J.S.バッハ: ゴルトベルク変奏曲 BWV.988 (2015年新録音)

アンジェラ・ヒューイットの人生で常に中心的な存在であり、すべての鍵盤作品のレパートリーのどれよりも彼女にとって意味を持つと思われる作品を収めた重要な録音。
ユニバーサル・ミュージック/IMS

Renowned for her exquisite interpretations of the keyboard masterpieces of Johann Sebastian Bach, Angela Hewitt has recorded several of his works for Hyperion not just once, but twice. Hewitt's 1999 recording of the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 was enthusiastically received and reinforced her status as a leading artist with the label. This 2015 recording, like her return visit to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, shows not so much a change in her overall approach but a thoughtful reappraisal of the finer points of touch, ornamentation, articulation, dynamics, timbre, and phrasing, which the space of 16 years has afforded her. What remains true of Hewitt's two performances is her fidelity to the independence of contrapuntal lines, her rhythmic spontaneity, and the subtlety of expression that gives her Bach depth and refinement, distinguishing it from other readings. Hewitt's Goldberg Variations redux is carefully considered and deeply felt, but it is not a rarefied product of isolation. Indeed, Hewitt's international performances of the Goldberg Variations seem to have inspired new ideas, and the openness of her expressions suggests the influence of her audiences, who have responded positively wherever she has played this work. Hyperion's recording in Berlin's Christuskirche gives the piano solid presence with acceptable reverberation, so nothing is lost to the acoustics. Highly recommended.

バッハの鍵盤作品を11年に渡って録音し尽くしたアンジェラ・ヒューイットが以前に『ゴルトベルク』を録音したのは1999年。近年、愛奏するファツィオーリで、『平均律』全曲を再び手がけ、次いで『フーガの技法』を初録音、そしてついに『ゴルトベルク』を再録音した。知性あふれる「鍵盤の女神」がファツィオーリを得て、さらに繊細で陰翳の深い抑制の美を極めている。第25変奏に聴くアダージョは夜明け前の名前のない時間だ。旧録を上回る約82分に及ぶ最高の音楽との邂逅。クオドリベットの長い余韻から再びやってくるアリアの最後の一音の響きが消え去った時。この一連で聴かせる彼女の流儀をまのあたりにしたい。
intoxicate (C)森山慶方