Couperin: Concerts Royaux
Stephen Schultz, Mindy Rosenfeld (traverso), Jory Vinikour (harpsichord), Alexa Haynes-Pilon (viola da gamba) (Music & Arts)
(scroll down for English review)
我的確是被封面吸引，才留意到這張庫普蘭《皇家協奏曲》新碟，加上見到古鍵琴是由Jory Vinikour擔任，之前聽過他彈的拉摩古鍵琴作品全集，所以便聽了。所謂「皇家」，其實譯成「國王的」更為貼切，因為是寫給路易十四欣賞，而所謂「協奏曲」又不是我們現在聽的鋼琴協奏曲、小提琴協奏曲，這套作品是名符其實的室樂，因為是在路易十四的寢室奏給他聽的。
四首協奏曲也就是組曲，本碟以二、三、一、四排序，次序無傷大雅，雖然我覺得《第一協奏曲》（軌13至18）最具代表性。雖然這碟是以橫笛（巴洛克長笛）演奏，但這套作品並無標明旋律樂器，用小提琴或雙簧管也同樣可以，不過我覺得真的是橫笛最好。再加上通奏低音（古鍵琴及低音古提琴）就齊人，不過部分樂章，例如《第一協奏曲》的小步舞曲（軌18）或《第四協奏曲》的薩拉班舞曲（軌23）多出了一條旋律線，這裏就用第二支橫笛演奏。
即如上次介紹由Willilam Christie帶着新人演奏的法國巴洛克小提琴奏鳴曲一樣，此碟對我一大意義是室樂的形式，比管弦樂更能展現當時的演奏風格，例如裝飾音，這套作品的裝飾音多到像古鍵琴音樂一樣，不過就已經被庫普蘭寫在樂譜中。沒寫在樂譜的就有「不相等音符」（notes inégales），初級樂理書往往以偏概全說這是法國風格，但沒告訴學生實質的使用範圍，對着樂譜聽這套錄音就可知一二。
和庫普蘭絕大部分古鍵琴音樂不同，這裏大部分都是舞曲，也就是德國舞曲、薩拉班舞曲、嘉禾舞曲這些老朋友。我覺得庫普蘭緊貼舞曲的形式，其實比他採用較自由的形式，寫得更為精煉及悅耳。有趣是《第四協奏曲》接連有兩首庫蘭特舞曲（軌21、22），不過前者標明是法式，後者是意式。其實前者就是3/2或6/4的Courante，而後者就是3/4但數一小節一拍的Corrente，聽熟這兩首就可以分得出巴哈怎樣運用兩者了。
說了這麼多，都是我比較偏門的側重點，但聽下去就知道這些作品真的不用導賞，就如食餅般容易。
I admit I was taken in by the cover. Then I see the name of Jory Vinikour, his recording of the complete harpsichord music of Rameau was very fine indeed. The “Royal” in the title refers to Louis XIV and “concert” or “concerto” is actually chamber music played in Louis XIV’s royal chambers.
The four concerto or suites were presented here in the order of 2, 3, 1, 4 which doesn’t matter a lot, but to me the First Concert (tracks 13-18) is the most representative. Although the traverso was used in this recording it was by no means the prescribed instrument. The part might as well be played by oboe, violin or other melodic instrument, although I do prefer the traverso to oboe and violin. The group was then completed by basso continuo. In some tracks, such as the minuet of the First Concert (track 18) or the sarabande of the Fourth Concert (track 23), the extra melodic line was played by a second traverso.
I was again attracted by the individual liberties of the chamber form. There are many ornaments, as many as Rameau or Couperin’s harpsichord music, although these were notated. Not written were the notes inégales, if you listen to this CD with the score you’ll see the notes inégales were something to be used in some particular instances and not as predominant as elementary music theory books claimed to be.
Couperin hardly wrote any straight dances in his four volumes of harpsichord pieces but here dances dominated. I think Couperin wrote better or concise melodies when restricted by the framework of straight dances. The Fourth Concerto featured two courantes, one of which was marked French (track 21), the other marked Italian (track 22). The French one was actually the 3/2 or 6/4 courante and the Italian one was the corrente, which was one-in-a-bar. So when you encounter these in Bach you’ll know which is which.
Apologies for writing too much on obscure matters. The music is so easy to the ears and listening to them is just a piece of cake. Enjoy.