Gubaidulina: Dialog: Ich und Du, The Wrath of God, The Light of the End
Vadim Repin (violin)
Andris Nelsons / Gewandhaus Orchestre (DG)
(scroll down for English review)
今天是俄羅斯作曲家古拜杜麗娜的90歲生日，DG推出了這張作曲家專輯，全部由尼遜斯指揮萊比鍚布業大廳樂團，該團任命了她做上季、今季及下季三年的駐團作曲家。如果不太知道她是誰，她是蕭斯塔高維契去世後，最重要的五位、甚至是三位蘇聯作曲家之一，身為虔誠東正教徒的她，在蘇聯時代便因不斷創作宗教主題的樂曲被政權打壓。蘇聯解體後她移居德國漢堡鄉郊，創作至今。
2018年首演的《對話：我與你》（軌一至12）是她第三首小提琴協奏曲，她的第二首小提琴協奏曲《當下》是寫給慕特的，相信很多朋友都聽過那個錄音，而這首協奏曲則是寫給列賓，這錄音由他做獨奏。雖然唱碟把樂曲分了11軌，這首20分鐘多一點的協奏曲，我看就當成一個長的慢板聽就好，樂隊用上四管的大編制，但又不是時刻用盡，古拜杜麗娜對低音樂器、尤其是低音木管及銅管情有獨鍾，獨奏小提琴就像一把悲鳴的聲音，和整個樂團對抗。獨奏遠遠不算炫技，亦不是特別有靈性，當成一首逐漸加強的蕭斯達高維契式的慢板來聽就夠。
其餘兩首都是管弦樂曲，都是四管編制。現在一些年輕作曲家覺得管弦樂團招募新作時，指定只能用三管編制限制了他們。聽古拜杜麗娜的作品就更令我覺得，你想用四管、甚至五六七管，你先用三管證明到自己的能力及潛力吧，用四管不是你想得那麼簡單。《神怒》（軌13至19）是2019年作品，如果在第一軌就屢次出現的動機就是代表「神怒」，那麼我覺得此曲就好像是一首主題變奏，用不同的樂器組合及速度去組職這個神怒主題，蘊釀到一個小高潮，又再重新來過，最後四軌我看當成一個變奏來聽也未嘗不可。
《盡頭的光》（軌20至28）是較前兩曲早十幾年，2003年的作品，這曲我就覺得分成九軌是恰當，因為有明顯的配器及速度變化。此曲的變化也較前兩個為多，很多地方換作是其他作曲家，會用來寫有關森林或宇宙歷險的樂曲或電影配樂，可能是用得很多豎琴及長笛短笛令我有這個印象。不過我要聽到第三次，到最後一軌聽到音樂從躁動變成「天國式」的寧靜，再想一想曲名，就覺得這好比古拜杜麗娜版本的「死與變容」。
Sofia Gubaidulina celebrates her 90th birthday today and DG brought us this all-Gubaidulina album, all conducted by Andris Nelsons with the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Gubaidulina is also their resident composer for three seasons.
Dialog: Ich und Du (tracks 1-12) is Gubaidulina’s third violin concerto, after Offertorium and Im tempus praesens. She wrote this 2018-premiered piece for Vadim Repin, who was also the soloist here. This recording divided this 20-minute piece into 12 tracks but you might as well listen to it like a Shostakovich symphonic adagio. The solo writing is hardly virtuosic, not even as spiritual as Gubaidulina’s usual works, but the violin is like a lamenting voice against the quadruple-wind orchestra.
The other two orchestral pieces are also scored for quadruple winds, with slightly differences in brass. Gubaidulina’s penchant for lower woodwinds and brass manifests quite well in the opening of The Wrath of God (tracks 13-19), a long-delayed piece premiered in 2019. If the repeated motive of the first track represents the wrath of God, then I’m inclined to approach this piece as variations that each build up to a climax, then start from scratch with a different instrumentation and tempo.
The Light of the End (tracks 20-28) dates back from 2003. The division of nine tracks is adequate and helpful, as the sections do vary quite a bit. The heavy use of the flute family and harp gave me the impression of a forest or universe adventure usually depicted in film music. But it wasn’t until my third listen that I noticed the shift from restlessness to repose at the last track. I thought twice about the title then came to the conclusion that this might be Gubaidulina’s take on Death and Transfiguration.