Bach: Brandenburg Concertos No.1-6
Isabelle Faust (violin), Antoine Tamestit (viola)
Akademie für alte Musik Berlin (Harmonia Mundi)
(scroll down for English review)
紀念巴哈《布蘭登堡協奏曲》創作400周年的又一張新錄音，柏林古樂團繼廿幾次後重錄，賣點是有兩位知名獨奏家參與。浮士德於《第三》拉第一小提琴，以及《第四》的小提琴獨奏；塔梅斯提在《第三》及《第六》擔任第一中提琴。雖說柏林古樂團對這套作品非常熟練（也曾在香港演奏，但我沒聽），聽這套錄音就令我覺得太例行公事，可能是沒用指揮，沒有人提供新角度，那就依平常那般。
說我有心理作用都好，我還是覺得有兩位著名獨奏家的那三首奏得最好。《第三》及《第四》浮士德扮演了火車頭的角色，驅使柏林古樂團出多一點汗，在已經對他們缺乏難度的音樂中加添一點逼力。塔梅斯提則在《第六》提供多一點歌唱空間，令音樂不至於像拍子機或摩打般機械前進。如果不是有這兩人的參與，我覺得這個新錄音沒有意義。
For the 400th anniversary of the Brandenburgs the Akademie für alte Musik Berlin rerecorded this work after more than 20 years. The selling point might as well be the participation of Isabelle Faust and Antoine Tamestit. Faust took the first violin part of the Third Concerto, then played the solo violin on the Fourth. Tamestit also took part in the Third Concerto, playing first viola and he took the same position for the Sixth Concerto. This Berlin ensemble has been playing the Brandenburgs extensively and globally. But their proficiency sounded to me, on this recording at least, to be too much of a routine. I attribute this to the absence of a conductor who might provide a different viewpoint.
Call me biased if you may, as I do feel Faust and Tamestit made a difference. Faust was like a locomotive in the two concertos she was in, urging the ensemble on to give a more strenuous performance. On the other hand Tamestit, in the Sixth Concerto, provided a singing quality to the playing, or the ensemble would simply churn out the whole piece metronomically. If not for them, this remake would hardly mean anything.