Scandinavian Choir Music

"The Norwegian Trond Kverno studied sacred music, musical theory and choral conducting. He is a professional organist, teaches at the Oslo Conservatoire and made a name in his country in the field of religious vocal music. He was from 1976 to 1978 member of the liturgical commision, with the task of improving the liturgical handbooks of the Church of Norway. The hymn 'Ave Maris Stella' is structured into different parts. The six-part writing is distributed, in particular at the beginning and at the end of the piece, into a three-part female choir and a three-part corresponding male choir.

"Since the end of the eighties, the Estonian composer Urmas Sisask has devoted himself particularly to sacred music. His 'Benedicto' (1991) is a piece that combines in an attractive way several different styles: medieval polyphony (monastic organa), jazz rhythms or repeated passages in the style of litanies. The piece, which offers many unexpected turns, is a joyful setting of the liturgical text.

"After his studies, Knut Nystedt was for a long time organist and teacher of choral conducting in his native tonw, Oslo. From 1950 to 1990, he toured in the whole world with his choir 'The Norwegian Soloists'. As a composer, he was awarded many prizes. The three settings of the Bible, 'Three Motets', belong to his great œuvre for choir. Choral music fascinates him more and more. He says about himself '[...] It is vocal music that interests [me] increasingly: the human voice has extraordinary possibilities, and a range of expression richer than what has been used until now in choral practice. I therefore immersed myself in a new world of choral sound, as it were a sort of kaleidoscope, in order to discover radically new tone colours.' After 'Thus saith the Lord', a piece of austere, seemingly archaic writing, comes a well-known piece, 'Peace, I leave with you'. The beginning of this piece, a unison in the low range of the women's voices, sung pianissimo, grabs the attention immediately. The tension is sustained all through the piece. 'I will praise thee, O Lord' concludes with élan this short cycle of motets.

"The Estonian Veljo Tormis made his debut in the musical world at the time of the annexing of Estonia by the Soviet Union. Estonians and other ethnic groups, and their languages, were then banned. Tormis bases his compositions on poetical texts of high value, as a manifesto against the Soviet domination of his mother tongue. He takes a keen interest in the Baltico-Finnish tradition. After the closing by the Soviets of the organ class of the Conservatoire, judge too near to the church, Tormis, then a student of the class, changed his orientation and studied choral conducting. During his studies, he was very interested in the national styles that base themselves on folk music. His compositional technique, modern and anti-romantic, leans on these studies and is at the saem times influenced by the music of Carl Orff and Zoltán Kodály. Tormis's choral works were created in collaboration with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, his close partner for many years. His Finnish choral cycle 'Sügismaastikud' is a setting of seven poems. Each poem is given a particular, extrovert colour. The voices are treated in a very instrumental way, using extended tessituras. Long sustained chords recall organ music. Towards the end of the cycle, a broad orchestral style of writing becomes apparent.

"The Swede Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar was composer, pianist and conductor of the Göteborg Symphonic Orchestra. He wrote mostly instrumental music. After initial sutdies in Stockholm, he went to Berlin to deepen his knowledge. He was an ardent admirer of Richard Wagner and Anton Bruckner. Later in life, the Nordic style of Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius fascinated him. His 'Tre körvisor' (1890) evoke with romantic harmonies but without any trace of kitsch, the poetical images of J.P. Jacobsen. 'September' and 'I Seraillets Have' are charming pictures of nature and peace. 'Havde jeg, o havde jeg en Dattersøn, o ja!' shows itself mischievously ironical.

"'Kung Liljekonvalje' (G. Fröding) and 'Förvårskväll' (R. Jändel) by David Wikander are very popular pieces of the Swedish choral repertoire. The love of detail that the texts betray - a characteristic of Swedish literature and mentality - finds in Wikander's music an adequate rendering.

"Niels V. Gade is the found of the Danish national romantic style. Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, with whom Gade studied (Mendelssohn Bartholdy even created his First Symphony in Liepzig), were friends and fervent defenders of his music. In 'Morgensang', in C major, Gade develops from passages in unison and in thirds soft but heroic harmonies, characterized by boradly spaced male voices, generally in four parts.

"The Swede Hugo Alfvén still enjoys great popularity in his country and abroad through a handful of his works, in particular his 'Aftonen'. His pieces are typical representatives of a Swedish national romantic music. 'Aftonen', with its impressionistic writing, is an excellent example of his lyrical Nordic style.

"Edvard Grieg, the most famous of Norwegian composers, wrote only a few choral works on sacred texts. His 'Fire Salmer' (Four Psalms, 1906), more precisely the psalm entitled 'Hvad est du dog skjön', are his last work, he died in 1907.

"The text is a paraphrase by Hans Adolf Brorson (18th century) of the Song of Salomon, with reminiscences of the Song of Songs. The introduction is followed by three nearly identical verses with solo baritone (soloist of the choir: Thomas Walter). The fourth verse breaks this pattern. The theme is harmonically taken apart and the text is passed back and forth between the different voices, like the whisperings of lovers. The piece ends in this quiet atmosphere.

"The cosmopolitan Einojuhani Rautavaara studied in Finland, Vienna the U.S.A., Switzerland and Cologne. He has since returned to live in his home town, Helsinki. In 'Sommarmatten' (1975), soprano solos are added to the mixed four-part choir (soloists of the choir: Silke Brucker, Marianne Dreßler, Angela Fadle and Christiane Kuhlberg-Ross). The silvery high tones of the soloists evoke the vesperal reminiscence, filled with vibrating heat, of a summer day. To this quick movement, Rautavaara opposes slow harmonies, without thirds, like archaic sculptures. The wide tessituras, using the lowest basses and the highest sopranos, create a most attractive sound picture. One understands here why Rautavaara is often described as a mystic." (Dagmar Ungerer-Brams. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Amadeus-Chor, Nicol Matt

1. Trond Kverno - Ave Maris Stella

2. Urmas Sisask - Benedictio

3. Knut Nystedt - Three Motets: Thus Saith The Lord

4. Knut Nystedt - Three Motets: Peace, I Leave With You

5. Knut Nystedt - Three Motets: I Will Praise Thee, O Lord

6. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: On Hilissuvi

7. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: Üle Taeva Jooksevad Pilved

8. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: Valusalt Punased Lehed

9. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: Kahvatu Valgus

10. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: Tuul Könnumaa Kohal

11. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: Külm Sügisö

12. Veljo Tormis - Sügismaastikud: Kanarbik

13. Wilhelm Stenhammar - Tre Körvisor: September

14. Wilhelm Stenhammar - Tre Körvisor: I Seraillets Have

15. Wilhelm Stenhammar - Tre Körvisor: Havde Jeg, O Havde Jeg En Dattersøn, O Ja!

16. David Wikander - Förvårskväll

17. Niels Gade - Morgensang

18. David Wikander - Kung Liljekonvalje

19. Hugo Alfvén - Aftonen

20. Edvard Grieg - Hvad Est Du Dog Skjön

21. Einojuhani Rautavaara - Sommarnatten

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Wilhelm Stenhammar - String Quartets Nos. 3 & 4

"Wilhelm Stenhammar was one of the most versatile Swedish composers of his generation. In addition to writing two operas, two symphonies and two piano concertos, he produced a large number of songs, piano music and a violin sonata. The string quartet genre is a central one in his œuvre. An important precondition for this was his long-standing collaboration with violinist Tor Aulin and his string quartet, the Aulin Quartet, with which Stenhammar worked closely as a pianist. 'The Aulins' concerts in Stockholm', Stenhammar wrote during the winter of 1896, 'are an undertaking that is closer to my heart than any other of this kind, and it is no exaggeration if I say that I long for each new concert, and that it is a real sacrifice for me if I am forced to miss one of them. I don't know if you understand this, but I believe that you will grasp my feelings when I say that for me that the Aulin Quartet is, and with every passing day becomes all the more, the incarnation of everything exalted that I know in the world of music - not ideal, I grant - but, perhaps even because of its imperfections, all the more cherishable. With every day, every hours that passes I feel more strongly that I would not voluntarily give this up, that it would be the last thing that I would abstain from. It has educated me, it has turned me into a musician, I need it and love it.'

"Between 1894 and 1916 Stenhammar composed a total of seven string quartets, of which one (F minor, 1897) was withdrawn immediately after its first performance. In Scandinavian music of its time, this series of quartets is unique both in its consistency and in its musical aspirations.

"'String Quartet No. 3 in F major', Op. 18 (1897-1900): Stenhammar composed the first movement of his Third String Quartet in an intensive creative period in 1897, but did not add the remaining movements until 1900. In the meantime, following the première of his opera 'Tirfing', Op. 15, he had gone through a phase of deep depression. Although audience reactions to 'Tirfing' had been positive, with hindsight the opera did not measure up to Stenhammar's own standards. Around 1900 Stenhammar was grappling in depth with his compositional ideas, and developed a self-critical attitude that would leave its mark on his future works. At the same time there was a more matieral - and indeed pecuniary - background to the crisis. In 1894 he had promised his published (Henrik Hennings in Copenhagen) to deliver a fixed number of compositions per year. After 'Tirfing' it became increasingly clear to him that this contract was depriving him of his freedom to compose. As he wrote to Hennings, Stenhammar no longer had any desire to be a 'worker at a composition factory'. In August 1899 he terminated the contract; after that, he had to earn a living from his appearances as a pianist and conductor, which significantly curtailed the time that he could devote to composition.

"The F major Quartet, Op. 18, was the first major instrumental work that Stenhammar completed and published after the crisis. It clearly documents his high aspirations as a composer, and explicitly names the benchmark: Ludwig van Beethoven. Stenhammar's contemporaries already observed that the first movement's principal motif alludes to the beginning of Beethoven's first 'Razumovsky' Quartet, Op. 59 No. 1. The context in which Stenhammar places this motif is, however, remarkable: soloistically from the viola, with short, fragmentary comments from the other three instruments. This technique was also based on tradition, and can be traced back to late Beethoven, as used for instance in the German composer's final string quartet, Op. 135, which is also in F major. In a nutshell: here Stenhammar views mid-period Beethoven from the perspective of late Beethoven. What is the function of these allusions? By no means should they be seen as involuntary reminisces, or as an attempt to imitate the style. Instead, during the course of the movement, Stenhammar emphasizes not the proximity to his role model, Beethoven, but rather the distance that he has managed to travel from that style. This is all the more apparent in the finale. The prelude ('Presto motlo agitato') toys with motivic fragments from the scherzo, in the manner of a free eighteenth-century fantasy. The ensuing fugue once again takes an allusion to Beethoven as its point of departure: the theme of the fugal opening movement of his Op. 131 Quartet. It is fascinating to follow how, throughout the movement, Stenhammar makes the distance from his model more clearly heard. In the first, contrapuntally strict fugal section this is initially achieved through a variet of sophisticated harmonic modulations. Later, the strict ricercare fugue is carried away by the irresistable pull of the motivic writing, which ultimately leads to a thematic outburst (no longer even slightly fugal in style) and a capricious stretto. With a further motivic transformation the movement ends unexpectedly, returning to the dream-like atmosphere of the first movement's coda. The middle movements, too, do not try to conceal that they were composed around 1900. The 'Perpetuum mobile', with its abrupt beginning, was perceived by contemporary reviewers as 'a depiction of the nervous bustling and anxiety of our age'. The third movement, a set of variations in B-flat minor, initially seems to be self-contained, although its coda once more alludes to Beethoven, this time the coda of the Ninth Symphony's first movement. Even the quartet's calmest and most lyrical section thus participates in the interaction with tradition.

"'String Quartet No. 4 in A minor', Op. 25 (1904-09): The Fourth String Quartet, too, comes from a period of change in Stenhammar's life. He sketched the overall scheme of the first movement as early as 1904, but did not flesh it out until the winter of 1906-07, which he and his entire family spent in Florence. Stenhammar had earned his long-awaited trip to Florence - which was intended to give him time to compose undisturbed - with a heavy schedule of concerts as a pianist during the preceding season. In addition, Henrik Hennings had held out the prospect of a private grant from Danish music-lovers. But Hennings had promised more than he could deliver. When it became apparent that he could not raise the sum involved, the relationship between composer and publisher was irretrievable soured. In the strained circumstances, Stenhammar received a prestigious offer from Gothenburg: to be the conductor of the city's newly formed symphony orchestra. He accepted, and in the period from 1907 until 1922 turned the orchestra into one of the finest in Scandinavia. His free time for composing, however, was thereby permanently restricted to the summer months. Completion of the remaining movements of the String Quartet in A minor was thus delayed until the summer of 1909.

"The extended genesis of the work is not, however, discernible from listening to the piece; in fact the Fourth String Quartet sounds as if it had been written in a single burst. This is the most important of Stenhammar's string quartets and, more than almost any other work, proves his abilities as a composer: a supreme command of a wide range of traditions and models, harmonic sophistication pushing the very limits of functional tonality, artistry in the transformation of motifs and an interconnectedness that spans the entire work.

"Stenhammar's own conviction that he had done justice to his highest aspirations in his Fourth String Quartet is clearly shown by the fact that he dedicated this work to his friend and colleague Jean Sibelius. Sibelius, in return, dedicated his Sixth Symphony to Stenhammar - a fact that is little-known today, as the dedication was written on an extra page before the score itself, and later editions have no included it.

"In the A minor Quartet, Stenhammar continued along the same path that he had followed in its F major predecessor, but once again significantly increased the range of contrasts that he seeks to convey. This is shown in an exemplary manner by the themes of the first movement. It begins with a semiquaver run from the first violin above a diminished chord from the other instruments: this is a direct reference to Beethoven - a terse figure that alludes to the beginning of his A minor Quartet, Op. 132. This is immediately followed by a wan, archaic melody, set like a choral, briefly undermined by unexpected harmonies. Melodically this passage refers to the cadential formulae of Swedish folk songs, but harmonically it reflects the then contemporary procedures of chromatically altered harmony. From these very different points of departure, Stenhammar proceeds so logically that, by the end of the movement, he can reveal that all of the thematic elements share a common nucleus. He also avoid any kind of formal stereotypes. The expressive subsidiary theme, supported by a dense accompanimental texture, does not start out in the C major that would be expected in traditional sonata form, but rather in the remote key of D-flat major, far away in the circle of fifths. The development and recapitulation, too, are not easily separated but overlap in an unconventional manner.

"Similar tendencies can be found in the slow movement as well. Stenhammar confronts the dream, opulent 'Adagio' theme with a violin figure that can with justification be described as atonal. The harmonically advanced repetition of the theme, which emerges from this confrontation, demands the utmost concentration from the players in the richly figured accompanimental structure. In the five-part scherzo, nervous tension is created by the skilful use of fugato techniques that conflict with the underlying metre; not until we reach the extensive coda is this dynamic energy reined back. As a finale there is a slow variation movement based on the Swedish folk song 'Och riddaren han talte till unga Hillevi' ('And the Knight Spoke to Young Hillevi'). The eleven variations, some of which are quite far removed from the theme itself, are linked together at an underlying level, both harmonically and motivically. At the end of the movement, when finally the solo run from the beginning of the work grows out of the exuberant figurations, the music has come full circle: late Beethoven, the folks style and chromatically altered harmony - all of these grow out of a single point of departure and everything ultimately leads back to the same place. The game could begin all over again.

"'Elegy and Intermezzo from the incidental music to Hjalmar Bergman's play 'Lodolezzi sjunger' ('Lodolezzi Sings')', Op. 39 (1919): These two movements not only come from a different creative period in Stenhammar's career than the Third and Fourth String Quartets, but also have an entirely different purpose. They were composed in 1919 as part of the incidental music for a production put on by Per Lindberg, a young theatre director from Gothenburg. The Elegy served as an overture, whilst the Intermezzo was heard between Act II and Act III. The drama 'Lodolezzi Sings' by Hjalmar Bergman, which the playwright - not without irony - described as a 'romantic comedy', is about an aging opera singer Renée Lodolezzi who, after years away from the limelight and after numerous psychological complications, finally dares to take the stage again. The play ends with her triumphant performance (invisible to the theatre audience). Stenhammar chose a string quartet to perform the incidental music; in the Elegy a flute makes two brief appearances as well, heard from afar (on this recording its part is played by the second violin). As befits its function as an overture, the Elegy sets the emotional tone of the drama. The singer's extrovert tendencies and her fundamentally depressive mood are reflected in the melodic entries, which do possess potential for pathos, but also remain harmonically unstable, dissolving back into nothingness. Whereas the Elegy can be understood as a psychological profile of the main character, the Intermezzo represents the world to which Renée Lodolezzi is venturing to return: the great European nineteenth-century operas, including the last role she sang, from Ambroise Thomas's 'Mignon'. The Intermezzo has the form of a two-part opera scena, with a recitative and aria as the first part, followed by a more extensive second part which Stenhammar wryly marks 'Andante molto italiano'. The first violin and cello sing a veritable love duet, and the Italiante character is made evidence by means of 'portamenti' and second violin's mandolin-like 'pizzicati'. At the same time, Stenhammar mockingly shatters this image with metrical irregularities and contrapuntal complications. Here the composer uses techniques that he had already tried out in his last two string quartets - No. 5 in C major 'Serenade', Op. 29 (1910) and No. 6 in D minor, Op. 35 (1916)." (Signe Rotter-Broman, 2013. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Stenhammar Quartet

1. String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 25: I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo

2. String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 25: II. Adagio

3. String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 25: III. Scherzo. Allegro

4. String Quartet In A Minor, Op. 25: IV. Aria Variata. Andante Semplice

5. Lodolezzi Sjunger, Op. 39: Elegi. Lento

6. Lodolezzi Sjunger, Op. 39: Intermezzo. Allegro Agitato

7. String Quartet No. 3 In F Major, Op. 18: I. Quasi Andante

8. String Quartet No. 3 In F Major, Op. 18: II. Presto Molto Agitato

9. String Quartet No. 3 In F Major, Op. 18: III. Lento Sostenuto

10. String Quartet No. 3 In F Major, Op. 18: IV. Presto Molto Agitato - Molto Moderato

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Wilhelm Stenhammar - Piano Concerto No. 1; Fragment from Symphony No. 3

"'Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor for Piano and Orchestra': In the spring of 1882 Stockholm was visited by the famous pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow. He describes his impressions in his Scandinavian travel memoirs, recounting how he had not met any composer of importance, but the Orchestra of the Royal opera - that is, the orchestra of the Stockholm Opera - was very good and had a tremendously enthusiastic audience. He asks whether there might possibly be a conncetion between 'the quite extraordinary receptiveness of the Swedes' and their 'sterility in the realm of music'.

"Just over a decade later he would have obtained quite a different picture. There now existed a young and very enthusiastic generation of both composers and performers, and there new, fascinating works which held great promise for the future.

"Wilhelm Stenhammar's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, first performed at one of the Royal Opera symphony concerts on 17 March 1894, stands out as a gateway - or fanfare - to this new epoch in Swedish music. The soloist was the composer himself, at that time 22 years old, and the performance was conducted by Conrad Nordqvist, the Director of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera. A fortnight later the concerto was performed in Copenhagen. The success brought Stenhammar both a publisher and an agent. The door to 'the great wide world' was no opened. Before long Stenhammar was playing his concerto in Berlin, with Richard Strauss conducting, and later with Arthur Nikisch, Karl Muck, Felix Weingartner and Hans Richter. No Swedish instrumental composition had ever before attracted such widespread attention.

"The spring of 1904 found Stenhammar sketching a new piano concerto, in D minor. Completed in Florence in the spring of 1907, it became the only one of his own works which Stenhammar later performed himself. He played the B-flat minor Concerto for the last time in 1908; after that it figures only sporadically in the repertoire, and with other soloists. During the Second World War both the score and the parts - all in manuscript - were in the possession of the Hainauer publishing form in Breslau, and the entire material was destroyed during one of the air raids on the city. Only the printed short score remained.

"When this became known, Stenhammar's widow ask the composer Kurt Atterberg, who as a young man had heard the concerto several times, to orchestrate the short score. This version of the B-flat minor Concerto was performed in the spring of 1946. It was recorded in the autumn of 1977 with Irene Mannheimer as soloist together with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutoit.

"In the autumn of 1990, Professor Allan B. Ho of Southern Illinois University announced that he had found, in a private American collection of music, what proved to be a copy of Stenhammar's manuscript, produced for a tour of the USA by the German pianist Franz Rummel in 1898. As a result, the original classical-romantic orchestra sound can now be both listened to an studied. In comparison, Atterberg's predominantly stylish instrumentation occasionally reveals small personal touches, as if he wanted to put a signature to his own contribution.

"The B-flat minor Concerto is a work in the Brahmsian tradition, in four movements and lasting for about 47 minutes. It opens with a magnificent solo cadenz ('Molto moderato e maestoso') in a dialogue with chord from the orchestra. The broadly constructed movement which then follows ('Sostenuto e tranquillo - Animato') has a first theme which is elegiac and a second one which is enthusiastic and upward-soaring. At times the tonal language acquires symphonic proportions. The second movement - Scherzo ('Vivacissimo') - is light-hearted and buoyant, in a virtuoso style which rather puts on in mind of Saint-Saëns, a composer whose works were frequently performed in Stockholm during the 1890s. The third movement - 'Andante' - is based on a cantabile theme stated first by the horn. For most of this movement the piano simply provides an accompaniment. The final movement - 'Allegro commodo' - has a tempestuous main theme and relies very much of virtuoso effects, but towards the end these are curtailed by a ballad-like melody (on the same motif as in Stenhammar's song 'Lutad mot gärdet'). The concerto ends on a pianissimo chord.

"'Fragment from Symphony No. 3 (revised by Tommy B. Andersson)': In the mid 1910s Stenhammar had completed his two most important orchestral works: the Symphony in G minor and the Serenade in F major. These were to be his last compositions. However, between 1918 and 1919 he worked on a third symphony and there exist quite detailed outlines of a first movement - seven pages of which are in fair copy - and melodious suggestions as to an additional three movements.

"The short fragment from the work which has been recorded contains the above-mentioned seven pages. When compared with the polyphonic, almost matter-of-fact Symphony in G minor, the feeling from the outlines is of an orientation towards the romantic tone language we meet in some earlier works by Stenhammar.

"The outlines, with a concert ending by Tommy B. Andersson, were presented at a press conference in the Stockholm Concert Hall in April 1991." (Bo Wallner, 1992. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Kungliga Filharmonikerna, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Mats Widlund

1. Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor: I. Molto Moderato E Maestoso - Sostenuto E Tranquillo - Animato

2. Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor: II. Scherzo (Vivacissimo)

3. Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor: III. Andante

4. Piano Concerto No. 1 In B-Flat Minor: IV. Allegro Commodo

5. Fragment From Symphony No. 3

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Franz Berwald - 4 Symphonies

"Franz Berwald's 'Sinfonie sérieuse' was premiered on December 2, 1843, in Stockholm, conducted by Johan Fredrik Berwald, the composer's cousin. The performance was not what it should have been. In addition to not helping the composer's reputation, it became the only performance of any of his symphonies during his lifetime. Given that Berwald spent a number of years in Berlin and Vienna, the 'Sinfonie sérieuse' is comparable in style and structure to those of his contemporaries Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.

"The first movement 'Allegro con energia', is in the traditional sonata-allegro form. Without any introduction, the first theme group begins its passionate journey with a loud chord, and then quickly drops to piano. Berwald presents an abundance of motivic fragments, but as with Beethoven, his transitions seem to be just as significant as the primary themes. The more lyrical second theme calls to mind the earlier Romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber. A development section follows with bits of counterpoint utilizing transitional material from the first theme group. Prior to the 'official' recapitulation, Berwald sneaks in a statement of the second theme that, this time, is much more bold in character. The 'real' recapitulation unfolds in typical fashion, but unlike the serious opening in minor, the movement concludes with an exuberant flourish in major.

"As with most slow movements, the Allegro maestoso is in a ternary form (ABA). When hearing the solemn lyricism of the A section, with its chromatic lines and sustained pedal points, it is difficult not to think of the future works of Johannes Brahms and Carl Nielsen. In contrast, the B section is bolder and more dramatic. This leads into a development of sorts, before returning to the nobility of the opening.

"While not as facile and mercurial as many of Mendelssohn's scherzos, the third movement, 'Stretto', is, in essence, the typical scherzo movement: fast tempo, a meter of three, and the ABA form. Its themes drive it toward the more serene middle section. However, the second presentation of the A section dissipates rather than giving a sense of finality to the movement.

"Thematic material from the second movement serves as an introduction to the first theme group of the final movement. Again, sonata-allegro form is the large-scale structural determinant. The surging fervor of the second theme in the strings is contrasted and answered in the woodwinds. The development section has some truly contrapuntal moments using material from the first theme group to prepare the way for the recapitulation. From out of the wilderness, a valiant solo trombone signals the end of the muscular, energetic work." (Description of Symphony No. 1 in G Minor 'Sérieuse' by Rovi Staff for AllMusic. See here.)

"When Berwald's first symphony, the 'Symphony Sérieuse', was severely handled by the critics his second, 'Sinfonie capriciuse' had already been written. The composer never heard the work performed, the full score disappeared and only a 'short score' (i.e. not fully orchestrated) dated 18 June 1842 survived. The work was first performed in 1914 in a realization by Ernst Ellberg, and thereafter not until the 1960s in a realization by Nils Castergren. Since then it has taken its rightful place in the re-establishment of Berwald's music in today's symphonic repertoire. The symphony is well-named, its orchestral textures being light and airy. The first movement is swift, sunny and mainly in 3/4 time, rather like a fast waltz. The second is sweetly serious and melodic, with a Mozartean delicacy. The third movement, a scherzo, starts with short, fragmentary woodwind figures and continues on its good-humored way with quick interchanges between strings and woodwind, the brass only occasionally underlining the spirited rhythms. Today it is almost inconceivable that so original and enchanting a work could have been neglected for over 100 years." (Description of Symphony No. 2 in D Major 'Capricieuse' by Roy Brewer for AllMusic. See here.)

"Although Swedish composer Franz Berwald's Symphony No. 3, 'Sinfonie singulière' was completed in 1845, it did not receive its first performance until 1905. In fact, only one of Berwald's four symphonies was performed during his lifetime. Considered by many to be the first great Scandinavian composer, he has been described as a cross between Felix Mendelssohn, an acquaintance of Berwald's, and Finland's Jean Sibelius, born three years before Berwald's death.

"Not only is it widely held that the 'Sinfonie singulière' is Berwald's finest work, but that it may be the first great Scandinavian orchestral work. The symphony is unique for this time period in that it has only three movements rather than the traditional four. While Berwald's earlier symphonies are right at home in the German Romantic school of Schumann and Mendelssohn (Berwald lived in Berlin and Vienna at various times), this piece looks forward with the robust and rustic quality one associates with later Nordic composers such as Edvard Grieg, Sibelius, and Carl Nielsen or Nationalists such as Antonín Dvořák.

"The first movement, 'Allegro fuocoso', is in the traditional mid-nineteenth century sonata-allegro form. But, Berwald combines the organic compositional technique of Beethoven with one resembling tone painting to establish an atmosphere. Starting quietly, there is a feeling of great anticipation. Utilizing the interval of a fourth in various guises, Berwald uses motivic development and transformation rather than long, spun-out melodies, creating a sense of transition and evolution. This is a section of 'gestation' rather than introduction in the traditional sense. The middle movement, in ternary form (ABA), begins with a heartfelt, Brahmsian 'Adagio'. With a startling thump in the tympani about four minutes in, Berwald breaks into a scherzo that would have made Mendelssohn envious. Playful exchanges between winds and strings show Berwald's skill as an orchestrator and his mastery of manipulating thematic fragments. His not so subtle harmonic sequences are very much like Bruckner's in that they do not always advance the tonal scheme, but are, nonetheless, terrifically appealing. After a few minutes, the 'Adagio' returns as abruptly as it disappeared. The final movement is highly charged and dramatic. Another Brucknerian moment occurs with a soft woodwind chorale over pizzicato strings, which flowers into a grand statement of this same theme. There is a quotation of the middle movement's 'Adagio' melody about five minutes in, followed by a new lyrical theme that precedes a recapitulation of the beginning of this movement. A quiet return of the woodwind chorale in minor explodes into a joyfully victorious final statement, back in major, bringing this richly Romantic symphony to an end. In Franz Berwald's 'Sinfonie singulière' one can hear some of the stylistic qualities that anticipate later composers such as Brahms, Bruckner, Sibelius, and Dvořák." (Description of Symphony No. 3 in C Major 'Singulière' by Mona DeQuis for AllMusic. See here.)

"Berwald spent the early part of the year 1842 in Vienna, where his music was very well-received and where he wrote his first two symphonies, those with the nicknames 'Sérieuse' and 'Capricieuse'. Later that year he returned to his native Sweden hoping to continue his string of successes. But his music didn't make much of an impression there. Nevertheless he continued his composing, completing his other two symphonies - the so-called 'Singulière' and 'Naïve' - in the year 1845. He went to Paris in 1846, hoping to interest composer-conductor Daniel-François Auber in premiering the 'Sinfonie Naïve'. Nothing came of that, though, and the symphony, now sans title (by Berwald's choice) and simply known as the Symphony No. 4, waited until April 9, 1878, for its first performance. That premiere was conducted by Ludvig Norman, who did more than anyone else to keep Berwald's music before the public in the decades after the composer's death.

"Whether called 'Sinfonie Naïve' or Symphony No. 4, the work radiates a feeling of contentment and lightheartedness. The first movement, somewhat misleadingly marked 'Allegro risoluto', begins in a rather relaxed mood. A playful staccato figure leads into the peaceful second idea, which becomes the basis of the following development. This movement, and the work as a whole, displays Berwald's distinctive, pungent harmonic sense and melodic freshness. The noble, pastoral second-movement 'Adagio' leads without pause into an energetic scherzo, whose elfin quality calls the music of Felix Mendelssohn to mind. Rhythmic playfulness marks the 'Finale', an 'Allegro vivace' that concludes with a sudden acceleration and exciting coda." (Description of Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major by Chris Morrison for AllMusic. See here.)

Performers: Göteborgs Symfoniker, Neeme Järvi

1.1. Symphony No. 3 In C Major 'Singulière': I. Allegro Fuocoso

1.2. Symphony No. 3 In C Major 'Singulière': II. Adagio – Scherzo: Allegro Assai – Adagio

1.3. Symphony No. 3 In C Major 'Singulière': III. Finale: Presto

1.4. Symphony No. 2 In D Major 'Capricieuse': I. Allegro

1.5. Symphony No. 2 In D Major 'Capricieuse': II. Andante

1.6. Symphony No. 2 In D Major 'Capricieuse': III. Finale: Allegro Assai

2.1. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: I. Allegro Risoluto

2.2. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: II. Adagio

2.3. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: III. Scherzo: Allegro Molto

2.4. Symphony No. 4 In E-Flat Major: IV. Finale: Allegro Vivace

2.5. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': I. Allegro Con Energia

2.6. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': II. Adagio Maestoso

2.7. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': III. Stretto

2.8. Symphony No. 1 In G Minor 'Sérieuse': IV. Finale: Adagio – Allegro Molto

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Wilhelm Stenhammar - Piano Music

"Stockholm-born Wilhelm Stenhammar was the most outstanding musical personality in Sweden of his time. As a pianist he brought high quality music-making to audience throughout the country through several hundred solo recitals and chamber music concerts; as music director of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra he created Sweden's first truly professional ensemble, persistently championing contemporary Scandinavian composers and introducing his audiences to numerous new works; and as a composer (like Elgar, largely self taught) he created some of the most important and carefully crafted music ever to come out of Sweden, ranging from symphonic works and operas to chamber music and lieder. Yet there is something deeply enigmatic about Stenhammar's character. For most of his life he was town between awareness of his extraordinary artistic talent (and the expectations that came with it) and an extremely destructive self-criticism. This inner struggle manifests itself particularly strongly in his ambiguous relationship with his own instrument, the piano.

"The start of Stenhammar's career was in many ways that of an archetypal Romantic pianist-composer: already as a child he had composed numerous pieces for piano, including three sonatas, the first dating from 1880. His first success as a performer came soon after his first serious piano studies, commencing in 1887 with the former Clara Schumann pupil Richard Andersson. But it was in the early 1890s that he became established as a force to be reckoned with: he appeared as soloist in the first Swedish performance of Brahms's D minor Piano Concerto and, more importantly, gave the premiere in 1894 of his own Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor Op. 1. The latter occasion was so successful that it regiered far beyond the borders of Sweden and led to Stenhammar performing the concerto over the following decade with conductors such as Richard Strauss (the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) and Hans Richter (the Hallé Orchestra). Curiously however, in recitals Stenhammar hardly ever performed his own solo works, focusing instead mainly on the Viennese classics, and by the early 1900s Stenhammar the composer gradually turned his interest away from the piano in favour of the string quartet, the human voice and the orchestra.

"At the age of nineteen, however, Stenhammar was certainly intent on composing ambitious works for the piano. The 'Piano Sonata in G Minor', composed in the spring and summer of 1890, according to his own list of works up to 1891, marks a clear change from the childhood pieces. While an indebtedness to his predecessors is still obvious - Schumann's Sonata Op. 22 in the same key seems to have served as a particular inspiration - so are to an even larger extent the first occurrences of many of his own musical trademarks. Here we encounter the introspective lyricism so often associated with the Scandinavian Romantics; even more striking, though, is the passionately dramatic and rather severe side that defines Stenhammar among his contemporaries.

"The Sonata follows the traditional Romantic four-movement scheme, but the youthful exuberance that Stenhammar infuses into the textbook model becomes apparent from the very opening of the first movement. The dynamic spectrum of this 'Allegro vivace e passionate', as well as the technical demands it makes on the pianist, makes the composers intentions clear: this is music intended for the concert hall rather than for domestic music-making by amateur musicians, a fact that puts the work in a unique place in the history of Swedish music. The nocturne-like second movement, and the folk-tune-secnted 'Trio' section of the 'Scherzo', might have a more typical Scandinavian flavour with some (for Stenhammar) unusual echoes of Grieg, but with the finale we return to the emotionally charges atmosphere of the beginning. The 'Prestissimo' double thirds of the highly strung coda, find Stenhammar increasing the virtuosic demands on the pianist, and one can not help wondering whether these passages were within reach of Stenhammar's own techniquer. Even if they were, they were certainly far beyond any other contemporary Swedish pianist's ability, and since Stenhammar never performed the Sonata after giving its premiere at a charity concert in May 1891 - and since it remained unpublished until 2008 - the work was forgotten, and remained so until the manuscript was rediscovered in the 1940s. The autograph has the character of a fair copy, complete with a title page in the composers own hand, written in German, a sign that he had intended to present it to a foreign publisher - an important step in the career of a young composer.

"If the G minor Sonata is full of youthful exuberance, then 'Nights of Late Summer' ('Sensommarnätter') Op. 33 seems to inhabit a different world altogether. The descriptive title has often caused the work to be compared with other popular piano miniatures by Stenhammar's contemporaries such as Wilhelm Peterson-Berger and Emil Sjögren. But although the five movements that make up the work are relatively short, the emotional range they inhabit is anything but miniature, nor are their demands on the performer. As in the cae of the G minor Sonata, this is hardly music for amateur pianists.

"Stenhammar certainly shared a love for the Swedish landscape with his late nineteenth-century artist colleagues, and there is no doubt that the title at least partly refers to the nocturnal atmosphere at the time of the year the nights become darker, and feelings of nostalgia and melancholy are evoked. But a psychological interpretation seems equally plausible: nature as a metaphor for the late summer of life. Stenhammar has often been describe as a man who grew old early and while 'Nights of Late Summer' was published in 1914 it had been, in his own words, 'carried in the head for many years'. Ther most likely time of composition seems to be the early 1900s, a time of artistic crisis and lack of self-confidence when the composer was in his early thirties. 'Nights of Late Summer', more than any other of Stenhammar's piano works, reflects the neurotic nature of the composer. The prevailing mood of the first movement is one of introspective gloom and wandering desolation. The restless and agitated second piece continues the C minor key of the first, and builds up to a passionate climax, only to disappear back into the shadows. The almost impressionistic suspended chords of the third piece, which cleverly manages to avoid the tonic of the main key of A-flat major until the final bars, momentarily evoke a calmer, more comforting mindset only to be shattered by the eruptive, almost manic fourth movement. The carefully worked-out key scheme continues from the C-sharp minor of the fourth piece to F-sharp minor in the fifth piece, which initially is archaic and somewhat ironic in character before it loses itself in a chromatic labyrinth and finally dissolves. 'Nights of Late Summer' and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Op. 23, completed in 1907, were to be Stenhammar's last works for piano.

"The 'Three Fantasies' Op. 11 from 1895 have become the most frequently played of Stenhammar's piano pieces. Indeed, they are unique in being the only works of his own which he performed in his recitals. In the years following the composition of the G minor Sonata in 1890 Stenhammar had spent seven months, during 1892 and 1893, in Berlin, studying the piano with Heinrich Barth. (It is interesting to not that he chose not to take any composition lessons, even though he spent a great deal of his time in Berlin composing.) In the veritable was that raged between the followers of Wagner and Brahms, Barth was firmly on the Barhms side. Stenhammar found himself torn between the two camps; as scholar Bo Wallner put it: 'In daytime he played Brahms, in the evenings he indulged in Wagner.' It is no surprise then that these German masters were to serve as his role models during the 1890s.

"It is certainly easier to discern Brahms than Wagner in the musical language of the 'Three Fantasies', particularly in the passionate first piece with its sonorous opening chords and in the elegiac sentiment of the third. The piano-writing in the 'Fantasies' is less demanding and the musical language more immediately communicative than in Stenhammar's other piano works, something has without doubt contributed to their popularity. The two contrasting sections that alternate in the first piece remain static without development, and it is the cumulative effect of these that drives the piece towards is climactic ending. By contrast, development is a strong feature in the playful middle piece, where the musical fabric consists of short syncopated fragments that, by clevery avoiding the strong beats, keep the music aloft without touching the ground. Only in its final bars does it come to rest on a 'pianissimo' E mjaor triad where Stenhammar lets the third (G-sharp) fade away while the other notes in the chord are repeated, thus providing a bridge to the E minor opening of the third 'Fantasy', again in the key of B minor. Its declamatory theme in dactylic rhythm (something of a favourite of Stenhammar's) provides long ascending 'cantabile' lines in the outer section and, inverted, it turns into a dance-like middle section. As a distant echo, the dance motif reappears at the end of the coda as the piece gently fades away in B major.

"In the 'Sonata in A-flat major' Op. 12, composed the same year as the 'Fantasies', Stenhammar once again seems to have turned to the German masters for inspiration, although not Schumann or Brahms this time, but Beethoven, whose piano sonatas would frequently feature in Stenhammar's piano recitals later in life. To infuse his own ideas into an external framework appears to have been a deliberate strategy in several of Stenhammar's early works, and the Sonata Op. 12 has both structural and rhetorical similarities with Beethoven's Sonata Op. 101.

"The lyrical first movement uses two time signatures - 3/4 and 4/4 - and although it incorporates elements of sonata form, Stenhammar once again keeps the themes static. Instead he lets the music move through three tonal centres: A-flat, C and E (where the recapitulation occurs combining the 3/4 and 4/4 meters!) and back to A-flat major. The only motif that undergoes any development at all is the chorale-like theme (foreshadowing the opening of Stenhammar's Piano Concerto No. 2) which introduces each tonal area and which evolves into an extended coda. The 'Scherzo' that follows is the most Beethovenian movement of the Sonata with its dramatic use of dynamics and registers as well as its use of short thematic cells. Stenhammar once again changes the metre to triple time in the restless and eruptive 'Trio' section, a reminiscence of which returns in the coda. The slow and sombre third movement has the character of an intermezzo which leads, via a dramatic transition, straight into a high energized finale, whose daring chromatic modulations juxtaposed with diatonic passages look forward to Stenhammar's later works.

"Stenhammar performed the A-flat major Sonata twice - the second time as a mere twenty-eight-year-old - and for the remaining half of his life, his career as a pianist was largely given to playing other men's music. There is little evidence as to why Stenhammar the composer abandoned his own instrument (with the exception of the exquisite piano parts for his lieder) after 1907, but certainly a few intensive years of counterpoint studies begun around the same time gave him new means of expression, well suited to writing for orchestra and string quartet. By the early 1920s Stenhammar's physical as well as mental health started to deteriorate, and although he carried on touring as a performer he had lost the energy to compose." (Martin Sturfält, 2008. From the liner notes.)

Performer: Martin Sturfält

1. Piano Sonata In G Minor: I. Allegro Vivace E Passionato

2. Piano Sonata In G Minor: II. Romanza: Andante, Quasi Adagio

3. Piano Sonata In G Minor: III. Scherzo: Allegro Molto - Trio: Meno Mosso (Un Pochettino) - Tempo I

4. Piano Sonata In G Minor: IV. Rondo: Allegrissimo - Sostenuto - Tempo I, Ma Più Animato

5. Sensommarnätter, Op. 33: Tranquillo E Soave

6. Sensommarnätter, Op. 33: Poco Presto

7. Sensommarnätter, Op. 33: Piano: Non Troppo Lento

8. Sensommarnätter, Op. 33: Presto Agitato

9. Sensommarnätter, Op. 33: Poco Allegretto

10. Three Fantasies, Op. 11 No. 1: Molto Appassionato - Poco Meno, Ma Agitato - Impetuoso - Presto

11. Three Fantasies, Op. 11 No. 2: Dolce Scherzando

12. Three Fantasies, Op. 11 No. 3: Molto Espressivo E Con Intimissimo Sentimento

13. Piano Sonata In A-Flat Major, Op. 12: I. Moderato, Quasi Andante

14. Piano Sonata In A-Flat Major, Op. 12: II. Molto Vivace - Trio: Presto - Tempo I - Coda: Presto

15. Piano Sonata In A-Flat Major, Op. 12: III. Lento E Mesto

16. Piano Sonata In A-Flat Major, Op. 12: IV. Allegro

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In Slaughter Natives - Sacrosancts Bleed

Dated 90s industrial/EBM sound and angsty anti-Christian themes aside, this 1992 album from Swede Jouni Havukainen is very well constructed and entertaining. Even the (often shaky elsewhere) blending of metal elements turns out to be great fun. Released as a CD on Cold Meat Industry.

1. Chaos Breeding

2. Koprofagi Christi

3. Fifth Skin

4. Taste Of Human

5. Sacrosancts Bleed

6. Scum

7. Intercession

8. Christians

9. Inferno

10. Invocation

11. Mortified Flesh

12. Arcanum

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Experiments in American Music - My Wife Is So Brave!

Single sided noise venture by this so far one-off noise supergroup 'mail collaboration' (recorded in Texas, Baltimore, Göteborg, Philadelphia, Providence), released as a run of thirty cassettes on experimental label The Gift of Music in 2018. Opens with a fascinating monologue on certain death metal motifs and continues with a surly, low burning half hour noise journey.

A. My Wife Is So Brave!

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Sewer Election - Internal

Murky, protracted noise from Swedish veteran Dan Johansson's flagship project. Subtitled: 'Sound Pieces for Feedback and Various Objects as Magnetic Tape Loops Through Amplifier'. Released on Swedish noise/industrial label Järtecknet in 2017 as an edition of three hundred LPs.

A. Untitled

B. Untitled

mp3/320kbps

Backasvinet - Gevisol / Ivisol

Excellent Swedish harsh noise cassette released by obscure Swedish label Elbogen Fonogram in 2015, also self-released by the artist as a double cassette the year prior. Highly engaging old school cassette noise.

A. Gevisol

B. Ivisol

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Richard Ramirez / Quack Quack

Split between American noise titan Richard Ramirez and anonymous (presumably Swedish) project Quack Quack, released on the excellent Swedish noise label Team Boro Tapes in 2015. Both sides are excellent, highly indulgent noise.

A. Richard Ramirez - Taking It In The Back Seat

B. Quack Quack - A Mouse Trap

 

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Schakalens Bror - Truck Cabin Fever

 

Intense guitar-based noise improv from Swedish project Schakalens Bror ('Jackal's Brother'), released on the fantastic Team Boro Tapes label in 2017. Brief (a little over twelve minutes) but very engaging. The closest comparison would be with the likes of Harry Pussy. 

 

A. Untitled

B1. Untitled

B2. Untitled

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Zwangsbeglucktertum - New Puritanism

Further harsh noise offering from Erik Nystrand, also bearing child abuse themes. Heavier than 'Man's Estrangement from Nature' with more low-end. A single sided cassette spanning around half an hour of noise. Released on The Gift of Music in 2017.

A. New Puritanism

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Zwangsbeglucktertum - Man's Estrangement from Nature

Swedish harsh noise from Erik Nystrand. Very classic sound and highly varied modulating textures. The cover features the eternally hideous Genesis P-Orridge, to whom the title appears to refer (Nystrand has also used images of Jimmy Saville in art for this project, to give an idea). Released on The Gift of Music in 2017, which seems to be a promising new label.

A. Infrared Lovers

B. Heat Seeking Sex Offender (Love, On The Rocks)

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Maim - Permanent Damage

Extreme, pedal to the metal harsh noise from Swede Jonas Lindberg's Maim moniker. Assaults relentlessly for one hours. Released as a CDr edition of fifty copies on Italian noise/industrial label Seven Sermones Ad Mortuos in 2005.

1. Hell's Gate

2. Cartilage

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Peking Crash Team / Drinkluder

Fresh high intensity harsh noise assault split from these two fresh projects. Short but succinct and impactful, with each side being enough of a variation to merit each project standing on its own. Released on Swedish web label Ominous Recordings this year as a cassette, now sold out. Available to buy digitally (name your price), here. 

 

A. Peking Crash Team - Det Riktiga Priset I A-finalen Är Att Ligga Med Volvotjejerna.

B. Drinkluder - Efter Loppet Rimmade Han Mig Medan Jag Drog Linor Från Huven.

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Åke Hodell - Spirit of Ecstasy; The Way to Nepal

"[...] Features two avant-garde masterworks from Swedish composer/artist, Åke Hodell. 'Spirit of Ecstasy (Racing Car Opera),' composed in 1977, is a bizarre experiment in 'non-music,' and an amazingly weird opera that tells the story of the first half of the 20th Century through that powerful symbol, the automobile. It features a compelling story despite consisting mostly of the repetitive chanting of car names, and it displays a witty sense of humor. 'The Way to Nepal (Landscape Music)' from 1971 is as unique and interesting, but more sombre, and noticeably darker in it's conception. It is as amazing as the first side, although probably the lesser known of the two. This package is beautiful and the reissue sounds crystal clear. A must-own album for avant-garde collectors, and a valuable work of experimental art." (From the Soundohm notes to the 2015 LP reissue. See here.)

A. Spirit Of Ecstasy (Racing Car Opera)

B. The Way To Nepal (Landscape Music)

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Government Alpha / Grkzgl / Heinz Hopf / Sissisters - Contemporary Harsh Noise Vol. V: Urbanization

The fifth in a series from Skeleton Dust Recordings, released in an edition of 100. Themes surround decadence and decay ("Waste", "Disconnection", "Convenience", "Apathy" and "Materialism" are other titles in the series). This is essentially a four-way split: two cassettes with a ten minute side for each of the four artists. Of particular note are the always excellent Yoshida Yasutoshi (Government Alpha, from Japan) and Swedish trio Matthias Andersson, Dan Johansson and Erik Nystrand (Heinz Hopf), one of the most interesting active harsh noise acts out of Scandinavia at the moment.

A. Government Alpha - Cell Congestion
B. Grkzgl - Invasion Of The Condo Snatchers
C. Heinz Hopf - Pentrera Amerika
D. Sissisters - Trust Exercise

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Bocksholm / Dusa / Niellerade Fallibilisthorstar / Vårtgård - Höga Nord

From Sweden's Segerhuva label. Some might call this a compilation, but as a rule I count such releases with four artists or less as a four-way split. Title translates as 'High North'. The packaging makes excellent use of antiquity and natural themes, so as the severe metal clangs open proceedings we get a sense of early modern Sweden and the scene on the cover (seemingly showing a beaten king). Comes with a 4x4 insert, with one panel for each track/artist and mostly in keeping with the label's art. 

A1. Bocksholm - Bögamord
A2. Dusa - Märkliga Timmar: Nattslut
B1. Niellerade Fallibilisthorstar - Aprillkretsen
B2. Vårtgård - Finkhällen

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Sharon's Last Party - Bayonets To Lhasa

Sadly the only full length release from this excellent Swedish project. Bayonets to Lhasa takes us through spacious, blistering drones evocative of Tibetan ritual chant into a sick cathartic madness of drums, swirling rhythms and piercing, babbling flutes. While the title might evoke the PLO advance on Lhasa in the Battle of Chamdo in 1949, the cover evokes a different form of movement into Tibet's holy city: some fever dream enchantment into an uncomfortable state of climactic nirvana.

A1. Nommo
A2. Nomnia
A3. No No

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Segerhuva - Sweetness Will Overcome

The definitive Segerhuva compilation and one of the best noise/industrial compilations of its decade. The cover evokes a murky, sinister underworld of urbane privacy and the sound running through the compilation is sophisticated, shadowy and intoxicating to match. Alongside this, there is a raw emotional current patterned into many of the compilation tracks and the title; a reflection of the bleeding heart-red of the cover. Much for the imagination. Scandinavian mainstays Sewer Election, MNEM, Ochu, Treriksröset and Blod take the fore, with a notable Japanoise appearance from Government Alpha. One of the few Sharon's Last Party tracks can also be heard here (an excellent and underrated project): a glitzy lounge jam underwritten by an intense, threatening synth drone. This track is an excellent proof-of-concept for the whole compilation. Drug trafficking discussed in hushed tones in a high end city bar.

1. Sewer Election - What Love Am I Supposed To Show You?
2. Koeff - Offer
3. Skin Area - Post-Raw
4. MNEM - Syphilitic Solar Surge
5. Jarl - Envägskommunikation
6. Moljebka Pvlse - Cora
7. Institut - Choose
8. Government Alpha - Dimple
9. Sharon's Last Party - Cocktail Pussycat
10. Treriksröset - Eating Tarmac
11. IRM - Like Hearts
12. Ochu - Uhmghnn-trådarna Som Tyglar Samvetets Svets
13. Martin Bladh - Safe As Me
14. Irgun Z'wai Leumi - Telefunkel
15. Barrikad - I Don't
16. Blod - Heartbreaker

mp3, 320kbps