韓德爾《烏德勒支感恩頌歌》作品分析與指揮詮釋

Abstract

韓德爾(George Frideric Handel, 1685-1759)為巴洛克時期重要的音樂家。出生於德國哈勒。一七一○年初訪英國，一七一二年韓德爾獲准再度赴英，而後在此度過一生。一七一二年至一七一三年，韓德爾為紀念烏得勒支戰役的勝利創作《烏得勒支感恩頌歌》(Utrecht Te Deum)，這是一部壯大雄渾的典禮用宗教音樂。《烏得勒支感恩頌歌》以感恩頌歌(Te Deum)將拉丁文經文翻譯成英文歌詞，二十九節經文分為三大部分，包含了獨唱、重唱與合唱共十首樂曲，並加入樂器伴奏。此十首樂曲組成以經文為結構依據、典雅多變的樂曲風格，展現韓德爾的寫作技法，也成為韓德爾往後的宗教作品常常借用的素材來源。《烏得勒支感恩頌歌》為韓德爾第一部大型英文宗教合唱作品，內容共有十首樂曲。第一曲〈天主，我們讚頌祢〉為序曲與合唱曲；第二曲〈所有天使，諸天和一切威能〉為女低音二重唱與男聲齊唱；第三曲〈蓋露賓和塞拉芬〉為女高音二重唱與合唱曲；第四曲〈聖徒們榮耀的歌隊〉獨唱與合唱曲，前者使用了男高音獨唱、男低音獨唱與女高音二重唱分別代表三種行進的隊伍，後者代表各地教會；第五曲〈祢為拯救人類〉為女低音獨唱、四重唱與合唱曲；第六曲〈我們相信祢將再來〉為唯一一首使用長笛的重唱與合唱曲；第七曲〈我們每天不斷地向祢歌詠〉為雙合唱編制的樂曲，展現榮耀上帝時喜樂的心情；第八曲〈我們讚美祢的聖名〉為具文藝復興古風格的合唱曲；第九首〈上主，請賜予〉為女低音二重唱、重唱與合唱曲；第十首〈上主，我全心依靠祢〉為合唱曲。《烏得勒支感恩頌歌》雄渾且精細多變的音樂風格，貼切地傳達了經文的內涵。雖未受到後世太多注目，但其成就仍不可抹滅，研究者希望藉此提供日後研究或演唱此部感恩頌歌之參考。本論文共分為五章，第一章「緒論」探討研究動機、研究範圍與內容、及研究方法與文獻；第二章「背景探究」分為三節，分別論述韓德爾之生平、感恩頌歌的發展、及本作品歌詞之分析；第三章「創作手法分析」分為十節，依序論述本作品中十首樂曲之創作手法；第四章「音樂詮釋」共分十節，給予十首樂曲演出之詮釋與建議；第五章為「結論」。George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), one of Baroque era's greatest composers, was born in Halle, Germany. The German-born British Baroque composer first visited London in 1710 and decided to settle permanently in England two years later. In between 1712 to 1713, he composed “Utrecht Te Deum” to commemorate the Treaty of Utrecht by using the English in setting the traditional Latin hymn “Te Deum”. “Utrecht Te Deum” is the first major sacred choral work to English texts for Handel. 29 bible verses were divided into three parts (ten pieces) and scoredfor soloist, mixed choir, and instrument accompaniment. The first piece “We praise thee, O God” is an overture with chorus. The second piece “To thee all angels cry aloud” is a duet of altos with a male chorus while the third, “To thee Cherubin and Seraphim” is a duet of sopranos with the mixed chorus. Soloists of “The glorious company of the Apostles” represent the marching of armies, and the chorus represents Churches. “When thou tookest upon thee” is sung by an alto solo and quartet; and the next piece “We believe that thou shalt come”, is the only choral piece with soloist performance playing along with recorder in this work. The seventh piece “Day by day: we magnify thee” is presented with double choir to show the joy of honoring God, while the eighth “And we worship thy Name” is a chorus in Renaissance music style. The ninth “Vouchsafe, O Lord” is written for alto duet, mixed quartet, and chorus, while the last piece of the work “O Lord, in thee have I trusted” is a choral movement.This thesis is aimed to provide a reference of “Utrecht Te Deum” for future research. The paper comprises five chapters. The introduction chapter discussed the motivation and scope of this research, including methodology and related academic literature. The second chapter explored the biography of Handel, the development of “Te Deum” and the text analysis of “Utrecht Te Deum”. Composition analysis and musical interpretation of ten pieces in “Utrecht Te Deum” are discussed in the next two chapters, followed by the conclusion.