Bach, Abel: Works for Solo Viola da Gamba
Lucile Boulanger (viola da gamba) (Alpha)
(scroll down for English review)
18世紀法國，當七弦古提琴逐漸被音樂潮流淘汰時，德國的Carl Friedrich Abel（1723-1787）仍把這類音樂延續。Abel是巴哈教子，後來更與巴哈的兒子JC於倫敦舉行一系列演奏會。
如今Lucile Boulanger把巴哈及Abel並置，像Boulanger就這樣把兩人作品組成一個90分鐘的節目，恐怕不多見。既然巴哈沒有為古提琴寫過獨奏作品（和古鍵琴二重奏的奏鳴曲就有），Boulanger就從其他樂器的無伴奏作品改編。有趣是Boulanger把不同的巴哈樂章，組成組曲及奏鳴曲各一。
改編範圍除了最易想到的大提琴組曲，還有魯特琴、小提琴及長笛的無伴奏樂曲。不過以七弦古提琴演奏，我又不覺得會令音樂明顯不同，而且聽的還是巴哈，多過七弦古提琴。但從推廣古提琴音樂，或者Abel的古提琴音樂而言，確是用巴哈作牽引較好，太純粹的演奏Abel，很難吸引一般樂迷。
然而在我心目中，Abel的音樂才算真正的古提琴音樂，慢板多數就是從他的即興演奏而來。巴哈有他的好，但巴哈將慢板的旋律寫得太詳細，就沒有Abel給予的想像空間。不過在碟二Abel的部分，較多快板或賦格，就真正看到和巴哈的聯繫。至於為了聽巴哈還是聽Abel，就各適其適。
（Alpha品牌不設YouTube試聽，下為Spotify連結。）
As gamba music went out of fashion in mid-18th century France, Carl Friedrich Abel upheld it in Germany and beyond. He’s the godson of Bach and closely related to his sons, to the extent that he established a duo concert series with JC in London.
Although Bach and Abel are often featured in a modern gambist’s recital, Boulanger forming a 90-minute recital just around the two is a rare sight. As Bach didn’t write solo gamba music she compiled one sonata and suite out of the solo works for cello, violin, lute or flute.
Still, I couldn’t feel an extra dimension from the Bach transcriptions. I felt I was still listening to Bach rather than the viola da gamba. I totally agree Bach is an adequate introduction to gamba music but Abel’s creations actually are more flavourful, especially the adagios which were often written down after improvisations. They’re less florid than Bach’s adagios but leave you more room for imagination. Yet Abel’s faster music or fugues do show a link with Bach.