Bach: Cello Suites No. 1-6
Sergey Malov (violoncello da spalla) (Solo Musica)
(scroll down for English review)
這張CD早前贏了一個德國Opus Klassik獎，錄音賣點是用「肩上大提琴」演奏。馬洛夫本為小提琴家，也懂中提琴，更曾用中提琴演奏巴哈這套無伴奏大提琴組曲，得到薩爾茲堡莫扎特學院的演奏文憑。但他接觸到肩上大提琴後，再次燃起他對巴哈大提琴組曲的興趣。
首先這是張單碟，但也集齊六首組曲，因為馬洛夫不拉重覆奏，那就減去差不多一半時間。他的解釋是想六首組曲一氣呵成，以及這樣可以標榜結構的清晣。例外是第一首薩拉班舞曲（軌四），前半還是重覆了，但他加了不少裝飾音去拉。會不會他故意有此漏網之魚，去證明自己省略重複奏，但也懂得如何加花音及裝飾音？至少絕大部分全部重覆奏都拉的大提琴家，去到第二次也只是一模一樣地拉罷了。
雖然Kuijken也試過用肩上大提琴，但我這次是第一次用聽這種樂器拉的巴哈。坦白說，用盲試的話，我根本不會察覺這「不是」大提琴。但聲音的確較輕盈，卻又足夠質感，低音我也非常滿意，比起用中提琴好多了。馬洛夫也在小冊子中說明，他聽過不少原音大提琴家的演奏，但還是覺得大提琴演奏這套作品還是太笨重了。
這時拉大提琴的朋友一定抗議，我覺得百多年來，大提琴家、無論是原音或現代奏法，已經找到一種或多種演奏巴哈的方法，我相信馬洛夫的意思，是用大提琴拉得到，卻又不大像巴洛克音樂。他這個演奏的速度明顯較快，不過配上輕盈琴音，我又不覺得急趕，更重要是他選用的速度及力度，符合到不同舞曲的特質。並不是說他這些速度就是唯一及絕對正確的速度，而是他抓得住舞曲特質，假如他再快點點或慢點點也不會變成錯。論絕對速度，他的吉格舞曲其實比不少大提琴家慢，但他卻奏得出更多節奏及分句的層次出來。
與其說肩上大提琴就是演奏巴哈大提琴無伴奏的最佳樂器，不如是這種樂器把馬洛夫心目中的巴哈實現出來，加上我這陣子在古鍵琴的浸淫，更覺得馬洛夫跟我同聲同氣。特別推介給以為自己很熟悉巴哈無伴奏大提琴組曲的朋友收聽。
Russian violinist-violist Sergey Malov has been making a name for himself as the champion of the violoncello da spalla, a smaller cello that could be carried on the shoulder. This recording of the six Bach Cello Suites just received an Opus Klassik award from Germany.
Malov had already mastered the Cello Suites on the viola, even receiving a diploma from the Salzburg Mozarteum because of that. But it was after he discovered the violoncello da spalla that he found the right instrument to play them, because he claimed that the cello was too heavy for the writing and he’d already surveyed the HIP performances.
First of all this single CD contained all the six suites because Malov omitted the repeats, in order to highlight the clarity of the structure. But he made one exception for the first Sarabande, repeating the first half with tasteful embellishments. As for whether the violoncello da spalla is the right instrument, I must confess I hadn’t listened to similar performances, despite the advocacy from Sigiswald Kuijken. The most amazingly this didn’t sound “not a cello”: the bass notes had the right timbre but all the registers also had a lighter sound. So this is way better than the viola.
I suppose the case against the normal cello is that its tone can’t be reconciled with the nature of these baroque dances as Bach used them. One would have to play them slower or forego the cello sound once and for all. Malov’s tempi did sound quicker than usual but the key was that he always grasped the correct nature of the dances. Therefore he could have gone a tad faster or slower and the playing would still sound correct.
The more agile tone also demands a brisk tempo, but in absolute terms, Malov took the gigues slower than some cellists (HIP or modern). This is a good example of “grasping the correct nature” as Malov was able to back up his chosen tempo with more dynamic freedom and phrasing subtleties.
As a result, I’d never argue that the violoncello da spalla is the right instrument, nor Malov’s tempi are the only correct ones. But taken as a whole, Malov’s interpretation should serve as a reference among the tons of Bach Cello Suites recordings available.