Arnold Schönberg - Moses und Aron

"With sketches for an unfinished orchestral passacaglia in March 1920, Schoenberg began to work out the implications of the serial idea. A catch-as-catch-can life as teacher, lecturer, and conductor was relieved in 1925 by an appointment from the Prussian Academy of Arts to take over the composition masterclass formerly taught by Busoni, who had died the year before. The relative security of his new position allowed Schoenberg leisure to expand, hand-in-hand with composition, the grasp of serial procedures. In 1898 Schoenberg had become, like Mendelssohn, a convert to Lutheranism, though that did not shield him from virulent anti-Semitism, and through the 1920s he was preoccupied with his position as a Jew and an artist, eventually returning formally to Judaism in the summer of 1933. Already in 1917 he had begun the composition of Die Jakobsleiter, a large-scale oratorio in which a variety of religious and philosophical stances are brought before the archangel Gabriel. Tellingly, this work, like Moses und Aron, was to remain incomplete. Schoenberg's religious concerns became more topically focused in the drama Der biblische Weg, written over 1926-1927, whose protagonist, Max Aruns -- a composite whose dichotomy would be articulated in Moses und Aron -- was modeled on Zionist leader Theodor Herzl. A first draft libretto of Moses und Aron, conceived as an oratorio, followed in 1928, with the composition of the comic opera Von heute auf Morgen. Composition of the first two acts of Moses und Aron, as an opera, occupied Schoenberg from May 1930 to March 1932. Based upon a single row, serialism attains its grandest throw, given vivacity and dramatic impetus by the astonishing array of techniques -- Sprechgesang, Klangfarbenmelodie, contrapuntally rich choral writing -- fashioned over a lifetime to find their ultimate expressive purpose in Moses und Aron. Moses' uncompromising adherence to an omnipotent, inconceivable God, for instance, is conveyed by Sprechstimme, while Aron's attempts to win the people to it are couched in glib arioso - an audible representation of the artist's uneasy mixture of truth and illusion, intellectual probity and charisma. The impact of Moses und Aron, in the hands of a great conductor, is immediate, visceral, and compelling. Hitler's rise and Schoenberg's emigration to America in 1933 put the completion of Moses und Aron -- a third act dialogue in which Aron dies - forever out of reach. The torso received its premiere at the Zurich Stadttheater June 6, 1957, not quite six years after its composer's death." (Summary by Adrian Corleonis. From AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Herbert Kegel, Werner Haseleu, Reiner Goldberg

1.1. Akt I, Szene I: 'Einziger, Ewiger, Allgegenwärtiger'

1.2. Akt I, Szene II: 'Du Sohn Meiner Väter'

1.3. Akt I, Szene III: 'Ich Hab' Ihn Gesehn'

1.4. Akt I, Szene IV: 'Bringt Ihr Erhörung'/'In Der Wüste Wird Euch Die Reinheit'

2.1. Zwischenspiel: 'Wo Ist Moses?'

2.2. Akt II, Szene I: 'Vierzig Tage!'

2.3. Akt II, Szene II: 'Wo Ist Moses?'/'Volk Israels!'

2.4. Akt II, Szene III: 'Dieses Bild Bezeugt'

2.5. Akt II, Szene IV: 'Moses Steigt Vom Berg Herab!'

2.6. Akt II, Szene V: 'Aron, Was Hast Du Getan?'/'Unvorstellbarer Gott!'

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Giovanni Maria Trabaci - Organo Napoletano

"In 1614, Giovanni Maria Trabaci (1575-1647), organist of the royal chapel in Naples, succeeded Giovanni de Macque as 'maestro di cappella' of the same chapel. The position was and important and enviable once. The second organist from 1602 was the famous Ascanio Mayone (1565-1627). Trabaci was ten years younger than the latter, which possible explains why despite Trabaci's growing reputation in the musical world of Naples, Mayone is mentioned, but not Trabaci, by the celebrated theorist Scipione Cerretto in his list of the most excellent musicians of Naples (1601). Trabaci, who was fully and justifiably aware of his own value as a musician and the originality of his compositions, was indeed bolder, more unpredictable and more inventive than almost all of his Neapolitan colleagues. His talent undoubtedly shoes in his major keyboard publications, the two books of 1603 and 1615, both of which are represented on this recording: 'Ricercate, Canzone franzese Cappricci, Canti fermi... Libro Primo' (Naples, 1603, Costantino Vitale) and 'Di Gio. Maria Trabaci Maestro della Real Cappella... Il secondo libro de Ricercate, & altri varij Capprici...' (Naples, 1615, Gio. Giacomo Carlino). It is interesting to note the difference between the two titles: in 1603 the presentation is quite ordinary (content, author's name, position, bibliographical address), but in 1615 Trabaci's name is brought to the fore, as if it were publicity enough for the work - it appears in large print at the beginning of the title, immediately followed by mention of his flattering position as 'maestro di cappella' to the Spanish viceroy in Naples; other details are of secondary importance.

"Neither of the two title pages mentions the instrument for which the works are intended: the first books tells us simply that Trabaci was an 'organista' in 1603, and that all the pieces are 'a quattro voci'. The title of the second book is more reserved: the work contains a number of pieces for five voices - some of them with an 'ad libitum' fifth voice, which appears in the appendix at the end of the book. We may add that the music is presented 'in score', like most Neapolitan polyphonic music of the time, rather than in tablature, which was used chiefly for solo instrumental music. The latter is easier to read on the keyboard, but the printing process involved is music more complex and less appropriate to independent reading of voices. For the instrumental indications, the musician there has to look through volumes and read the prefaces. Even if it is clearly state at the beginning of the 'Partite sopra Zefiro' of 1615, partly dedicated to the harp, that the harpsichord is the king of instruments, several pieces are clearly intended for the organ, either through their function (as church music), or through their writing, calling particular for a pedal for certain held notes. Testifying to the composer's Spanish descent, the harp (Asciano Mayone was also a harpist) is mentioned several times in the text or the table. Furthermore, one of the accompanying texts included in the volume mentions the fact that a 'canzona' already published in the 'Libro Primo' of 1603 is presented again here, simply because of its sustainability for a string ensemble. Instrumental variety is thus a clear intention, butr always in the spirit of the time, 'per ogni sort di stromenti', without constraint, but with constant concern for euphony in the chosen combination, and not only for the limitations imposed by the availability of the instruments, their range, their distinctive technical features. When a keyboard is used, the performer often finds himself faced with difficult situation, moreover: unlike Frescobaldi, Trabaci does not worry about providing a reduction of his compositions - this is somewhat paradoxical for a keyboard musician of his stature. One of the consequences of this is that notes sometimes have to be sacrificed or transposed by an octave or entrusted to an assistant. This type of compromise is, moreover, explicitly requested in a number of cases, as when the alterations are absent on some non-tri-harmonic (or panchromatic) harpsichords: for example, in the 'secondo libro', we Read that 'in this Toccata ['terza sopra il cembalo cromatico', because of one or two notes that may be missing, all the third that cannot be played in the major mode must be played in the minor mode, so long as they do not belong to the final cadence' (!). Obviously, emphasis is thus laid on the quality of the musical ideas and the value and ingenuity of the artifices they bring into play, rather on the final result in sound terms, which depends on the possibilities of the chosen instrument. The prefaces to the two books make it clear that, in the final analysis, this result is up to the interpreter, who must show not only fine virtuosic qualities and great insight into the meaning of the inventions contained in the writing, but also fine judgement in the more or less inevitable adaptions required by his intepretation and by the instrumentation.

"The first book of 1603 is relatively sparing of information and observation. We find only a short preface before the 'tavola' at the beginning, an explanation of the repeat signs used in the book and a note about how to cancel in composition for tri-harmonic harpsichords, alteration by means of an (Odonian) letter qualifying the natural pitch. Furthermore, in the initial 'Ricercari', the score is systematically peppered with information about the subjects and their transformations ('inganni'). In the second book of 1615, we find many extremely interesting annotation, showing Trabaci'd didactic concern as well as a rather narcissistic need to underline the author's originality and his competence as a theorist. Some of the ideas contained in the preface of 1603 - in particular, the affirmation of the importance of the performer's role in the success of the work - are taken up again in the new preface after the initial 'tavole'; several other extensive texts deal in due course with a particular problem: 'Alli lettori', on the various compositional styles for different instruments, 'A'lettori' on the unorthodox treatment of the 7th mode for variety in the 'versi', and 'A'lettori' on the orthography of the alterations for chromatic harpsichords. Finally, numerous notes scattered throughout the music specify the composer's intentions from a practical point of view: tempo, reprises, type of writing, abbreviated trills and various ornaments, etc. For instance, 'allarga la battuta' ('Verso 2' of the 'Quinto tono', 'Verso 50' of the Quarto, 'Verso 4' of the 'Secondo tono') is an instruction closely akin to the one used by Frescobaldi in his Toccate of 1615, requesting the player to slow down on the cadences; 'battuta stretta' and in proportione are instructions specifying the nature of the time signature, in which 'battutta stretta' is the equivalent of 'alla breve' in duple time, and 'proportione' is the equivalent of a triple time. We also come across 'cromatico' or 'in canone', referring to specific writing process characterising the whole - a sort of 'a priori' regulating and justifying the discourse as a whole. Even as regards writing, and not just practical performance, at least once Trabaci writes a note in the margin of the last 'ricercar' expressing his regret that the canonic constraints he has imposed upon himself prevent him from composing in a more graceful manner ('un miglior garbo')! What is most surprising in this book is the existence of a 'Tavola de i passi e delle cose più notabile', immediately after the main 'Tavola'. In this table, the author refers to what he considers the most remarkable ideas - a complete piece or even a single bar (in the case of the twelve initial 'ricercari'), and the bar is pinpointed with a number in the music itself! The composer takes the liberty of deviating from the strict rules of 'stile osservato' (strict classical counterpoint), thus creating interesting instances of dissonance, irregular in its treatment (such systematic licences are sometimes found formulated in the title of the 'Ricercari' of 1603). This aspect of the work, the 'table of the most remarkable things', is so important in Trabaci's eyes that it is mentioned on the title page itself ('...con due Tavole, una di tutta l'Opera, e l'altra de is passi e delle cose più notabili').

"Perhaps the most original section in the second book is the 'Cento Versi sopra li otto finali ecclesiastici'. These short contrapuntal pyrotechnic displays, following the more classical 'Ricercari' (on the 12 modes), undoubtedly form a set that is unique of its kind, even though the principle had already been explored by several great predecessors or contemporaries (Claudio Merulo, for example). Trabaci himself reminds us of their function in a preface devoted to them, in which he notes that he thinks it would be wise 'for the professional organist to accompany the preceding 'ricercari' with a hundred verses on the eight church modes for Masses, Vespers, and all divine Offices or any other sort of occasion'. The artful side of these precious miniatures is immediately obvious in the curious (and inexplicable) decision to write exactly -one hundred- verses to cover the eight church modes - which forces Trabaci into a grouping 7x12 plus 1x14... Trabaci uses the word 'Fioretti' - indicative of their unusual character, since the term is rather unusual for this type of composition - to refer to them in a passage from the same preface, in which he contrasts '...questa materia di Versetti, ò Fioretti (come dimandargli vogliamo) ò [...] una Canzona Francese, Gagliarde, Partite diverse, ò [...] una Toccata...' with the most reserved 'Ricercari' in contrapuntal style: he points out that if the writing of the ricercari is dependent on the classical vocal style implying a scale rarely going beyond a range of about twenty notes - those of a vocal range - these compositions, on the contrary, take advantage of the much vaster artificial range offered by musical instruments stemming from the ingenuity of man, 'who would not have invented it had it not been appropriate'. By drawing this parallel, Trabaci shoes us where the main difference between these two styles lies: unlike the 'stile osservato' used in the 'ricercari', these 'versetti' make the most of a wide instrumental range and are governed by a spontaneity of invention and a freedom in the contrapuntal realisation that often them closer to the toccata or to pieces in 'galant' style than to traditional liturgical works. All sorts of brilliant devices are explored, providing the dumbfounded modern reader with an extensive catalogue of the idioms that were subsequently developed in the history of instrumental music. Each of the pieces may be seens as a sort of variation on an abstract theme, a sort of 'obligo' or contrapuntal, thematic, motivic constraint that is merely hinted at and unfolded over an average of 3 to 10 bars. As an illustration, let us mention a few examples that are easy to spot, all of them taken from the initial group of the 'Primo tono': No. 3, elaborated over four successive entries of the same descending run, merging into the final cadence (Chopin's Prelude No. 8!); No. 5, over a chain of trills; No. 6 'in proportione' (in triple time) with its uncharacteristic fifth-fourth entry, answered by fourth-fifth - ascending formulas which are repeated twice with a plunge into the low register; No. 9, based on an expressive syncopated rhythm of two ascending notes answering and supporting one another polyphonically; No. 11, based on a chromatic motif announcing Frescobaldi; and No. 12 based on 'ostinato' dotted rhythms. We are lucky to hear all eight modes on this recording, in a 'rondo' presentation, i.e. alternating all the 'versi' in the same mode with other compositions.

"Among the other pieces from the second book recorded here, the 'Toccata 1a' stands somewhat alone: basically polyphonic, it begins with an 'entrée' in imitation that is much closer to the ricercar than to the free style one expects of a toccata. Unfolding over about thirty bars, it then turns to a mode of writing similar to the 'madrigal passeggiato', implying chains of diminutions betwen the chords, occasionally interrupted by a brief motivic section in imitation. Immediately following the 100 'versetti' in the original version, it thus forms a serious transition to the other 'toccate', which are in many ways more adventurous and individualised.

"In the second book of 1615 we also find the very curious 'Gagliarde 1a' and '2a a quattro' and the 'Gagliarda 1a a cinque'. They differ from those included in the book of 1603 (represented here by the 'Gagliarda 'quinta') in several formal aspects. The group of 'Gagliarde a quattro' opens with a preface explaining the signs that are used to clarify the reprises and with a note on instrumentation: Trabaci tells the ready that the 'gagliarde' for four voices may also be played by five voices, with viols or a group of violins; the fifth voice for all the 'Gagliarde a quattro' is presented at the end of the volume. This curious way of adding a fifth voice in an appendix again draws out attention to the dogmatic priority Trabaci gives to the idea over its realisation, considered in the context a sort of instrument polymorphism, and therefore the priority given by the composer to what is written. The version presented here is for four voices, which suffice to bring out Trabaci's remarkable polyphony - writing in imitative counterpoint already present in the first book of 1603, bold use of clashes and dissonance, and frequent false relations. Unlike those of the first books, the 'gagliarde' of the second book bear titles evoking people or moods: 'detto il Galluccio (Gagl. 1a)', 'detta la Morosetta (Gagl. 2a). The only 'Gagliarda a cinque' presented here is the first one in the group, 'detta la Galante'. We find a complex formal organisation that was not to be found in the first book of 1603: sections in duple metre right from the start, and the usual triple metre (normal for this form). Furthermore, 'La Morosetta' is in duple metre right from the start, and the usual triple metre does not appear until the very end. 'La Galante' for five voices is even more innovative: it takes the form of a sort of series of inextricably entangled variations, giving the impression that they are in a form with refrain: after two sections in triple metre, the first section in duple metre is even entitled 'partita 3a'. Needless to say, this piece is far from easy to play: Trabaci is merciless in his treatment of the keyboard player who has to use all sorts of stratagems to make up for not having enough fingers!

"The other pieces are all taken from the first book of 1603. The 'Canto fermo primo del primo tono' is a contrapuntal elaboration based on a famous melody, frequently used from the end of the fifteenth century until the Baroque era, and known by various names, the most common being 'Re di Spagna', or 'La basica di Costanzo Festa'. The four 'Canti fermi' contained in this volume are, moreover, based on the same theme and treated in the same way: the 'cantus firmus' is taken by the same voice from beginning to end in short, equal note values, thus forming a sort of Baroque parody of this very old technique. As the melody comprises 37 notes, each piece is also in 37 bars. In the first, it is carried by the tenor. The formal articulation is based on the intervention of secondary motifs more or less defining each section by giving it a distinct rhythmic form. The piece as a whole (like the other three pieces in the volume) represents a pinnacle of contrapuntal artistry.

"The piece entitled 'Decimo tono trasportato con una fugha sola' is a ricercar based, as its title indicated, on a single subject ('fuga' at that time meant 'subject'). But the subject is in fact split into two parts, the second serving as a counterpoint to the first. The formal articulation, in three parts, shows a macroscopic concern for diversity which the composer intends to be perfectly perceptible even to a listener who is inattentive to the polish of the compositional details: the contrasting middle section interrupts the rhythmic flow with its theme in triple metre, before the return of duple time, more natural in this type of writing. This articulation, original for a form of this type - the ricercar - was imitated by Frescobaldi in his 'Fantaisie' of 1608, but not in his his 'Ricercari' of 1615, which show no metrical contrast. Notice the impressive ornamented cadence at the end of this piece, which is unique in these 'ricercari'.

"Inspired by his teacher G. de Macque, the piece entitled 'Durezze e ligature' (dissonances and suspesnions) belongs to the free toccata genre, but in which the invention is concentrated exclusively on the creation of bold, dissonant, constantly changes harmonic progressions, forming a static kaleidoscope of sound - immobile in being attached to no particular key. This model was often used subsequently, particularly by Frescobaldi, in whom it inspired forms of the same type developing this technique throughout, but also a distinctive mode of writing that was capable of characterising an episode in a composition making use of contrast, such as the toccata.

"The two 'canzoni' on this recording complete the picture of the genre that was begun on the previous CD in this series. The 'Canzona franzesa settima cromatica' is one of the very first examples of this type of piece based on the impressive chromatic progression of the main theme, a process used by many composers up to and including J.S. Bach - Tarquinio Merula is a fine example. Here the work is articulated like a lmost all of Trabaci's 'canzoni', in several sections, differentiated either by the appearance of a new countersubject accompanying the principal motif, or by a variation of this motif itself, using the diverse figures of classical counterpoint, or by recourse to metric contrast with a variation in triple time. The 'Canzona sesta' served as an ideal model for later compositions by Frescobaldi, in that it is articulated, like the seventh, on a metrical contrast, but with a clarity and insistence that almost give it the appearance of a rondo! Indeed, the whole piece is based on the same subject, which changes rhythmically and metrically to serve as a motive for the constrasting sections. We thus obtain the pattern -a b a' c a"-, in which 'b' and 'c' are the variations in triple metre and 'a' represents the sections that develop variations in duple time on the initial motif. If we add to that the existence of 'extended' cadences in free toccata style, acting as buffers between the sections, we obtain exactly the pattern of Frescobaldi's 'canzona' variation, which was possibly inspired by Trabaci. The conclusion of the 'Canzona sesta' is particularly interesting in its scope and virtuosity." (Etienne Darbellay, tr. Mary Pardoe. From the liner notes.) 

Performer: Michèle Dévérité

1. Toccata Prima A Quattro

2. Versi, Quarto Tono

3. Durezze E Ligature

4. Versi, Settimo Tono

5. Gagliarda Quinta

6. Versi, Sesto Tono

7. Canto Fermo Primo Del Primo Tono

8. Versi, Primo Tono

9. Gagliarda Prima A Quattro Detta Il Galluccio

10. Versi, Terzo Tono

11. Canzona Franzesa Settima Cromatica

12. Versi, Quinto Tono

13. Ricercar Decimo Tono Trasportato Con Una Fugha Sola

14. Versi, Ottavo Tono

15. Gagliarda Seconda A Quattro Detta L'Amorosetta

16. Canzona Franzesa Sesta

17. Gagliarda Prima A Cinque Detta La Galante

18. Versi, Secondo Tono

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Richard Wagner - Tristan und Isolde

"The story of Tristram and Yseult is one of the most potent and enduring legends of the Nordic, Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon peoples, so potent that it even became grafted on to the Arthurian cycle of legends when Tristam or Tristan (originally Drostan or Drystan) was said to be one of the Knights of the Round Table. It says much for the success of the opera 'Tristan und Isolde' that since its première in Munich on 10th June 1865, the tale of the tragic lovers has been indissolubly associated with the name of Richard Wagner. Even before that première, however, the opera had been sending out shock-waves, as the famous 'Prelude' with its extraordinary harmony - the very first sound to be heard has become known as the 'Tristan chord' - had been performed in three major cities and the entire score had been in print since 1860. For reasons which seem inexplicable today, it was thought unstageable: a première scheduled at the Vienna Court Opera in 1861 was aborted after 77 rehearsals. Undoubtedly the action was steamy by nineteenth-century standards of morality; but in addition the advanced harmonic thinking that was in evidence on every page appalled traditionalists as much as it excited the avant-gardists. Significantly 'Tristan und Isolde' took nine years to achieve its second production, seventeen years to reach London and a further four to achieve a New York première.

"Wagner had been acquainted with the medieval legend for years, and it is strange that no other composer had tackled it, although Schumann had contemplated an opera on the subject and it had been lightly satirised in Donizetti's delectable 'L'Elisir d'amore'. In his work, Wagner was influenced by the writings of Schopenhauer and by a purely biographical factor - when he first became obsessed with the project in 1854, he had a guilty love for the married Mathilde Wesendock. In order to complete 'Tristan' he laid aside work on his 'Ring' trilogy and composed at unusual speed for him. The music was begun in 1856, the poem was written the following year and the score was ready by the end of 1859. Wagner made some changes to the story as he received from his main literary source, Gottfried von Strassburg's thirteenth century epic 'Tristan'. In particular he made Tristan and Isolde fall in love even before they became stricket by the love potion. There were one of two interesting undertones to the Munich première. The lovers were sung by a real-life husband and wife, Ludwig and Malwina Schnorr von Carolsfeld, and the opera was conducted by Hans von Bülow, whose wife Cosima was already under Wagner's thrall and had born him a child, Isolde (supposedly Bülow's daughter), on the day of the first orchestral rehearsal. Soon her liaison with him would become the scandal of the musical world.

"Recording Wagner's music dramas was first taken seriously by His Master's Voice (the Gramophone Company) in the early 1920s. Extensive excerpts in English, involving the brilliant conductor Albert Coates and the great bass Robert Radford, as well as other English-speaking singers, were recorded even in the acoustic era, when the vital orchestral element was perforce rather than muffled, but as each 78rpm disc was considered as an entity, sessions were rather laissez-fair and there was no attempt to maintain a cohesive cast - in the excerpts from 'The Valkyrie', Radford as Wotan even had to interact with three different Brünnhildes. The advent of electrical recording in 1925 brought the possibility of achieving some semblance of Wagner's orchestra, and HMV was quickly into action, producing a number of important Wagnerian excerpts in 1926, sung in German. So the firm's executives were extremely put out when the following year they lost the auction for the right to record at the holy-of-holies, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, to their deadly rivals at The Columbia Graphophone Company.

"To its credit, Columbia rejected the HMV system of piecemeal excerpts and made a determined effort to give the Wagnerian record-buyer a coherent view of each drama. It was found too difficult to take down actual performances, so recordings were made when the Festspielhaus was not in use. Although, in the even, only extended excerpts from 'Parsifal' were achieved in 1927, virtually the whole of 'Tristan und Isolde' was set down in 1928 - Acts 1 and 2 were done substantially complete and only Act 3 was cut, a practice which was usual in those days anyway, in the interests of conserving the energies of singers and audience alike at the end of a long evening. The greatest exponents of the title rôles, Lauritz Melchior and Frida Leider, were under contract to HMV, but a fine cast was assembled, including Rudolf Bockelmann, regarded as second only to Friedrich Schorr as a Heldenbariton, and the handpicked Bayreuth orchestra and chorus were conducted magnificently by the underrated Karl Elmendorff. The set was issued with a disc of musical exegesis by the doyen of Wagnerian criticism, Ernest Newman.

"Around the same time, HMV was assembling a set, recorded in two different cities, making up an even bigger portion of Act 3. It was uneven in both performance and recording - three conductors were involved, the faithful Kurwenal was portrayed by three separate baritones and Sides 7 and 10 were difficult to reproduce smoothly on the gramophones of the day - but at its best it burnt more brightly than the Columbia set. In particular Albert Coates was capable of greater incandescence than Elmendorff and the lovers were interpreted by two legendary singers, the English tenor Walter Widdop and the Swedish soprano Göta Ljungberg. King Marke was interpreted by the same singer as at Bayreuth, the black-voiced bass Ivar Andrésen. It may help listeners to know that Howard Fry sings Kurwenal up to 'es kann nicht lang' mehr säumen', then Charles Victor (Widdop's teacher) takes over from 'O Wonne! Freude!' and Eduard Habich assumed the character in Scene 3, mostly recorded in Berlin. Kennedy McKenna sings the Shepherd in the London-recrded first scene (without its cor anglais solo, so well played on the Bayreuth set), while Marcel Noë takes the rôles of the Shepherd, the Steersman and Melot in Scene 3. Those who know the beautiful acoustic of Queen's Hall will recognise it on the London sides." (Tully Potter. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Karl Elmendorff, Nanny Larsen-Todsen, Gunnar Graarud, Rudolf Bockelmann, Ivar Andrésen, and others on the bonus material.

1.1. Einleitung

1.2. Aufzug I, Szene I/II: 'Westwärts Schweift Der Blick'

1.3. Aufzug I, Szene III: 'Weh'! Ach Wehe! Dies Zu Dulden!'

1.4. Aufzug I, Szene IV: 'Begehrt, Herrin, Was Ihr Wünscht'

1.5. Aufzug I, Szene IV: 'War Morold Dir So Wert'

1.6. Aufzug I, Szene V: 'Tristan! Isolde! Treuloser Holder!'

2.1. Aufzug II: Einleitung

2.2. Aufzug II, Szene I: 'Hörst Du Sie Noch?'

2.3. Aufzug II, Szene II: 'Isolde! Geliebte! Tristan! Geliebter!'

2.4. Aufzug II, Szene II: 'O Sink' Hernieder, Nacht Der Liebe'

2.5. Aufzug II, Szene II: 'Einsam Wachend In Der Nacht'

2.6. Aufzug II, Szene II: 'Lausch', Geliebter!'

2.7. Aufzug II, Szene II: 'Doch Unsere Liebe, Heißt Sie Nicht Tristan Und Isolde?'

2.8. Aufzug II, Szene III: 'Der Öde Tag Zum Letzten Mal!'

2.9. Aufzug II, Szene III: 'O König, Das Kann Ich Dir Nicht Sagen'

3.1. Aufzug III: Präludium Und Hirtenpfeifensolo

3.2. Aufzug III, Szene I: 'Kurwenal! He! Sag' Kurwenal!'

3.3. Aufzug III, Szene I: 'Das Schiff! Siehst Du's Noch Nicht?'

3.4. Aufzug III, Szene II: 'So Bange Tage'

3.5. Aufzug III, Szene III: 'Tod Denn Alles'

3.6. Aufzug III, Szene II: 'Mild Und Leise, Wie Er Lächelt'

3.7. Aufzug III: Präludium (Shepherds Pfeifensolo Nicht Aufgenommen)

3.8. Aufzug III, Szene I: 'Kurwenal! He! Sag' Kurwenal!'

3.9. Aufzug III, Szene I: 'Hei Nun! Wie Du Kam'st?'

3.10. Aufzug III, Szene I: 'Bist Du Nun Tot?'

3.11. Aufzug III, Szene II: 'O Diese Sonne! Ha, Dieser Tag!'

3.12. Aufzug III, Szene II: 'Ha! Ich Bin's, Ich Bin's, Süßester Freund!'

3.13. Aufzug III, Szene III: 'Kurwenal! Hör'! Ein Zweites Schiff!'

3.14. Aufzug III, Szene III: 'Mild Und Leise, Wie Er Lächelt'

3.15. Die Motive Und Ihre Funktion In Der Oper. Erklärt Und Illustriert Von Ernest Newman

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Johan Svendsen - Zorahayda; Karneval i Paris; Norsk Kunstnerkarneval; Romeo og Julie

"For most music lovers Norwegian music begins and ends with Grieg, yet in a sense he was complemented by the figure of Johan Svendsen, who was all the things that Grieg was not. Grieg wrote with great individuality for the piano and the voice, while Svendsen wrote for neither, apart from his two sets of songs, Opp. 23 and 24, from 1879. As befits a conductor, Svendsen was a master of the orchestra, for which Grieg had no real flair. Indeed, on hearing Svendsen's First Symphony in 1867, Grieg was the first to sing its priases, recognising that its excellence contrasted with the inadequacies of his own youthful Symphony in C minor, written two years earlier. Even though he and Grieg were close friends, Svendsen never involved himself in the folksongs movement to anywhere near the same extent. The nearest he ever came to it were the four 'Norwegian Rhapsodies'.

"Svendsen grew up in Christiana (now Oslo) with music around him, for his father was a bandmaster. He was already an accomplished violinist by the age of fifteen, and also played the flute and clarinet. His musical schooling, like Grieg's, was in Leipzig, where he studied the violin under Ferdinand David and composition with Carl Reinecke. His Leipzig years were both happier and more fruitful than Grieg's, and it was during this period that he wrote his first works, the Quartet in A minor op. 1, some choral pieces, and the Octet for strings op. 3. Even such early compositions speak with an individual voice and the Octet, the First Symphony op. 4 and the String Quintet op. 5, are all works of astonishing individuality, assurance and, above all, freshness. After finishing his studies in Leipzig and returning to Norway, Svendsen undertook a long tour of Scotland, Iceland and the Faeroes in 1867, return to Christiana to conduct his First Symphony later that year. For the remainder of the 1860s Svendsen lived in Paris, earning his living as an orchestral player and working on a Violin Concerto. In 1870 at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, he moved to Leipzig acting for a time as leader and conductor of the Euterpe Concert Society. He spent the following summer in Bayreuth where he was much in the company of Wagner, and it was here, of all places that he finished his virtuoso orchestral piece, 'Karneval i Paris' ('Carnival in Paris') in 1872. By this time Svendsen had been drawn into the Liszt-Wagner circle. (Later on, he was to introduce 'Walküre' and 'Siegfried', among other works, to the Copenhagen Opera.) He returned briefly to Norway but in 1877 gave up the direction of the Christiana Orchestra (which he shared with Grieg) to seek greater fame as a conductor in London, Paris, Leipzig and other great musical centres.

"If Grieg had been one of the influences on the early music of Sibelius, then Svendsen played a comparable role in Carl Nielsen's development. In 1883 Svendsen became conductor of the Orchestra of the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where Nielsen played under him during the 1890s. Indeed, Svendsen conducted the first performance of Nielsen's First Symphony in 1894, and is at the root of much of Nielsen's style. Svenden cannot, however, be regarded as anything other than Norwegian, despite being far more cosmopolitan than many other Scandinavian composers of the day. He remained in Copenhagen until ill-health forced his retirement in 1908, though alas, his creative firest burnt themselves out long before that. After the famous Romance in G major for violin and orchestra op. 26 (1881) he more or less gave up composing.

"Svendsen's music invention blends a liveliness and exuberance with a vein of poetic fantasy not unworthy of the best Grieg. Together with the four symphonies of Berwald, Svendsen's two are the finest to appear in Scandinavia before Sibelius - and certainly more original than those of Niels Gade. Between the two symphonies come the concertos for violin and cello opp. 6 and 7 and the 'Karneval i Paris' op. 9. Begun in New York, continued in Leipzig and finished in Bayreuth, 'Karneval' was an evocation of the festive processions that he recalled from his time in Paris ('the most glorious city on earth' he called it). One its publication in 1877, it was subtitled 'Episode fü großes Orchester' and its brilliant and masterly scoring have earned it a place in the repertory.

"The tone poem 'Zorahayda' op. 11, was composed in Christiana in 1874 and revised in Paris five years later. 'Zorahayda' derives its inspiration from a collection of Moorish legends called 'Alhambra', published by the American writer Washington Irving in 1832. The story tells how one summer evening the beautiful Jacinta is sitting alone in the Alhambra, lamenting the lover who has forsaken her. Suddenly there appears before her a Moorish princess, Zorahayda, who relates how she lost her heart to Christian knight. She promised to adopt his faith and go with him to his native land, but courage failed her and her soul has remained imprisoned in the Alhambra. Zorahayda begs Jacinta to fulfil the prophecy that she will remain the prisoner of evil spirits until released by a virtuous Christian maid. Jacinta baptises her and Zorahayda's face becomes radiant with joy.

"A year earlier, in the summer of 1873, Svendsen had been commissioned to write a 'Festpolonese' (Grand Polonaise) for a society ball in Christiana. The festive spirit and good humour for the resulting work have ensured it a place in the repertory ever since, along with the 'Norsk kunstnerkarneval' ('Norwegian Artists' Carnvial') op. 14, composed a few months later. Svendsen had been elected to membership of the Society of Norwegian Artists whose carnival in 1874 had as its theme the spirit of the cold North and the warm blooded south and its zest for life. Svendsen uses three melodies, a Neapolitan melody from the mid-1830s, 'Te voglio bene assai' by Raffaele Sacco, and a Norwegian bridal dance from Sogn - No. 676 in Lindeman's 'Ældre og nyare norske Fjeldmelodier' ('Older and Newer Norwegian Mountain Melodies'). This was the first occasion on which Svendzsen had ever quoted a Norwegian folk melody. The very opening idea was designed to depict the 'Dovregubbens datter' ('The Troll-king's daughter'), and although the theme sounds as if it is a folk melody, it is in fact Svendsen's own.

"Svendsen's major work of this period was the Second Symphony, completed in 1876 towards the end of his five-year spell in the Norwegian capital (1872-77), and the last large-scale work to survive from his pen. It was first performed on 14 October 1876 when he also introduced another novelty, 'Romeo og Julie' op. 18, a fantasy for orchestra. (Tchaikovsky's fantasy overture had been performed in its original form in 1870 but it is unlikely that Svendsen would have encountered it. It is not known whether he knew Berlioz's dramatic symphony or even Gounod's opera of 1867.) At its premiere in Christian, 'Romeo og Julie' was compared unfavourably with the Second Symphony, and though the 'Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung' reviewed it favourably after its publication in 1879, it remains - along with his other tone poem 'Sigurd Semble' op. 8 - one of his least performed works.

"Although he had little time left for composition after moving to Copenhagen, Svendsen did write a number of smaller occasional pieces, and planned his Third Symphony. Among the shorter pieces without opus number is the 'Andante funèbre', composed in 1894 for the funeral of the twenty-three year-old son of his friend, Theodor Hindenburg. In fact Svendsen's own creative career was shorter than this young man's life, but while it lasted, it promise was hardly less formidable than that of the young Grieg." (Robert Layton. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Trondheim Symfoniorkester, Ole Kristian Ruud

1. Norsk Kunstnerkarneval, Op. 14

2. Zorahayda (Legend), Op. 11

3. Karneval I Paris (Episode), Op. 9

4. Romeo Og Julie (Fantasy), Op. 18

5. Festpolonese, Op. 12

6. Andante Funèbre, Op. 60 Nr. 2

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Johan Svendsen; Carl Nielsen - String Octet; Romance; String Quintet

"Johan Svendsen was born in Christiana (now Oslo) on 30 September 1840, and died in Copenhagen on 14 June 1911. At an early age he acquired a working knowledge of a variety of instruments from his father, who was a military musician, and he began his career as a clarinettist in a regimental band. His principal instrument, however, was the violin, and as a young man he played in the orchestra of Norske Theater (of which Ibsen was Director) and his first experience of the symphonic repertory, and of Beethoven in particular, was as a violinist in the subscription concerts organised in 1857-9 by Halfdan Kjerulf and Gottfried Conradi. His formal musical education did not begin until 1863, when, with the aid of a stipend granted to him by the King of Sweden and Norway, he entered the Conservatoire in Leipzig (he was offered a place in an advanced class, but asked to start at the beginning of the course because he considered his musical education to be rudimentary). He studied the violin with Mendelssohn's old friend and colleague Ferdinand David, but within a year had decided to concentrate on composition and conducting. He successfully pursued a career in both capacities (together, initially, with that of a solo and orchestral violinist), and this naturally meant that was away from his native Norway for much of the time. In 1872 he returned to Christiana as joint conductor, with his compatriot and close contemporary Grieg, of the Musikforening concerts, becoming sole conductor two years later. In 1883 he was appointed Musical Director of the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, and retained the position until ill-health forced him to retire in 1908.

"Svendsen's most important compositions, which include two symphonies, two concertos (for violin and for cello), four Norwegian Rhapsodies for orchestra, vocal and chamber music, were written before 1880. The Octet in A major, Op. 3 for strings (four violins, two violas and two cellos), like the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 1 and the String Quintet in C, Op. 5, dates from his last years at the Leipzig Conservatoire. It was performed there for the first time in 1866, and won him the Conservatoire's First Prize; it also prompted an offer from the great Leipzig publishing house of Breitkopf & Härtel, who issued it a year later, with a dedication, 'in deepest gratitude and respect', to Her Majesty Louise, Queen of Sweden and Norway. In May 1868, when Svendsen went to the musical festival in Weimar and met Liszt, the Octet was performed by a group of Germany's foremost string players.

"The industrious and fluent Louis Spohr composed four double quartets between 1823 and 1847, but these are, as their titles imply, octets for two string quartets, with the accent as much, if not more, on antiphonal effects between the two groups, as on treatment of the eight instruments as a homogeneous ensemble. For the classic example of a true string octet, one has to turn to the one in E-flat, Op. 20, that Mendelssohn wrote in 1825 at the age of sixteen; and probably the only nineteenth-century parallel to this, even if it does not match the sheer genius of Mendelssohn's youthful masterpiece, is Svendsen's Op. 3. Both main themes of its first movement incorporate prominent dotted rhythms, and these are to prove a recurring feature throughout the work. The emphatic first subject is announced boldly by all eight instruments in octaves and re-stated in two contrasting ways before a sustained chromatic transition prepares the way for the short second subject in (in E), gently introduced by first violin and first viola in turn. The compact development is mainly concerned with the first two bars of the first subject, but later the second subject enters the discussion; further development takes place during the course of the recapitulation, which is appreciably longer than the exposition and development section combined. The inventive and rhythmically intriguing second movement (in E) has something of the spirit of a scherzo, but is formally more like a loose-limbed rondo. The 'scherzo' element is provided by the chattering triplets of the opening, the 'trio' element by the short, lyrical theme (with a dotted rhythm in its second bar) initiated by the first viola at bar 4I but subsequently expanded almost beyond recognition. The slow movement (in C) can perhaps be best described as a set of free, continuous variations, with considerable fluctuation of mood and tempo, on the theme as presented at the outset by the first violin. But there is an impassioned subsidiary theme that recalls the 'trio' theme of the third movement, and a second 'variation' theme, first played by the first cello to a descant on the first violin in running semiquavers. A slow introduction, bristling with dotted rhythms, prefaces the sonata-form 'Finale', whose angular main theme it foreshadows; a lyrical, curving second subject, of by now familiar outline, is presented by the first viola and provides most of the material for the development, which is separated from the recapitulation by a virtuoso semiquaver passage in octaves.

"The Romance for violin, probably Svendsen's best known work, was composed in Christiana in 1880, soon after his return from an extended foreign tour that took him to Leipzig, Rome, London (where he met the legendary Spanish violinist, Pablo de Saraste) and Paris. It was originally scored for solo violin, with an orchestra of strings, flute, oboe, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns and timpani, but here the accompaniment is arranged for strings. The main tempo is 'Andante', but there is a quicker central section in G minor.

"Carl Nielsen was born at Nørre Lyndelse (near Odense) in Denmark on 9 June 1865, and died in Copenhagen on 2 October 1931. Like Svendsen, he came from a modest background; his father taught him to play the violin and the cornet, he gained his first practical musical experience from playing in a local orchestra and in a military band, and he was enabled to study at the Royal Danish Conservatoire in Copenhagen (from 1884 to 1886) as a result of financial assistance from benefactors in Odense. But although he continued for some years to play the violin professionally (he was a member of the orchestra of the Royal Opera in Copenhagen under Svendsen, who was not only an influence on the young composer but an ardent admirer, and who conducted the first performance of Nielsen's first Symphony in 1894) and was a competent conductor, he never attained Svendsen's eminence in that field, whereas he quickly outstripped him as a composer. Not only did he become, with six symphonies to his credit, Denmark's greatest symphonist, but he was also a noted composer of music for the theatre, wrote three important concertos (for violin, flute and clarinet), choral music and songs, piano music and a considerable body of chamber music which includes three sonatas for violin and piano, six string quartets (the first two of them student works), a string quintet and a wind quintet.

"The String Quintet in G major (for the combination of two violins, two violas and cello, favoured by Mozart, Brahms and Dvořák, but not Schubert) was written in 1888, the same year as the first of Nielsen's four mature quartets (in G minor, Op. 13), and first performed on 28 April 1889. The score was dedicated to Thorvald Nielsen, Erlin Bloch, Hans Kassow and Louis Jensen, but not published until 1937, six years after the composer's death. The first movement, in fairly regular sonata form, is in a lilting 9/8 metre, but with occasional deft changes in rhythm (to 12/8 and, effectively, 3/4), which add to the music's piquancy and charm. There are three main thematic groups: the melodious theme introduced at the very beginning by the first violin; the airy transition initiated by the first viola, engendering a whole succession of oscillating semiquaver patterns; and the long-breathed theme on the first violin (on the first viola and the cello in octaves after the recapitulation) that emerges from it. The slow movement (in B-flat) is in ternary form, with the outer sections centred round a solemn theme intoned, after a chromatic introductory passage, by the first viola and the cello (on the two violins in octaves in the much shortened reprise). The middle section, in slightly quicker tempo, introduces a chorale-like theme on the first viola, this is then treated, in varying forms, rather as a 'cantus firmus' in different instrumental settings. The colourful third movement, alternately dancing and langorous, is permeated by quick, repeated-note 'ostinati'; a somewhat bucolic middle section (or trio) is followed by a literal repear of the first section, followed by a coda. The quintet ends with an exuberant sonata-form 'Finale', with an emphatic first subject and a playful second subject (on the first violin), which provides most of the material for the development section; there is a coda marked 'Presto'." (Robin Golding, 1994. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble

1. Johan Svendsen - String Octet In A Major, Op. 3: I. Allegro Risoluto Ben Marcato

2. Johan Svendsen - String Octet In A Major, Op. 3: II. Allegro Scherzoso - Lento - Piu Mosso, Quasi Presto

3. Johan Svendsen - String Octet In A Major, Op. 3: III. Andante Sostenuto

4. Johan Svendsen - String Octet In A Major, Op. 3: IV Finale. Moderato - Allegro Assai Con Fuoco

5. Johan Svendsen - Romance, Op. 26

6. Carl Nielsen - String Quintet In G Major: I. Allegro Pastorale

7. Carl Nielsen - String Quintet In G Major: II. Adagio

8. Carl Nielsen - String Quintet In G Major: III. Andante Scherzando

9. Carl Nielsen - String Quintet In G Major: IV. Finale. Allegro Molto - Presto

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Johan Svendsen - Norwegian Rhapsodies; Romeo and Juliet; Zorahayda

"Born in Christiana (now Oslo) on 30th September 1840, Johan Svendsen learned several instruments and played in his father's regimental band before concentrating on the violin and becoming a pupil of Carl Arnold. In 1863, though he had professional experience as a musician as well as several works behind him, Svendsen began to study at the Leipzig Conservatory where he focused on composition and conducting. Return to Norway in 1867, he directed a concert of his music that drew positive notices (not least from his contemporary Edvard Grieg), but public response was less forthcoming. After two years in Paris, he returned to Leipzig where, after the hiatus caused by the Franco-Prussian war, he became leader and assistant director of the Euterpe orchestra then, in 1872, played in the orchestra assembled to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth.

"That year, Svendsen returned to Christiana as joint conductor, along with Grieg, of the Music Society concerts. The next five years saw his most significant achievements as a composer, after which, he wrote only a handful of new works and conducting became dominant in his career. Aside from guest engagements, he remained in Norway until 1883 when he became principal conductor of the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. While this was at first a controversial appointment, his quarter-century there raised orchestral standards to a new level and many younger musicians (not least Carl Nielsen, who played in the orchestra between 1889 and 1905) benefited from his example; his standing, meanwhile, was reflected in the guest engagements he received throughout Europe. Ill-health forced his retirement in 1908, though he continued to live in Copenhagen until his death on 14th June 1911.

"Svendsen's reputation as a composer rests on a relatively small output (apart from occasional pieces and arrangements, his catalogue runs to only 33 works), but he remained pre-eminent among those nineteenth-century Norwegian composers who actively sought to harness the potential of a Romantic Nationalism with that of established classical forms. Although chamber music was to bring him his earliest notable successes, his lasting achievement lies in the orchestral domain. Aside from two symphonies, he also wrote a number of shorter pieces, several of which are featured on this disc.

"Nowhere is the Classical-Romantic fusion of Svendsen's thinking better illustrated than with his four 'Norwegian Rhapsodies'. The first three of these emerged toward the end of 1876, with the final one appearing early the following year. Inspired by the 'Hungarian Rhapsodies' of Liszt, the ways in which folk- and art- music are combined owe more to Austro-German principles, to the extent that the material drawn from Ludvig Lindeman's 'Older and Newer Melodies from the Norwegian Mountains' becomes little more than the starting-point for Svendsen's creations.

"The 'First Norwegian Rhapsody' opens with string chords and horn calls, before a stealthy pizzicato motion supports an atmospheric theme on upper strings. This leads to a lively theme on woodwind (more familiar as the third of Grieg's 'Norwegian Dances'), one that retains its defining rhythm even when heard in a slower and more expressive version on strings. In contrast comes and eloquent melody, initially heard on the viola, that soons works its way across the orchestra before the return of the lively theme on strings. All is now set for a peroration that draws on both of these main themes on its way to a triumphal conclusion.

"The 'Second Norwegian Rhapsody' heads straight into a forcefully syncopated theme that makes way, via subdued transition, to an elegiac melody on the upper strings which continues on solo woodwind against the imaginative backdrop of muted strings. Gaining in ardour, this builds to a brief climax before a further theme, one who rustic quality is emphasized by recourse to a 'drone bass', takes over. Entering quietly, the initial theme once more assumes the limelight, albeit in harness with elements of those that followed, as the pieces towards its close with a breathless good humour.

"The 'Third Norwegian Rhapsody' starts with lively gestures on strings before the first theme, robust and suave by turns, enters on woodwind and is taken up by the strings. A hushed transition on the timpani prepares for the rapt second theme, initially on upper strings before being developed by solo horn then by the lower strings, offset by pert woodwind chords. Reaching an eloquent climax, it makes way for a more energetic theme that shares its predecessor's pathos, and whose ebullience brings about a decisive close to the piece as a whole.

"The 'Fourth Norwegian Rhapsody' begins with a moody opening theme, complemented by a livelier theme who harmonies suggest the influence of Hardanger fiddle music from southern Norway. This, in turn, is contrasted with a soulful melody on lower strings and these two themes alternate in an unforced yet disciplined manner that teases out a fair degree of motivic development. At length the soulful one effect the work's motional apex, but the livelier theme is not to be denied and draws in the whole orchestra as it seed the work to a triumphal close.

"'Romeo and Juliet' enjoyed only a muted reception at its première in October 1876, though it is unlikely that early reviewers were any more familiar than was the composer with Tchaikovsky's fantasy-overture on Shakeseare's play, which did not reach definitive form until four years later. Svenden's piece begins with a musing idea for strings that gains in expansiveness until reaching a brief climax. This slow introduction makes way for a more energetic and impulsive theme brings the full orchestra into play. Its successor is a plaintive melody first heard on oboe then transferred to strings before tailing off into silence. The development centres on the energetic theme, heralding a heightened return of the oboe melody, before its predecessor reappears in what seems set for a triumphal close. What follows, however, is a notably subdued coda, fatalistic rather than tragic in its underlying calm.

"Svendsen enjoyed greater success with 'Zorahayda' in October 1874, which retained its popularity during his lifetime. Inspired by Washington Irving's 'Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra', it recounts the love of a Moorish princess for a Christian knight, and of how her soul is freed when she is baptized with a water from the Alhambra fountain. Searching gestured on the lower strings, prior to the arrival of a thoughtful melody that draws in woodwind and upper string. This is imaginatively rendered by solo violin over a deft 'pizzicato' accompaniment, with brief orchestral interjection, that continues until the oboe sets in motion a more impulsive theme which seems intent on bringing about the climax. Instead, the main theme sees the work through to its close in a mood of dreamy resignation, lower strings and horn-calls prominent as at the beginning." (Richard Whitehouse. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Bjarte Engeset

1. Romeo Og Julie, Op. 18

2. Norwegian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 17

3. Norwegian Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 19

4. Norwegian Rhapsody No. 3. Op. 21

5. Norwegian Rhapsody No. 4, Op. 22

6. Zorahayda, Op. 11

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Johan Svendsen - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2

"For most people Norwegian music begins and end with Grieg, and in so far as Svendsen is thought of at all, it is as the composer of the 'Carnival in Paris', the 'Norwegian Arists' Carnival' and a handful of other lighter pieces. In fact Svendsen was all the things that Grieg was not. Grieg wrote with great individuality for the piano and the human voice, while, Opp. 23 and 24 apart, Svendsen wrote for neither. As befits a conductor, Svendsen was a master of the orchestra, for which Grieg had no particular flair. Indeed when he heard the First Symphony of Svendsen, Grieg was the first to sing its praises, and its excellence made him more than ever aware of the inadequacies of his own youthful Symphony in C minor (1865). After this he made no further attempt to scale symphonic heights. Yet Svendsen's symphony, like Grieg's, was a student work written while he was still at the Leipzig Conservatory and a pupil of Reinecke. As a boy he grew up in Christiana (as Oslo was then known) with music around him. His father was a bandmaster and by the time he was fifteen he was already an accomplished violinist and played the flute and clarinet as well. He undertook a long tour of Scotland, Iceland and the Faeroes in 1867, returning to Christiana to conduct his symphony later that year. He went to Paris the following year and earned a livelihood as an orchestral player, and writing his Violin Concerto, Op. 6 and other pieces. The 'Carnival in Paris' (1872) was written in Bayreuth of all places. By this time Svendsen had given up the violin owing to problems with his left hand and by the early 1870s, he had been drawn into the Liszt-Wagner circle. He returned briefly to Norway but gave up the direction of the Christiana Orchestra in 1877, which he had shared with Grieg, becoming more of what we would now call a 'star' conductor. He appeared in London, Paris, Leipzig and then, in 1883, he went to Copenhagen as conductor of the Royal Danish Orchestra, where he remained until ill-health forced his retirement in 1908. Alas, the creative fires burnt themselves out long before that, and after the famous 'Romance' in G major for violin and orchestra, he more or less gave up composing.

"Svendsen's grounding was in the Leipzig school and Mendelssohn and Schumann loomed large on his musical horizon. Even though he and Grieg were good friends, Svendsen did not involve himself in the folksong movement to anywhere near the saem extent as had Grieg, and the four 'Norwegian Rhapsodies' were probably as close as he ever came to it. All the same there is a distinctive Norwegian feel to his melodic ideas. His basic sympathies remained predominantly classical and he continued to work within sonata form structures. Three of the four movements of the First Symphony are in sonata form. Svendsen succeeded in fusing the legacy of the Viennese classics with the Norwegian folk tradition. His invention blends liveliness and exuberance with a vein of poetic fantasy not unworthy of the best Grieg. Together with the four symphonies of Berwald, Svendsen's two (1867, 1876) are the finest to appear in Scandinavia before Sibelius.

"The D major Symphony, Op. 4, is a work of astonishing assurance and freshness - its musical processes are easily followed as are those of its successor. Between the two symphonies come the Cello Concerto, Op. 7 and the tone-poem, 'Zorahayde', Op. 11. The Second Symphony was completed towards the end of his five year spell (1872-77) in the Norwegian capital; the manuscript is dated 'Hedghehaugen, near Christiana, May 1876', and it was his last large-scale work. As Grieg said of him in 1882, he is in my opinion 'the greatest arist (as opposed to -poet-) that the North possesses and one of the few great spirits in Europe'. It is good to see these inspired and superbly crafted symphonies coming back into their own." (Robert Layton, 1988. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Oslo-Filharmonien, Mariss Jansons

1. Symphony No. 1 In D Major, Op. 4: I. Molto Allegro

2. Symphony No. 1 In D Major, Op. 4: II. Andante

3. Symphony No. 1 In D Major, Op. 4: III. Allegretto Scherzando

4. Symphony No. 1 In D Major, Op. 4: IVa. Finale: Maestoso

5. Symphony No. 1 In D Major, Op. 4: IVb. Allegro Assai Con Fuoco

6. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 15: I. Allegro

7. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 15: II. Andante Sostenuto

8. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 15: III. Intermezzo: Allegro Giusto

9. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 15: IVa. Finale: Andante -

10. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 15: IVb. Allegro Con Fuoco

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