Bruch: String Quintets, String Octet
WDR Symphony Chamber Players (Alpha)
(scroll down for English review)
這20年間，《蘇格蘭幻想曲》逐漸沒有小提琴家拉，生於1838年，死於1920年的布魯赫成為一曲天王。《第一小提琴協奏曲》於1867年修訂完畢，到底他剩下的53年做了甚麼？這張碟提供了答案，因為這碟收錄的兩首弦樂五重奏，以及原本都是弦樂五重奏的《弦樂八重奏》是在1918年底開始寫的。
軌一至四的《降E大調弦樂五重奏》其實是第二首動筆的，雖是四個樂章，但第一樂章較像第二樂章的引子，第二樂章有點英雄氣慨，第三樂章的安寧旋律令人想起他名曲的慢板，第四樂章小提琴高唱入雲的旋律令我聯想到德伏扎克，但我不是說布魯赫受他影響。
軌五至八的《A小調弦樂五重奏》的四個樂章較為常規，略為激昂的氣氛則有點孟德爾遜《A小調弦樂四重奏》的影子，總之這些作品固然不像20世紀，甚至放在19世紀後三分一都好像有點過時。話雖如此，我寧願聽布魯赫的簡潔，好像聽許多無名作曲家的志大才疏。
布魯赫在1919年喪妻，翌年頭他把本來是最後一首的弦樂五重奏重寫成《降B大調弦樂八重奏》（軌九至十一），八支樂器並非像孟德爾遜的四小、兩中、兩大，而是一大、一加大（低音大提琴）。這次布魯赫只寫三個樂章，快慢快，但在每個樂章他都把對比的活力及輕柔，很巧妙地傳來傳去，就像太極的陰陽。加大了的弦樂，並非要更複雜的對位或對答，此曲仍由第一小提琴主導，但布魯赫很細緻地調較樂器的增減，做出很多層次的交響感覺。
我覺得《弦樂八重奏》遠勝兩首五重奏，可說是浪漫派（不是後浪漫派）的最後光芒。完成作品後布魯赫開始大病，同年逝世。
As star violinists are forgetting the Scottish Fantasy, Bruch is becoming a one-hit wonder. He put the final touches on the First Violin Concerto in 1867, so what did he do until his death in 1920? This album provided an answer as the three works on it were all started in 1918.
The E-flat String Quintet (tracks 1-4) was actually the second one. Although in four movements, the first movement was more like an introduction to the allegro second movement, which was quite heroic. The third movement was a soothing adagio, and the soaring violin melody in the fourth reminded me of Dvořák, but I wasn’t suggesting that Bruch was influenced.
The A minor String Quintet (tracks 5-8) had a more conventional four-movement layout. The agitated temperament was quite akin to Mendelssohn’s A minor String Quartet. All in all, these Bruch pieces were in no way reflecting the world after 1918, they even sounded a bit earlier than the music since 1860s. Still, I preferred Bruch’s simplicity to the mediocrity of some forward-looking composers.
Bruch became a widower in 1919 and in 1920 he recast the third string quintet into the B-flat major String Octet (tracks 9-11). The instrumentation had a slight difference from the Mendelssohn Octet. Instead of using two cellos, Bruch split these into one cello and one double bass. This time Bruch only wrote three movements, fast-slow-fast, but in each of them Bruch tossed around elements of vitality and tenderness. The expanded strings didn’t feature a heightened counterpoint but Bruch calibrated them into a layered, quasi-symphonic mass of sound.
The Octet was clearly superior to the two quintets, and it might be regarded as the last cry of Romanticism (not Post-Romanticism). After completing it Bruch fell ill and passed away few months later.