Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Bjarte Engeset - Norwegian Classical Favourites 1 & 2 (2004)

Tracklist

Norwegian Classical Favourites 1
01. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: I. Morning Mood
02. Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46: IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King
03. 6 Stucke, Op. 32: III. Rustle of Spring (Arr. for Orchestra)
04. Fantasy Pieces, Op. 45: Summer Song
05. The Wedding At Dovre
06. Norsk kunstnerkarneval (Norwegian Artists' Carnival), Op. 14
07. Valdres Marsj (Valdres March)
08. Bojarernes intogsmarsch (Entry March of the Boyars)
09. Funeral March, Op. 41
10. Maria Stuart i Skotland (Arr. J. Halvorsen): Purpose
11. Maria Stuart i Skotland (Arr. J. Halvorsen): Valse caprice
12. Forest Clearing, Op. 15
13. Liti Kersti Suite: Bjorgulv the Fiddler
14. Festival Polonaise, Op. 12
15. Norwegian Dances, Op. 35: No. 2 in A Major
16. 2 Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34: II. Last Spring

Following Norway’s independence from Denmark, granted in 1814, many Norwegian composers, schooled in the German romantic tradition, began to look for a specifically Norwegian idiom inspired by folk-song, dance and poetry. This collection of Norwegian classical favourites ranges from pieces by Grieg, Sinding and Svendsen to works by their lesser-known contemporaries, many of which, including Hanssen’s Valdres-March (one of ‘The Ten Best Marches in the World’), Halvorsen’s march the Entry of the Boyars (for many years the signature tune for a radio classical request programme, and his most performed work) and the Funeral March of Ole Olsen, the ‘world’s most northern composer’, are deserving of wider recognition.

Norwegian Classical Favourites 2
01. Peer Gynt Suite, Op. 28: I. The Devil's Five-Hop
02. Peer Gynt Suite, Op. 28: II. Hymn Against The Boyg
03. Peer Gynt Suite, Op. 28: III. Mixed Company
04. A Hundred Hardanger Tunes, Op. 151: I. A Hundred Hardanger Tunes: Welcome With Honour
05. A Hundred Hardanger Tunes, Op. 151: II. Langeleik Tune
06. A Hundred Hardanger Tunes, Op. 151: III. Hardanger Ale
07. At Evening, Op. 60
08. Hjalarljod Overture, Op. 38
09. Out Towards The Sea
10. Legend
11. Little Overture, Op. 11
12. Bol's Song
13. The Ballad of Revolt, Op. 22
14. The Churchyard by the Sea, Op. 20
15. Scenes from Norwegian Fairy Tales, Op. 37: II - The Princess Riding on the Bear
16. Scenes from Norwegian Fairy Tales, Op. 37: III - Entry of the Trolls Into the Blue Mountain
17. Scenes from Norwegian Fairy Tales, Op. 37: IV - Dance of the Little Trolls

Following on from the previous collection of Norwegian Classical Favourites (Naxos 8.557017), this selection of orchestral works marks the transition between the more traditional music inspired by folk-song, dance and poetry as exemplified by Grieg, Sinding and Svendsen, and the music of the ‘progressive’ composers active in the 1920s. Amongst the best known are the individualist Harald Sæverud who explained that his music grew “out of the Norwegian soil and the landscape – not from Norwegian folk-music”, the even more radical Fartein Valen, whose The churchyard by the sea was popularised by many conductors, including Stokowski and Markevitch, and Geirr Tveitt whose highly individual style is heard to best effect on this recording in Hardanger ale, a Norwegian version of Ravel’s Boléro.

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