As one who has spent quite some time in Norway since my first visit as a student, I felt very at home with this disc, even more so with the first track, the Kings Song, where the tune is that of God Save the King which also happens to be the National Anthem of Great Britain. An extensive and fascinating booklet essay by Erik Fosnes Hansen takes us through the sounds that Norwegians hear from their childhood on Constitution Day, and discusses how to capture them for a recording for this special day. This year (2014) is the 200th Anniversary of Norways Constitution; the oldest constitution still in action after that of the USA. On Constitution Day, 17th of May, the whole country will be celebrating. School bands march through the streets, joined or watched by others - also marking the onset of Spring and the freedom of movement which that brings to northern lands. In school, children sing songs of praise for their country and its history (with not a Viking in sight!). As their contribution to the Anniversary, 2L join with the famed Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces - Forsvarets stabsmusikkorps (conductor Ingar Bergby) and the Schola Cantorum choir (conductor Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl) to perform a selection of the most important music traditionally associated with Constitution Day. Choral items are interspersed with wind band pieces (mainly marches) by Norwegian composers such as Halvorsen, Svensen, Grieg (of course!), Borg and Rikard Nordraak, who composed the National Anthem, Ja, vi elsker dette landet. This is an uplifting programme of greater musical quality than one would expect from mere nationalism . Satisfactory recording of marching bands outdoors is nearly impossible, and in addition, merging a wind band with a mixed-voice chorus is a tricky marriage. Morten Lindberg and his team selected two church venues in Oslo with large enough space to let the music truly expand - the indoors outdoors, as it were. The Uranienborg Church just behind the Royal Palace is Late C19th Gothic, and seats 1020. Given the large acoustic of the church, with evidence from the recording of reflections decaying for several seconds after the music stops, and the sensationally immersive and thrilling sound from the combined musical forces, I suspect that the choir/band sessions were held in the Uranienborg. The wind band alone, however, seems to be in a smaller (but still airy) venue, and the modernistic Jar Church in Baerum with light brick walls and a very steep roof would fit the bill. In multichannel, it produces a solid stage image with fabulous detail and pin-sharp positional focus, despite the lively acoustic. Hansen in his booklet essay (The Sound of Gold and Freedom) puts the music and also the concept of loving ones land in context. He considers patriotism in its literary sense, discusses what Nationalism means to Norwegians in particular and also visits the problematic side of Nationalism in our present world, mindful of the extreme Nationalistic terror which sadly visited Norway only a few years ago. Im sure that for most Norwegians, the coming Anniversary day will have a special significance. Musically, this disc is an unexpected feast. Traditional arrangements have been polished up or renewed and the National Anthem (Ja, vi elske) is played in its entirety for the first time in ages. The band plays a whole range of colourful accompaniments to the anthems stanzas, from solo descants to menacing bass drum rolls, elfin muted trumpets and sparkling glockenspiel notes. The playing and singing indicate the total joy of the performers in the project, and the musicians spontaneous brilliance is breath-taking from the very first bars. Yet there is much soft, tender music from both choir and band, who each demonstrate their professionalism and innate skill in passages of great beauty. There is also a good deal of humorous self-deprecation by the Band, for example the very cheeky Bojarernes Indtogsmarsch (Entry March of the Boyars) by Halvorsen. - John Miller, SA-CD.net https://shop.klicktrack/2l/433510
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 07:54:15 +0000
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