Hugo Alfvén - Cantatas Vol. 2 (Arvo Volmer)

Information

Composer: Hugo Alfvén

• (01) Revelation Cantata, Op. 31
• (05) Cantata for the 450th Anniversary of Uppsala University, Op. 45

Charlotta Larsson, soprano

Fredrik Zetterström, baritone

Peter Boman, bass

Malmö Opera Choir & Orchestra

Arvo Volmer, conductor

Date: 2003

Label: Sterling

https://www.sterlingcd.com/catalogue/cds1058.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

Bear with the relaxed release schedule and the leaden start here because what follows is choral music full of imagination

It seems only appropriate that this disc opens with the Revelation Cantata since much here may come as a revelation, especially in the light of reading in Lennart Hedwall’s extensive booklet-note that Alfvén did not much care for writing such works. Nevertheless he composed no fewer than nine full-scale cantatas, which Sterling is undertaking to issue on CD. It may take a long time – Volume 1 appeared somewhat more than three years ago (2/01) – but the wait will be worthwhile, for on the evidence thus far this music is full of imagination and more than a touch of true genius.

That said, first-time listeners to the Revelation Cantata should not lose heart during the very long and very dreary organ prelude, nor the deadly serious choral dirge which occupies the next five minutes, for with the entry of harp and celesta we have our first truly inspired moment.

Indeed, Alfvén’s scoring for two choruses and male voice soloists, one accompanied by the organ the other by string quartet, harp, celesta and harmonium, is nothing less than inspired. His intention to create an ‘ideological stereo’ between earthly and heavenly voices is fully realised in this vividly spatial recording.

Rather less revelatory, but considerably more stirring, is the Cantata for the 450th Anniversary of Uppsala University. (Alfvén was director of music there during 1927, the anniversary year.) In a work crammed with glorious moments, the splendidly resonant Fredrik Zetterström has more than his fair share in, ‘They went out into the world’, a pot-pourri of memorable tunes wrapped in harmonically lavish accompaniments.

The solo voices are superb, the orchestral and instrumental playing top-notch and the recordings, made in two different Malmö churches, full of atmosphere and presence. Arvo Volmer revels in the varied styles and often surprising shifts of mood. I only wish the chorus sounded a little less operatic; sometimes the sheer robustness of those sopranos gives the music a wholly unwarranted hint of satire.

-- Marc Rochester, Gramophone

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hugo Alfvén (May 1, 1872 – May 8, 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Alfvén became known as one of Sweden's principal composers of his time, together with his contemporary Wilhelm Stenhammar. Alfvén's music is in a late-Romantic idiom. His orchestration is skillful and colorful, reminiscent of that of Richard Strauss. Like Strauss, Alfvén wrote a considerable amount of program music. Some of Alfvén's music evokes the landscape of Sweden. Alfvén played violin at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, toured Europe as a conductor throughout his life, and also a talented watercolorist painter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Alfvén

***

Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962 in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. From 2004 to 2013 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Since September 2014 he has been the Chief Conductor of the Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento. Volmer has also been guest conductor of many orchestras, especially in Scandinavia. Among his recordings are the complete orchestral works of Leevi Madetoja and the complete symphonies of Eduard Tubin and Jean Sibelius.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arvo_Volmer
https://www.arvovolmer.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!