Beethoven: Symphony No.7, The Creatures of Prometheus
Gottfried von der Goltz / Freiburg Baroque Orchestra (Harmonia Mundi)
(scroll down for English review)
這張雙碟，雖然碟一是大家最喜愛的貝七，但我覺得重點還是碟二（這裏從軌五開始）的《普羅米修斯的造物》全本芭蕾舞曲。這首一小時作品，現今我們只會在音樂會聽到序曲（軌五），其餘音樂絕少聽到，除了終曲（軌18）的旋律，貝多芬會在《英雄交響曲》的終曲重用。
這套芭蕾舞劇是貝一後所作，故事已無文字紀錄留下。以音樂質素來說，當然音樂史很少死錯人，我不會說這是經典作品，但音樂上還是有兩點值得留意，首先是這首序曲其實是貝多芬第一次寫的序曲，另外我也覺得這是貝多芬的管弦作品中，風格上最接近莫扎特的一首，軌15他更用了巴塞管，莫扎特《單簧管協奏曲》所用的那種樂器（不是巴松管）。
十幾軌中，頗多是過場音樂，就算不是過場，也很難用聽交響曲或序曲般，要求緊湊及時刻推進的心態去聽，始終舞蹈才是主體。要是選幾首主力去聽，我會選軌8、13、18、21，即使其餘音樂當作背景音樂去聽也未嘗不可。至於貝七，我聽了幾段，決定不花時間聽完。
This double-disc coupled the well-loved Beethoven Seventh (on disc 1) with the complete The Creatures of Prometheus ballet on disc 2, starting from track 5 on this YouTube playlist. This hour-long work is now rarely played apart from the Overture (track 5) which is still a popular concert opener. And the melody of the Finale (track 18) would be reused in the Finale of the Eroica Symphony.
Despite its opus number, The Creatures of Prometheus was written between the First and Second Symphonies. The exact plot of this ballet was unknown as no written record came down to us. I won’t call this a forgotten masterpiece but there are two things worth noting. First this is Beethoven’s first overture, and then this ballet was probably stylistically closest to Mozart than all other Beethoven compositions. The basset horn, which is so Mozartian, is a featured instrument in track 15.
Much of the music is of a passing character, even the dances couldn’t be listened as one might a symphony or an overture. The music wasn’t supposed to be so propelling as one expects in Beethoven. A couple of highlights would be tracks 8, 13, 18, 21. You might listen to the other tracks as background music. As for this performance of Seventh Symphony it wasn’t worth my time.