托賴里(1658-1709)是巴洛克中期的義大利作曲家，出生於維羅納(Verona)，不過音樂家生涯主要是在波隆那(Bologna)。他因為小提琴上的技巧被受肯定而得到Accademia Filharmonica會員。他在San Petronius教堂下的Cappella Musicale樂團擔任小提琴手，不過樂團因財務困難解散之後，他在幾年內遊走德國和維也納，一度是布蘭登堡-安斯巴赫藩侯(Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach)宮廷樂團的指揮。之後San Petronius教堂的Cappella Musicale樂團重新成立，他便又回到Bologna擔任其樂團的第一小提琴手，一直到他過逝。
這張3CD集錄有30首，分別有寫給一支，兩支，還有四支小號的協奏曲。錄的樂團為Orchestra della Cappella Musicale San Petronio，正是當初幾世紀前Torelli擔任樂手的同樂團。而錄音的地方，也同是San Petronius教堂，多半是這些曲子們當時表演的地方。因為San Petronius教堂的空間非常大，混響時間(Reverberation Time)有長達12秒！而且，為了呈現出當時表演時原本面貌，音樂家所站的位子也都是有考究的。有些協奏曲，不同聲部的音樂相隔至少有18公尺之多。這個距離，再加上非常長的混響時間，讓音樂家們常在半秒之後，還可聽到另一端音樂家所拉出的聲音。這也使指揮家Sergio Vartolo的工作相當頭痛。
Sergio Vartolo不僅是為音樂學家，也是一位頗有名氣的大鍵琴師，錄有多張早期義大利巴洛克作曲家的鍵盤曲子(Frescobaldi, Trabaci, Rossi等)。不過，他鍵盤詮釋方式有點老套，我並不是很喜歡。但他在這張3CD集裡的指揮，倒還相當不錯。跟一些比較熱血的新一代義大利音樂家相比，他採用的速度比較穩健，但在教堂這種場合所寫的華麗但莊嚴的音樂，他的詮釋我倒蠻欣賞的。
巴洛克小號要真正吹好，是一件非常困難的事。由於沒有日後現代小號的閥(valve)，因此要吹不同的音全靠嘴形的變化和振動的速度來吹出要的泛音。如果以現代小號的標準來欣賞，不免會覺得他們在換音的時候會不那麼順，不過這是完全正常的。只能想像，當時小號樂手，應該是個吃力不討好的工作。
錄音方面，小號大聲吹奏的時候，有時候錄音會飽合，變得會失真。錄音工程師在這方面的疏失，使得要好好聽這些音樂，不能完全盡興。不然，一來在在音樂手稿的考訂，二來在安排樂手位置的講究，這項錄音計劃是蠻值得稱讚的。
這些協奏曲，雖然簡短，但有典型義大利風格的旋律，加上波隆拿音樂的對位風格。身為小提琴家的Torelli，也不忘在一些慢樂章的間奏部份放入一些比較炫的小提琴部份，除了形成音色上的對比，也時時刻刻提醒聽眾們他還是以小提琴起家的。但，這些協奏曲的主角仍是小號，而它們高亮的音色，讓音樂立刻變得歡欣鼓舞。
Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709) was a composer born in Verona but ended up in Bologna, where he was admitted to the Accademia Filharmonica because of being an outstanding violinist. Torelli made major contributions in developing the concerto form, both concerto grosso and solo concerto. Different from the Corellian model of the concerto grosso, Torelli's concerti grossi follow a simple fast-slow-fast three-movement structure. Besides the Christmas Concerto Op.8-6, Torelli's posthumous fame rests on the many trumpet concertos he composed. He was one of the most prolific composers of the trumpet concerto genre, if not the most prolific. It is said that he became interested in the trumpet when he was aware of the presence of an excellent Bolognese trumpeter.
This present recording contains the supposed complete authentic works for 1, 2, and 4 trumpets written by Torelli. These concertos were never published by only existed in manuscript form, partly because their functions were used as openings to celebrations or Masses, and the trumpet certainly gave a more pompous feel. This also means that these concertos were all fairly short, none longer than 8 minutes. Although different terms of sinfonie, sonata and concerto are used here, they were practically interchangeable during his time.
This 3-CD set contains 30 whopping concertos, a lot of trumpet concertos in D for all that matter! The trumpets shine out in the fast movements, while many slow movements have a short fast interlude where you hear the violin perform a virtuosic passage. Torelli was an accomplished violinist, and he wanted his instrument to take the spotlight alongside the trumpet.
The concertos are performed by the Orchestra della Cappella Musicale San Petronio, orchestra of the same name that Torelli played in centuries back. It is directed by Sergio Vartolo, established music scholar and harpsichord who has recorded many early Italian composers' keyboard works, like Frescobaldi, Trabaci, and Rossi, just to name a few. I haven't really enjoyed his keyboard interpretations, but his direction of the orchestra is solid. He doesn't drive the music as strong as his other compatriots, like say Fabio Biondi, but the occasion asks for a more solemn feel, and in my opinion, his approach works.
The natural trumpet is an extremely hard instrument to master, and the four trumpeters here perform heroically. To add further complication, the recording was made in the San Petronio basilica, where Torelli intended the music to be performed. The basilica has a notorious reverberation time of 12 seconds, long enough to create enough nightmares for even the most skilled musician. The booklet also carefully details the placement of the players for each concerto to really historically recreate the performance, as well as documenting the challenges of playing the music perfectly on time (as delays up to a half second between different groups of musicians were common). It's interesting to point out that after the final cadence, you can clearly hear the sound lingering in the basilica, which the recording engineers prematurely chop off.
My only qualm about the recording is the tendency of saturation of the sound when the trumpets go full blast. Looks like the recording engineers really missed something here. With such a short-coming, the recording prevents itself from truly becoming enjoyable. Otherwise, this recording project is commendable on many other levels.
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