Gerald Hambitzer, harpsichordist of Concerto Koeln
11/03/2012
First Congregational Church, Berkeley, CA
Handel:Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 1 G major
Dall’Abaco: Concerto Op. 5 No. 3 in E minor
Vivaldi: Concerto for Strings in G minor RV 156
Concerto for Sopranino Recorder, Strings and continuo in C major RV 443
Vivaldi: Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra in E minor RV 484
Dall’Abaco: Concerto Op. 5 No. 6 in D major
Telemann: Concerto for Recorder, Flute, Strings, and Continuo in E minor TWV 52:e1
Concerto Koeln兩年前的那場音樂會我是有去捧場的。而今年他們再度來到灣區，我當然是滿心期待地去聽他們的表演。
這場音樂會的曲目全是協奏曲(不枉他們Concerto Koeln團名)，而且都是晚期巴洛克，容易接受的曲風。作曲家裡，除了Dall'Abaco是一般人可能沒聽過的之外，Handel，Vivaldi，以及Telemann都是算熟悉的。
跟上一次不同的是這次Concerto Koeln的陣容有點不大一樣。最名顯的差別在於，小提琴首席變成了年輕漂亮的日本小提琴家Mayumi Hirasaki。另外，他們當家的大鍵琴家Gerald Hambitzer這回有跟團一塊兒來。Hambitzer所擔任的角色，給我的印象非常深刻。其一，他在跟樂團各樂器調音時，他居然將一個個和絃串起來，編織成一首音樂性十足的「調音曲」，讓我覺得實在是太炫了。其二，在正式曲子演奏的時候，他在大鍵琴上彈奏continuo，讓我感到強烈的存在感，和平常一般彈奏數字低音功能像節拍器有所不同。當然，他所用的Graebner大鍵琴聲音雄厚有很大的幫助。但樂器之外，Hambitzer展現出在continuo彈奏上的豐富創意(強有力的和絃與許多自加的即興片段)實在令我嘆為觀止。就連當初Richard Egarr來指揮PBO時也沒有給我這樣的感覺。
演奏風格上，Concerto Koeln不改其急勁奔放，重音和大小聲強弱分明。擔任大協奏曲中，協奏群(concertino )的Hirasaki及Buschhaus也都會適時加入自己的裝飾音，是標準的現代古樂演奏精神。而之前提過的Hambitzer，則是更不用說了。就第一首的Handel，是較有名的曲子，但Concerto Koeln打從一開始就讓觀眾知道他們大膽的演奏手法，不是幾十年前平淡無味的陳腔濫調。
上半場是以Vivaldi的兩首協奏曲做結尾的。一首是他的絃樂協奏曲，另一首則是最高音(sopranino)直笛的協奏曲。他的G小調絃樂協奏曲的開頭樂章，有一種詭異的不安氣氛，並由Concerto Koeln很漂亮地醞釀出來，展現出他們內斂的一面。不過，得到全場喝彩的是那首C大調的直笛協奏曲，由前Musica Antiqua Koeln的團員Cordula Breuer吹奏。一開始，Breuer並沒有完全進入狀況，但接下來的表現實在是相當驚絕。
下半場開場又是Vivaldi，只是從管樂中最高音的樂器換成了最低的低音管。我們坐在二樓，其實聽不大到低音管的聲音，所以這首算是整場音樂會裡對我美中不足的。中間那首Dall'Abaco我其實並不陌生，因為自己就有Concerto Koeln的Dall'Abaco協奏曲集的錄音。比起上半場給雙長笛的協奏曲，我更期待下半場這首，因為中間有一首美麗活潑，百聽不厭的Ciaconna。Concerto Koeln的現場表演其實和錄音並沒有差很多，只是continuo群裡沒有theorbo，需由Hambitzer挑起大樑。
Concerto Koeln最終演奏的曲子，和去年Akamus來的時候是同一首，是Telemann那首給長笛和直笛的協奏曲。而且，Concerto Koeln兩年前來的那場音樂會，即是用Telemann這首協奏曲第四樂章做為第一首安可曲。印象中，兩年前的那個表演，以及Akamus去年的演出都比今年的生動一些些。也有可能是這首曲子我現場聽了頗多次，已經開始無感了～～
當然，主要的曲目結束後還有安可曲。Concerto Koeln很大方地(因為觀眾反應熱烈)演奏了兩首。第一首是Sammartini某交響曲的第一樂章，是他們兩年前來的時候結尾的那一首。第二首是巴哈有名的G絃上的詠嘆調，也是兩年前一模一樣的。這不禁讓感覺，這好像是他們表演曲目中的排列組合。不過，樂團許多音樂家說不定有別的職位，要好好練全新的曲子，可能有時間上的限制。
不改追星族的我，音樂會結束後找了裡面很多的團員簽名照相。其中，有Werner Matzke，是台灣巴洛克大提琴家琪芝的老師。另外，逮到了機會和Hambitzer多聊上了幾句，因為一時太興奮了，腦中數度出現空白，實在是尷尬至極～～ 最後，還有美女小提琴家Monica Waisman。我先前還不知道她近來是Concerto Koeln的成員呢。還好有在網上的節目單上看到她的名字～～
Monica Waisman, Baroque violinist
Concerto Koeln returns to the Bay Area (Berkeley, same venue) after their performance here two years ago. As usual, Concerto Koeln always blends works of the famous with that of the unknown. In this concert, we've got the superstars of Handel, Vivaldi, and Telemann pitted against Dall'Abaco. Although, Dall'Abaco is not an unfamiliar name for, as I own Concerto Koeln's very recording of Dall'Abaco's concertos, played with precision and panache.
Stylistically, Concerto Koeln's live performance is what you would expect: full-blooded energy with strong accents and great dynamic changes. The tone is set early on with Handel's concerto grosso from Op.6, being one of the more famous works in the set. The concertino group finds places to ornament, which is true to the Baroque spirit.
I noticed two main differences (among many) in their lineup from two years ago. First, the concertmaster was replaced by young Japanese violinist Mayumi Hirasaki, who really did a terrific job, based on the few concertino moments. (There were no solo violin concertos in this program) Secondly, their usual harpsichordist Gerald Hambitzer was with them this time, and as an amateur harpsichord player, I could not be more enthusiastic about him. Hambizter's continuo playing had such a presence that I cannot remember another performance that left quite a big impression on me. Maybe Dantone's comes close, but Hambitzer still tops it. By far the coolest aspect was when the orchestra had to retune between pieces, Hambitzer would play each section's notes and connect them together with arppegiation and passages that actually make the whole process sound musical! This "tuning music" is simply left me in awe. During the actual performance, Hambitzer's continuo playing is strongly felt, first by the benefit of the rich Graebner harpsichord, but secondly by his filling in of rich chords and timely embellishments. This was really a treat to watch live.
The first half concluded with two Vivaldi concertos, one a string concerto without a soloist, and the second a virtuosic sopranino recorder concerto. The string concerto's opening movement has a dark overtone and a feeling of suspense, which Concerto Koeln really capitalized on in their interpretation. By far, the real jaw-dropper of the first half was the Vivaldi recorder concerto. Cordula Breuer, former member of MAK, started out a bit spotty but gained her exposure, and dazzled the audience with her playing. Not surprisingly, she was given a loud ovation.
The music of Vivaldi carried over to the second half. Unfortunately, Yves Bertin's bassoon sound did not project very well at the balcony section, which meant that we could hardly hear his playing. This would prove to be the only minor blemish of the night for me.
Of the two Dall'Abaco concertos, I looked forward to the strings-only one of the second half. In the middle of the concerto is a beautiful and uplifting Ciaconna, which I never get tired of. The liver performance of the piece was no less charming. While the CD recording has an additional theorbo, which provides extra liveliness, here the task mainly fell on Hambitzer.
The concluding piece was Telemann's Concerto for flute and recorder. The last movement was Concerto Koeln's encore two years ago. This was also the identical piece that Akamus played to end their concert last year. Maybe I've heard this piece one too many times here, I remember the previous performances of Concerto Koeln and Akamus to be more memorable. That is not to say that Concerto Koeln's performance this night was bad in anyway, but quite the opposite.
Yes, and the encores. Note the plural, since they did play two pieces. The first one was a movement from a Sammartini symphony, which they actually used to end their concert two years ago. It's a highly charged piece, which took me be surprise then. The second piece was Bach's Air on the G string, which was the identical second encore they played last time as well. I suppose I'd frown upon a mere reshuffling of their program, but I'd also understand that many of the members probably have other commitments, and learning entirely new encore pieces is maybe not one of their priorities...
After the concert, I switched to early music fanboy mode. I was able to get Ms. Cordula Breuer and Marion Moonen to autograph CDs from their early MAK days. I was also able to catch cellist Werner Matzke before he was on his way out. Incidentally, he's also currently the teacher of a Taiwanese Baroque cellist friend.
Arguably the most exciting moment for me was to be able to talk to Mr. Hambitzer himself and compliment him on his playing. I was so nervous that my mind blanked out a few times. It was kind of embarassing. Lastly, I had the pleasure of having Ms. Monica Waisman autograph my Leclair CD and get a Kodak moment with her.
What a way to round out the night.
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