Telemann: Viola Concertos, Overtures, Fantasies
Antoine Tamestit, Sabine Fehlandt (viola)
Bernhard Forck / Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (Harmonia Mundi)
(scroll down for English review)
塔梅斯提新碟是泰利曼專輯，最初感到驚奇泰利曼都有一張碟的中提琴曲目，然後又想，以泰利曼這麼多產，又是這麼慳水慳力的多產，撩幾筆寫中提琴曲目又有幾難。
不過看清楚track listing，其實這張碟只有一半時間有塔梅斯提，其餘一半是樂隊演奏兩首序曲／組曲，也就是像巴哈《管弦組曲》或泰利曼《餐桌音樂》那些。而中提琴曲目中，既有獨奏（軌15-17；26-29）、二重奏（軌12-14），又有中提琴協奏曲（軌八至11）及雙中提琴協奏曲（軌30-33）。但又看真點，只有協奏曲是寫給中提琴，那三首獨奏及二重奏曲目只是將小提琴作品用中提琴演奏而已。
原創或借用都好，作品本身也只是泰利曼一般貨色，其實不怎樣利用到中提琴在不同音域及當中的不同音色，反而是塔梅斯提要用稍為原音的音色遷就，令琴音放鬆了一點，就不像當代中提琴家比幾十年前結實而略帶繃緊的發音了。
除非是追着塔梅斯提來聽，這碟還是聽由樂隊主理的組曲較好，尤其是軌18至25的「變化」組曲，它模倣法國風格而且扮得很像，樂隊當然明白這一點，自己添加了敲擊樂器，令此作更像拉摩作品。
Antoine Tamestit’s latest album features Telemann solely. Initially I was surprised that one could come up with a Telemann viola album, but then I thought, given his prolific output, why shouldn’t he just scribble something for the viola.
But a careful inspection of the tracklist shows that only half of the CD’s contents were played by Tamestit, the other half was two overture-suites played by the ensemble. Although the viola portion covers solo, duo, solo concerto and double concerto pieces, only the concertos were actually written for the viola, the solo and duo pieces were violin pieces actually.
Originals aside, these viola works are just run-of-the-mill Telemann and don’t really showcase the viola’s timbre and registers. Yet it was interesting to hear Tamestit trying to fit his sound to the HIP ensemble and the tone is much more relaxed than the solid and tight tone we’re used to from contemporary violists.
Unless you’re only in it for Tamestit I suggest enjoying the overture-suites, especially “La Changeante” on tracks 18-25. As the title suggests it was written in the French style but what’s really remarkable is that Forck and his Berlin ensemble introduced percussion in it, making the suite very much like Rameau.