios. For instance, Heinz Holliger made a recording of them with him playing the lead melody part and a viola, cello and harpsichord filling the rest. And these trio sonatas are themselves not so “organ” and without the daunting fugues. So such arrangements can be easily enjoyed by most listeners.
This trio arrangement headed by Canadian harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour deviated from habitual trio arrangements in two aspects. Firstly, the subsidiary melodic part was played by marimba, a totally anachronistic instrument. Secondly, the harpsichord took the lead melodic part and the bass pedal part as well. The cello doubled the bass pedal part.
Thus the lead melodic part wouldn’t stand out too much, and the marimba, though anachronistic, reminded one of the organ. And such tone set itself apart from the harpsichord, providing the necessary contrast. Yet giving the harpsichord such importance unavoidably made the whole combo a bit dull. Therefore, I didn’t regret the fact that this disc only contained the first three sonatas or it’d be too much. The fillers were two sinfonias (three-part inventions) in similar settings. But the 9th Sinfonia (track 8) came with a twist: the top voice was taken by the marimba instead.