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Hot on
the heels, as they say, of Vol.1
comes Vol.2 of Naxos' survey of Alfvén's orchestral music. And my,
it comes really packed full at 79 minutes! Nevertheless, 79 minutes
of wonderfully accessible music it is: Alfvén's music constantly
brims with life, as in this E major Third Symphony, opening with
a Brahmsian Allegro con brio - how unsurprising that it was
composed while the composer was in Italy.
| Hugo
Emil Alfvén, contemporary to Sibelius, is one of the Swedes'
favourite composers. A violinist by training and also a fine
painter, he studied conducting in Dresden and later became Director
of Music at the Uppsala University from 1910-1923. With the
Orphei Dränger (Servants of Orpheus) choir he toured throughout
Europe and the USA, developing their and his international fame.
To date, Alfvén's place in the Swedish choral tradition remains
very strong, both in terms of compositions and arrangements.
With five symphonies and various tone poems to his credits,
Alfvén is considered as something of a Father of Swedish Orchestral
Music, which was a genre whose potential he opened up for his
fellow Swedes. |
"The
symphony has no programme," said Alfvén, "it depicts neither concrete
nor abstract. It is an expression of the joy of living, an expression
of the sun-lit happiness that filled my whole being." The notes
by Sven Kruckenberg (trans. Kerstin Swartling) don't say much more
about the music, which I guess fits in with Alfvén's description.
Nevertheless, let's see...
Certainly
the countryside atmosphere, festive in the opening, pastoral in
the Andante, is there. Warmth and lyricism characterises
this music: Brahms and Dvorak (the fast, punchy, brassy passages)
come to mind. In addition, there is I think more than a few Wagnerian
gestures, including a very distinctive recurring horn call in the
lovingly sentimental Andante. The latter stretches its 10½-minutes
through the atmosphere of a love song - not surprising again because
at that time Hugo was with Marie Kröyer, his wife. Imagine! In Italy!
The music builds to a passionate climax before slipping away dreamily.
The pictorial quality, despite Alfvén's assertion, adds greatly
to the symphony's accessibility. Credit to the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra for keeping the sentimentalism in check, and the conductor
for sculpting a dramatic yet overall very refined performance. I
guess all this tells you something of the Romantic-Late-Romantic
quality of the music.
The spritely
Presto is a fine example of Alfvén's "rhapsodic" sunny writing.
In particular, I greatly enjoy his ability to run the twirling lines
from section to section, wind to string to wind. The transparent
and expert playing of the RNSO brings the music brightly to life.
They step up the gears in the finale, another Allegro con brio.
Beginning with a moto perpetuo string theme with more than
a hint of humour, contrasting with a serene pastoral theme, which
builds back towards a rolling brass theme. All the material then
repeats - the music will probably cause a few frowns with its rather
naive, un-serious tone, but it's lively and enjoyable all the same
unless you are looking for something much more "modern".
The Dalecarlian
Rhapsody begins with a long passage featuring a lusciously floating
wind melody. This is a work from 1931, greatly resembling Dvorak's
fairy tale tone poems; it is full of sadness and nostalgia, depicting
a shepherd girl in longing. Her memories of merriment in the village
arouses cheerful dance music from the orchestra, and it is here
where Alfvén's unpretentious sunniness comes forth again, next to
woodwind amusements - all earnestly delivered by the Scottish orchestra.
A harmonically "exotic" passage depicts the Devil (Middle Eastern,
according to the tone) causing havok in the village with his frenzied
tunes.
Willén's conducting is honest and hard to fault - he gets a nice
degree of dramatism from the orchestra, just the right amount of
push; shifts from fast/loud sections to slow/hushed sections are
effected very naturally. Listen for that serene horn call before
the sorrowful theme returns on string/brass in the middle of the
work, now transformed into a solemn hymn, and at last back to the
quietude of the beginning.
This
is "Romantic" music from 1931, so don't expect anything revolutionary
or particularly special; the performance, nevertheless, makes a
good case for its simple melodic appeal. The heart of a sincere
composer, who has no need to follow trends, comes through without
even one asking.
The Dalecarlian
Rhapsody seems more tone poem than "rhapsody" - and the Legend
of the Skerries is definitely tone poem. Here, Alfvén wanted
to depict "the skerries in the darkness of autumn night, the storms
and the elegaic moonlight" - the skerries being the winds. This
1904 composition is actually more "modern"-sounding than the Dalecarlian
Rhapsody. After the opening nocturne, the skerries slowly gain
momentum as they surf and swirl in the air - you can hear a bit
of the seas as well as the strings soar with their melody with silvery
flutes fluttering above. Not surprisingly, though not uneffectively,
a full-blown Romantic melody makes its way to the top of the strings,
soaring and surging with yearning passion.
Another
Naxos journey of exploration worth any lover-of-orchestral-music's
investment. If you can or wish to only buy one, go for Vol.1. Now,
for Volume 3... .
In Singapore, Naxos records can be easily
ordered from Sing Discs (Raffles City).
The INKPOT
SIBELIUS NUTCASE's
default Ikea meal is Swedish Meatballs. The apple pie is pretty
good too.
576: 20.9.1999. ©Inkpot
Sibelius Nutcase
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original texts are copyrighted. Please seek permission from the
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