Souvenirs – Solo Cello Works by Bach, Kodály, Dutilleux, Campos
Gautier Capuçon (cello)
(scroll down for English review)
高迪亞卡普森今年踏入40歲，出了這張「新曲加精選」三碟套裝。「新曲」部分其實是一張無伴奏專輯，四首作品來自四個時代，除了最後的一首是全新作品，其餘三首都屬於經典的無伴奏曲目。
卡普森還未錄全套巴哈無伴奏，這裏的《第一組曲》（軌一至六）會否是預告？他把琴音壓低，或者是想模擬巴洛克演奏的效果，嘗試在略帶侷促的聲音中做最寬厚的表達力，我最不喜歡的一點是聲音壓低之下，還要做太誇張的頓奏，把句子拉得太碎，尤其是吉格舞曲（軌六）。不過薩拉班舞曲（軌四）的綿延造句，逐漸擴張到大聲，是頗自然的佈局。
一下跳到高大宜《無伴奏大提琴奏鳴曲》（軌七至九），我覺得卡普森很在意做出節奏上的即興感覺，我更具體地形容，就是不想令人覺得跟足音符的長度。不過對我來說，他這種追求自由變成了不自由，而且有很多地方其實不值得強調，稍為變成怪癖。第三樂章他一刀不剪，用較快的基本速度，不過似是為了在較棘手的地方有多點空間，也無可厚非，不過我覺得他在後半有點失焦，而且發音質素較之前差了。不過反面來看，若果音質太一致，我反而會懷疑他太依賴剪接才會一貫的好聽。
約半世紀前寫的杜蒂耶《以薩赫之名而作的三首詩節》（軌十至11）已是示範級無伴奏曲目，雖然觀眾還未必熟悉。卡普森在高大宜追求自由奔放，在這曲就需要精準表現作曲家的企圖，頭兩個樂章他兼顧到準繩及最結實的發音，不過最難的第三樂章我就覺得太過小心，不夠灑脫。
軌12、西班牙大提琴家兼作曲家Javier Martinez Campos所作的《琥珀大提琴》不只是一首無伴奏大提琴樂曲，更是一個「跨界」作品，所「交叉」的是一款新香水……除了販賣東方或阿拉伯風情，我暫時未呷到甚麼特別味道出來。
Gautier Capuçon celebrates his 40th birthday with this 3CD set. The second and third discs are made up of previously recorded material but the first is a newly recorded disc of solo repertoire from Bach to our age.
As Capuçon has yet to record a complete solo Bach set, the First Suite (tracks 1-6) is a preview of sorts. He seemed to intentionally suppress his tone to simulate a baroque sound, while extracting the most intense emotion out of such a constricted tone. What I don’t like is his excessive staccato, especially in the Gigue (track 6). But in the Sarabande (track 4) he shaped an arch of crescendo and diminuendo that was quite natural to my ears.
Kodály’s Solo Cello Sonata (tracks 7-9) is next. Capuçon stressed the rhapsodic nature of the piece, showing a tendency of not following note values to the dot. But I think he overdid that, as if he was compelled to do so, thus losing the sense of freedom. He played the third movement uncut and he set a slightly quick basic tempo. I guess that gave him more room to maneuver in the thornier passages, but that’s understandable. The tone quality deteriorated drastically in the second half but that could be seen positively as that’s a sign of continuity while playing such a difficult piece.
The half-century-old Dutilleux Strophes (tracks 10-12) is now in many cellists’ repertoire but audience has yet to follow. In contrast to Kodály’s freedom this Dutilleux work demands precision. The first and second movements saw Capuçon juggling agilely while maintaining a solid tone but in the third movement he was too cautious.
The last track is a new piece by Spanish cellist and composer Javier Martinez Campos, titled Ambre Cello (track 12). This is actually a crossover piece tied in with a fragrance with the same name. Apart from Arabic or Oriental flavours I don’t make much out of this piece.