Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
Fabio Biondi (violin) (Naïve)
(scroll down for English review)
比昂迪這套巴哈無伴奏，兩個月前已經推出，當時也都聽了，卻不知怎樣去談。想不到一聽完恩尼斯的錄音，再回來聽便茅塞頓開。近年專注於指揮，尤其是美聲歌劇的比昂迪，比較少拉小提琴，但疫情令他終於灌錄巴哈無伴奏。儘使是原音演奏，也不應純用復古的目光來看待這個演奏。
之所以和恩尼斯一比，便知道有甚麼要留意，是因為恩尼斯以浪漫派、甚至是俄國學派的小提琴奏法，拉盡每一個音。比昂迪簡直是另一角度，聲音較小及鬆，但卻比恩尼斯奏出更高的音樂感，音符再不是一個個的靚聲，而是和之前和之後的組成一句句，也更有呼吸感覺，更多人味。說過恩尼斯在夏康舞曲的琶音，只用巴哈建議的拆法去拉，比昂迪身為原音小提琴家，反而是相反，有更大的自由度，在第二段更是用了Carl Flesch的拆法，差不多犯了原音派的大不諱，但那個拆法的確高超，又何必抗拒呢？
比昂迪也沒有像恩尼斯，在急板追逐最快的速度，恩尼斯在第一組曲的舞曲變奏（Double）有盡量快的傾向，但比昂迪不只沒有，甚至偏慢，然而他卻更願意在重複奏加花音及裝飾音，我亦覺得第一組曲是這套新錄音最為有趣的部分。
Fabio Biondi has been making waves as a conductor of bel canto operas, but the pandemic prompted him to finally make a recording of solo Bach. It was released more than two months ago, I’d heard it then but didn’t know what to make of it. After listening to Ehnes’ latest recording I went back to Biondi and finally got what I wanted to say.
While Ehnes was playing it with the most robust Russian School sound, Biondi’s approach wasn’t simply HIP. Instead of making the biggest sound like Ehnes did, Biondi made the most music out of a very soft tone. Notes now connected with each other into phrases and breaths, and that made Biondi much more human than Ehnes’ pursuit of perfection.
In the Chaconne Biondi also broke through from the example set by Bach in the first bar of the first arpeggio section, breaking and double-stopping notes as he saw fit. Also in the second arpeggio section he used the Carl Flesch realization which should be anathema to HIP violinists. But Flesch’s version is really powerful so why deprive oneself?
In addition, Biondi didn’t go after the quickest tempi in Prestos or the Doubles (First Partita) as Ehnes and many HIP violinists did. That left him with more space for embellishments in the repeats that also made the First Partita the most enjoyable in this new recording.