Louise Farrenc: Symphony No. 1 & 3
Laurence Equilbey / Insula Orchestra (Erato)
(scroll down for English review)
Louise Farrenc（1804-1875，Farrenc是夫姓）在當時的法國樂壇，是德高望重的巴黎音樂院音樂教授，但她在白頭人送黑頭人、痛失鋼琴家愛女前，是多產的作曲家。埃基爾比和她的原音樂團島嶼樂團，現錄製Farrenc的管弦作品全集，這是雙碟的第一張，收錄《第一交響曲》及《第三交響曲》。
這碟的宣傳文字，大書特書Farrenc大膽將德國音樂帶到法國交響曲中，尤見舒伯特或孟德爾遜的影響。退後一點看，這種比較不算好事，代表她的個人風格不夠，所以說不出她的個人風格在哪兒。我覺得在她創作兩曲的1840年代，想寫時尚的交響曲，很自然就要以德國浪漫派交響曲為模，除非就要採用白遼士那種戲劇化、不俱一格的寫法。
宣傳文字另一賣點是她很會用木管，很多木管的獨奏。又是老問題，這又不是華格納或馬勒的年代，銅管及敲擊還未能盡情使用，不想老是用弦樂這麼單調，就要用木管製造反差，而這一點Farrenc是非常成功的，只是又未算是一種特色。
埃基爾比的指揮捕捉到兩首樂曲的活力，亦把Farrenc作曲技巧的熟練完美展現。但我的觀感是，Farrenc的交響曲就是寫得太「靠譜」，太符合格式的要求。兩首作品，我比較喜歡《第三交響曲》，好像一首沒有舒曼配器毛病的舒曼交響曲，但就沒有舒曼那種內涵。放在「女性作曲家」的類別中，這兩曲非常出眾，但又未去到不朽作品那種水平。
Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) was a formidable piano doyenne at Paris Conservatoire but her other persona as a composer had been overlooked. She wrote symphonies, chamber music and composed for her instrument but she lost her creativity after losing her pianist daughter. This projected two-disc series of Farrenc’s complete orchestral works was recorded by Laurence Equilbey’s period ensemble Insula Orchestra.
The promotional material said Farrenc was daring in her attempt to adopt the German symphonic mould into these symphonies. But the unsaid in such statement was that she lacked a personal touch. To be fair, a French composer writing symphonies in the 1840s couldn’t avoid being influenced either by German Romanticism or the freewheeling style of Berlioz.
Another point was made on Farrenc’s extensive use of woodwind solos. True, she used woodwinds skillfully but it wasn’t the age of Wagner or Mahler, it’s either strings or woodwinds.
Farrenc’s fire and technical mastery came through in Equilbey’s energetic performances. But I felt Farrenc stayed too close to her model and I couldn’t feel her personality. The Third Symphony (tracks 5-8) was a better work. Its restlessness was like a Schumann symphony but written with impeccable instrumentation, yet without the soul of a genuine creator. These pieces would stand out in historical retrospectives of female composers but I wouldn’t see them as immortal masterpieces.