Vivaldi: 9 Concertos (I Musici)

I Musici 義大利音樂家合奏團，是於1952年由12位主要來自於羅馬的音樂家所組成的室內樂弦樂團。他們1955年所錄的韋瓦第的四季小提琴協奏曲，不僅是當初市 面少數買得到的錄音之一，也是多年來銷售相當好的唱片。1983年，在Philips所灌錄的這張四季，全世界銷售量超過1000萬張而被發行一張白金鑲 鑽的紀念唱片。這50幾年來，他們會將這耳熟能響的曲子，共再錄七次之多。


I Musici 對於巴洛克音樂的推廣不遺餘力，除了是當時專門演奏巴洛克音樂的先鋒之外，也讓二十世紀的音樂愛好者，重新認識這些有三百多年歷史的音樂。當時二十世紀 初，大多數人對巴洛克音樂的了解主要來自於巴哈與韓德爾。韋瓦第，卻並不像今天是個家喻互曉的人物，而是早被世人遺忘。隨著音樂學者的研究及不同的音樂家 的表演，韋瓦第慢慢又站上了古典樂的舞台。I Musici 的錄音，更是成功地使古典樂聽眾們，將四季納為必須收藏的曲目。

因 為I Musici 對本身義大利的音樂有充份的了解，他們歷年來所錄的唱片，也以義大利的巴洛克音樂家為主，像是Corelli，Albinoni，Scarlatti，以 及Geminiani等。 他們除了灌錄韋瓦第生前所有出版的作品一至十二，為歷史性的標桿之外，他們也大力推崇Vivaldi的維尼斯同鄉Albinoni的作品，有將其作品五， 七，與九完整地錄下來。上述的Vivaldi和Albinoni錄音，我日後也將會全部一一收集，當作進一步認識巴洛音樂的曲子。

至 於這張Vivaldi的九首弦樂協奏曲，是我爸在我小學六年級時，從歐洲開會回來時帶給我的禮物。這些弦樂協奏曲，多採用維尼斯協奏曲，快-慢-快的三樂 章的架構，也是奠定未來200多年西方古典樂協奏曲的基本結構。因為這些曲子為弦樂協奏曲，所以與大多數Vivaldi有獨奏樂器的協奏曲不同，但跟 Corelli的大協奏曲型式有concertino(小協奏群)也不相同。最後一首協奏曲是Concerto "alla Rustica"(田園風)，是他眾多弦樂協奏曲中最常被表演的一首。

I Musici 在沒有指揮家，完全相信團員間的默契之下，展現了當時巴洛克室內樂團應有的精神。這些協奏曲，也成功地給世人感覺到巴洛克音樂的華麗與雍容。I Musici 許多早期對巴洛克音樂的詮釋，在今天寧可選擇古樂器表演的聽眾的耳朵裡，已是過時的風格。他們的提琴聲在今天的標準中，算過度浪漫與濃厚，節奏上也顯得不 夠有活力。雖然一度是巴洛克音樂的權威，如今多數人的評語竟是感覺一成不變，少了新鮮感。不過，對於巴洛克音樂的印象，仍希望偏中規中矩的聽眾們，應該會 對他們的錄音，感到甘之如飴。

雖然我對巴洛克音樂表演的想法跟偏愛已有所改變，但我仍然不會忘記當初I Musici開啟我對這一塊時期的音樂的這扇窗。聽到這錄音，會立刻回到當初天真的年代，面對著音響傳過來的Vivaldi音樂，可以這樣過一個快樂的下午。

後記：最近上了I Musici的網站，發現他們的新錄音當中，充滿著活力與能量。聽了之後很高興，知道I Musici在身邊的音樂家在進步創新之餘，自己本身也有成長，來繼續維持他們用現代樂器來詮釋巴洛克音樂的領導性地位。

Before the period instrument ensembles, there was I Musici, more formally known today as I Musici di Roma. Founded in 1952 by 12 musicians and mainly graduates of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia from Rome, their 1955 recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons became the first commercially successful recording of the piece which literally sparked the public's new interest in the now world-famous piece and Vivaldi's music in general.

I Musici played a prominent role in recording and interpreting Baroque music, with an emphasis on Italian composers. They have had a very long relationship with Vivaldi, whom they have recorded all of his 12 published opuses. Their recordings of Albinoni's op.5, 7, and 9 also introduced other music of Albinoni other than that Adagio for Strings to a wider audience.


Still performing and recording today but with different members (obviously), I Musici has come to epitomize the practice of performing Baroque music on modern instruments. With no conductor, the musicians of I Musici have such great harmony that represent great chamber music playing.

This CD of Vivaldi's 9 string concertos was a gift my dad gave to me when I was still in 6th grade upon returning from a European conference. After The Four Seasons, I craved more, and this CD was a very pleasant surprise and addition. I Musici's playing is characterized by a lush but not overwhelming sound combined with steady tempi to portray elegance. This CD ends with the famous Concerto "alla Rustica," a short but lively concerto.

Advocates of period performance practices will find these performances a little outdated, not nearly as exciting as some of their younger Italian fellow ensembles like Fabio Biondi's Europa Galante. However, listeners just starting into the Baroque genre will find I Musici's interpretation a safe choice.