Hugo Alfvén - Cantatas Vol. 2 (Arvo Volmer)

Information

Composer: Hugo Alfvén

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

Charlotta Larsson, soprano

Fredrik Zetterström, baritone

Peter Boman, bass

Malmö Opera Choir & Orchestra

Arvo Volmer, conductor

Date: 2003

Label: Sterling

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Review

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

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

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

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

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

— Marc Rochester

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Hugo Alfvén (1 May 1872 – 8 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter. Born in Stockholm, he studied at the Royal College of Music, as well as in Brussels and Dresden. From 1910 to 1939 he was Director musices at the University of Uppsala. Alfvén is considered as one of Sweden's foremost composers whose music combined central European stylistic features with Swedish folk music. Among his works are a large number of pieces for male voice choir, five symphonies and three Swedish Rhapsodies. Alfvén was also a talented watercolor painter and a gifted writer.

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Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962, in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. He studied at the Tallinn and Leningrad Conservatoires, as well as with Helmuth Rilling. Volmer has been chief conductor and artistic director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (1993–2001) and the Estonian National Opera (2004–12, 2019–). Outside Estonia, he has led the Oulu Symphony Orchestra in Finland (1994–2005), the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Australia (2004–13), and Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento in Italy (2014–20). His diverse discography can be found on Alba Records, Toccata and ABC Classics. 

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