Zavateri: Concerti da Chiesa e da Camera (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra)

Lorenzo Gatetano Zavateri 生於1690年，逝於1764年。他是當時波隆那(Bologna)音樂文化興盛時期下的產物。他的音樂訓練是在當地，相另一位作曲家Torelli學習 小提琴，並和Predieri學習合聲和作曲。在年紀輕輕的27歲，他便成為Accademia Filharmonica的會員，由當時義大利音樂界裡地位最高的音樂家所組成。由此可見，Zavateri在小提琴上的修為一定是令前輩們刮目相看。


Zavateri 生前只有出版過兩個作品。作品一是這錄音裡的12首協奏曲，作品二是Divertimento(嬉遊曲)集。這十二首作品一的協奏曲是獻給他的資助者，也 曾是他的小提琴學生，Cornelio Pepoli Musotti公爵。獻言上，Zavateri所用的是當時留行的詞藻華麗的語言。現在念起來，做作虛假到有點受不了，不過說不家這是一貫的作風。擷取了 一小段，自己翻譯，內容大致如下：「我這些曲子，是在黑暗中誕生，沒敢見到光明。在你的英名之下，它們終於鼓起勇氣，甚至得以讓波隆那的名教授過 目……」(打哆嗦中~~~~  )

這十二首曲子，是在1735時所寫的，是當初義大利的大協奏曲(Concerto Grosso)晚期的風格。早期形式上的定義已經開始變得比較模糊，合奏樂群(concertino)的規定沒那麼嚴謹了。這些曲子裡，都可看出日後的獨 奏樂器協奏曲以及交響曲的兩大古典樂形式的影子。十二首協奏曲裡，有六首是有小提琴「助奏」(obligato)的，其中一首還是有給兩把小提琴的。其餘 的六首則是絃樂合奏協奏曲。其中幾首協奏曲還加上小標題：第一首"Introducione"，應該是當什麼場合的前奏曲；第七首和第九 首"Teatrale"，應該是在類似歌劇的場合下表演的；第十首"Pastorale"，無疑是學Corelli聖誕協奏曲裡最後的田園風樂章。這首的 第二樂章也是以田園風樂章做結尾；以及第十二首"Tempesta di Mare"是參考Vivaldi多首描寫海上暴風雨的曲子。Zavateri的這首暴風雨也是寫得有聲有色。

當初購 買這兩張CD，是在ebay上跟別人勁標最後強到的。當初開始大量收集巴洛克音樂，所以對一些默默無名，聽都沒聽過的作曲家，都保有一絲好奇心。回想起 來，當初的衝動是值得的。CD上的Freiburg Baroque Orchestra演奏的熱情和活力，可以媲美他們在科隆Musica Antiqua Köln和Concerto Köln的同胞。跟許多英國樂團中規中舉的演奏風格相比，這些德國樂團會做比較大膽的嘗試，讓音樂更有方向性，更為精彩。

兩 張CD中，我比較喜歡第二張，第七至第十二號的協奏曲。第一張裡，Gottfried von der Goltz小提琴助奏的部份有時候聲音有點乾，而且氣氛比較悶。不知道是要故意做對比的效果還是怎樣，但感覺音樂的流動有短暫地停滯。大體上，樂團整個合 奏的地方，都相當出色，沒有絲毫無趣的地方。特別是最後一首協奏曲「海上暴風雨」，雖是小提琴助奏的協奏曲，但是這一首的整體的表現真的是可圈可點。 Freiburg Baroque Orchestra在這首協奏曲裡，真的是熱情奔放，表現出將海上暴風雨的波濤洶涌。小提琴上述的感覺，則剛好變成是暴風雨中短暫的寧靜，效果反而稱職。

自己將這最後這首協奏曲上傳至youtube，可在下面點閱。


Lorenzo Gaetano Zavateri was born in Bologna, Italy in 1690.  His musical training was entirely local, as he studied the violin with Torelli and harmony with Predieri.  He had a reputation for being a virtuoso violinist, and in recognition, he was received into the Accademia Filharmonica, which was a prestigious association of the Italy's circle of best musicians of the time. 


Zavateri only published two sets of works.  This recording on DHM is his 12 op.1 concertos, titled "Concerti da Chiesa, e da Camera," dedicated to his patron Count Cornelio Pepoli Musotti, which was also his violin pupil.  Of the 12 concertos, only 6 of them have obligato violins (one with 2 violins).  The remaining 6 are pure string concertos.  Overall, these concertos are of the late concerto grosso style, where the lines between solo concerto and sinfonia are still blurry but will soon be clear in another few decades.  These concerto are a result of Zavateri's frequent experimentation on the genre, and they are very refreshing indeed.

The other interesting thing to note is that several concertos have titles attached.   The first concerto has the title "Introducione," a single movement concerto that was probably played before some other piece or event.  String concertos no. 7 and 9 have the title "Teatrale," which implies operatic use of some sort.  Concerto No. 10 for 2 violins is marked "Pastorale," no doubt a reference to Corelli's op.6 Concerti Grossi.  This concerto's second (and last) movement ends with, fittingly, a pastorale.  The last concerto no.12 with violin obligato is titled "Tempesta di mare," which references the other great Italian composer Vivaldi, and this concerto portrays a turbulent storm in its own right.

I remember purchasing this CD set back in the days when I would still spend hours surfing on ebay.  Not sure how this caught my eye in the first place.  Maybe it's just the thrill of trying out a composer I have never ever heard of before.  (These are routine these days, as the more I collect, that more I have never heard of before.)  The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra play music with youthfulness and vitality.  This is my first recording of them, and it does not disappoint overall.  I enjoy the second disc much more than the first disc.  I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but Gottfried von der Goltz's violin passages can sound a bit dry at times, and it is not helped by the instrument support there either.   However, the ripieno passages are very good, which is what really drives the music for me.  The last concerto "Tempesta di Mare" had an instant effect on me that I couldn't get enough of it for a while.  Enhanced by Freiburg's energetic playing, they really let everything out in portraying the storm's full-blown energy.

I've uploaded the first movement of this concerto on youtube at the bottom of this page, or you can click here.