Edvard Grieg: Symphonic Dances – Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & Edward Gardner

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Classical Music 

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30 March 2024

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Edvard Hagerup Grieg:Before a Southern Convent Op. 20Bergliot Op. 42Funeral March: Rikard Nordraak in memoriam (Arr. for Orchestra by Johan Halvorsen)Symphonic Dances (4), Op. 64

Detailed Presentation

Edvard Hagerup Grieg:Funeral March: Rikard Nordraak in memoriam (Arr. for Orchestra by Johan Halvorsen)Symphonic Dances (4), Op. 64
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra)Edward Gardner (Conductor)
Edvard Hagerup Grieg:Bergliot Op. 42
Juni Dahr (Narrator)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra)Edward Gardner (Conductor)
Edvard Hagerup Grieg:Before a Southern Convent Op. 20
Mari Eriksmoen (Soprano)Astrid Nordstad (Mezzo-Soprano)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra)Edward Gardner (Conductor)

Grieg’s four Symphonic Dances are a late work, completed in 1898. Grieg takes his inspiration (as in so much of his output) from traditional Norwegian folk tunes, and the four movements together deliver a symphonic unity in their overall effect. Both Bergliot and Before a Southern Convent are written on texts by Grieg’s good friend the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, who was also a theatre manager in Oslo. Bjørnson is considered one of the four great Norwegian authors alongside Ibsen, Lie, and Kielland, received the 1903 Nobel Prize for literature, and wrote the words for the Norwegian national anthem. Bergliot – a declamation with orchestra – tells the story of a dramatic episode involving the chieftain Einar Tambarskjelve and his son Eindride, killed by King Harald Hårdråde. Before a Southern Convent is a more traditional setting – requiring two vocal soloists, female choir, and orchestra rather than the narrator of Bergliot – of the story of the folk-hero and barbarian Arnljot Gelline. In the course of his wild escapades, he killed a chieftain, but allowed the chieftain’s daughter, Ingigerd, to live. This daughter left the homestead and wandered southwards in poverty – through Europe. At long last she arrived at a convent which granted her admittance. The album is completed by the Funeral March for Rikard Nordraak – a friend of Grieg’s, who died of tuberculosis in 1866. Grieg conceived it first for solo piano, but whilst travelling by train to Bergen to attend Grieg’s funeral, Johan Halvorsen made the orchestral arrangement heard in this recording.

Reviews

BBC Music Magazine March 2024

“What [Grieg] does with folk material is so enchanting that, in this beautiful incarnation with the Bergen players delivering so freshly and responding so well to Gardner’s rhythmic drive in the livelier sequences, you’ll be compelled throughout. – 5 out of 5 stars