Tag Archives: Axel Borup-Jørgensen

New Music from Faroese Master Sunleif Rasmussen with soloist Michala Petri


OUR 6.220674

Sunleif Rasmussen is the best known composer from the Faroe Islands which are about mid way between Iceland and Denmark. He turned 60 on March 19th. He is certainly lauded in his homeland but his works have demonstrated him to be an artist whose reputation can hardly be contained by a single country. His works favorably compare with the finest composers from all of the Nordic countries (Iceland, Faroe Islands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland). His work is known, as it should be, internationally.

This most recent release on the Danish label OUR Recordings contains music written between 2009 and 2014. All of these works are collaborations with the wonderful recorder player Michala Petri, a Danish artist whose name is as easily recognized as predecessors like David Munrow and Frans Brüggen. She is arguably the first lady of the recorder and the instruments most prominent advocate having first taken up the instrument at the age of three. and gone on to play over 4000 concerts.

The recorder is featured in several different contexts from solo to collaborations with choral, chamber, and orchestral groups. These contexts serve to demonstrate Petri’s facility as a performer as well as Rasmussen’s range of compositional vision.

The album opens with Flow (2012) for recorder and string trio. Here Petri is joined by the Esbjerg Ensemble String Trio with Bogdan Bozovic, violin; Michele Camile, viola; and Pau Codina Masferrer, cello. The piece was conceived as a companion piece to Mozart’s Flute Quartet K.285 (for flute and string trio). This work, in three movements utilizes a variety of extended techniques on the recorder and Petri’s collaboration was essential to provide the composer with information of the possibilities of such techniques with her instrument. The string writing is also laden with harmonics and techniques that were virtually unknown in Mozart’s time. To be clear, this “companion” piece is more homage than imitation but there are phrases which are clearly neoclassical nods to the Austrian master.

“I” (2011) is for the unusual grouping of recorder with chamber choir (with alto and tenor soloists) in a setting of a poem by Danish poet Inger Christensen whose text is a response to Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”(1917). Christensen’s poem is a personal (and dare I say feminist) response to Stevens’ classic work. Lyrical writing in the composer’s essentially tonal idiom belie the intricate structures of this brief setting. It is clearly a challenge for all but the Danish National Vocal Ensemble under their director Stephen Layton, along with Petri, deliver a truly excellent performance.

Next up is a piece for solo recorder, “Sorrow and Joy Fantasy” (2011), essentially a set of variations on a theme. It is based on a folk melody which was applied to the Thomas Kingo (1634-1703) sacred poem/hymn, Sorrow and Joy. There are twelve variations each with increasing demands on the soloist. It is a stunning vehicle for Petri’s lyricism and virtuosity.

Next is “Winter Echoes” (2014), an homage to the late Danish master Axel Borup-Jørgensen whose work has been championed by OUR records. This piece, scored for recorder and 13 solo strings. Petri is accompanied by the Lapland Chamber Orchestra under Clemens Schuldt. It sounds like a concerto in all but name. The piece requires Petri to play bass, tenor, alto, soprano and sopranino recorders as the piece progresses from low to high, dark to light. Extended instrumental techniques are present for the recorder soloist and the the string players.

The final piece, and the one from which this album derives its title, is “Territorial Songs” (2009). This concerto for recorder and orchestra finds Petri accompanied by the Aaborg Symphony Orchestra under Henrik Vagn Christensen. It is cast in five movements. The composer states that he was inspired by bird song in composing this piece, an inspiration shared by Olivier Messiaen most famously but also by composers who have written for the recorder. Again we have music that is lyrical, basically tonal, and virtuosic for both soloist and orchestra. Rasmussen’s facility with orchestral color make for an exciting listening experience and, as always, Petri meets the considerable demands with grace and seeming ease.

The recording, as seems to be the case with all The OUR Recordings that have met these ears, is bright and clear. The liner notes include a statement from the composer and a very welcome and useful set of liner notes by my friend and colleague Joshua Cheek who alerted me to this release. He provides insight and detail that enhance one’s appreciation of the music. The photography and design are both beautiful and distinctive. Lars Hannibal deserves high marks for his work as producer. It is a fine 60th birthday gift to Maestro Rasmussen and a major release for Ms. Petri. If you don’t know Rasmussen’s work (or Petri’s for that matter) this is a fine introduction that will have the listener craving more.

Michala Petri and Sunleif Rasmussen at Other Minds in San Francisco, 2013
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Axel Borup-Jørgensen’s Floating Islands, New Music for Guitar


jorgensen

OUR Recordings 6.220672

OUR recordings (Lars Hannibal, producer) continues its survey of the inexplicably little known Axel Borup-Jørgensen (1924-2012).  I first encountered this composer when I received for review the earlier disc of his percussion music (reviewed here) and later when I received the CD/DVD of his orchestral music (reviewed here).  He belongs to a lineage of Danish composers whose work dominated the Danish music scene of the mid to late twentieth century and just a dip in the water of the twenty first.

The lucid liner notes by my esteemed colleague Joshua Cheek put the composer in context where his reputation lives among his contemporaries Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996), Niels Viggo Bentzon (1919-2000), and his students Per Nørgard (1932- ), Ib Nørholm (1931- ), and Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (1932-2016).  Indeed these are the names to know if you want to learn about post 1950s classical music in Denmark.

This disc focuses on his guitar music and features the fine young Danish guitarist Frederik Munk Larsen who studied with Erling Moldrup for whom the composer wrote some of his music.  His virtuosity, passion, and commitment to this music are evident in the careful readings of this somewhat diverse music ranging from the Preambula, Op. 72 (1974-76) to the Floating Islands, Op. 169 (2000-2), a series of pieces which, appropriately, float in amongst the other tracks (in non-adjacent tracks).

The recording, as seems to be the standard of this label, is quite excellent and lucid.  This is not a complete recording of the guitar music but a representative selection which will  hopefully lead to another volume of guitar works and a recording of his Guitar Concerto “deja vu”, Op. 99.

There are 19 tracks with most  lasting 5 minutes or less (he is not afraid of brevity when it suits his compositional needs) but the early Preambula, Op. 72 and the Für Gitarre, Op. 86 each take some 15 minutes in performance.  All of the music comes across as carefully crafted and the briefer pieces contain worlds unto themselves as do the longer ones.  No electronics, maybe just a few extended techniques, mostly just good music for the competent guitarist (worthy of note is that the producer, Lars Hannibal is a highly accomplished guitarist himself).

The music is enjoyable but this is also a very important historical document (with excellent documentation) which nicely fills a gap in the historical record of the story of classical music in Denmark.  As a result I will leave it to the listener to peruse the very useful liner notes as they learn of this unique composer’s oeuvre.  And of course enthusiasts of guitar music will be enthralled as well.

My 2018 in the Arts


One of the Theater Organs at House on the Rock, Spring Green, WI, a really fun place to visit.


I’m skeptical about year end lists but I have enough people asking me that it would be impertinent to skip this task. I make no claims to having even listened to enough to make any definitive statements about the “best” but I have my own quirky criteria which I hope at least stirs interest. Here goes.

Let’s start with the most read reviews. Without a doubt the prize here goes to Tim Brady’s “Music for Large Ensemble”. This reviewer was enthralled by this recording by this Canadian musician whose work needs to be better known.

This little gem was sent to me by a producer friend and I liked it immediately. I knew none of these composers but I enjoyed the album tremendously. Don’t let the unusual name “Twiolins” stop you. This is some seriously good music making. It is my sleeper of the year.

Running close behind the Twiolins is the lovely album of post minimalist miniatures by the wonderful Anne Akiko Meyers. Frequently these named soloist albums of miniatures are targeted at a “light music” crowd. Well this isn’t light music but it is quite listenable and entertaining.


The creative programming and dedicated playing made this a popular review to New Music Buff readers. Definitely want to hear more from the Telegraph Quartet.

Another disc sent by my friend Joshua. This one is a DVD/CD combo of music by a composer whose existence was only revealed to me a couple of years ago. Marin includes a clever animated video which accompanies the title track.

I was fortunate enough to have been able to hear Terry Riley and Gloria Cheng in an all Terry Riley program at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Both were in spectacular form and the audience was quite pleased.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include the fabulous 6 night series of concerts produced by Other Minds. This is why I am a rabid advocate of OM programs. More on that soon with OM 24 coming up.

And lastly I want to tell you about two more composers who are happily on my radar.

One of the joys of reviewing CDs is the discovery of new artists to follow. Harold Meltzer is now in that group for me. This basically tonal composer has a real feel for writing for the voice and has turned out some seriously interesting chamber music.

Another composer unknown to these ears. I bristle at the term “electroacoustic” because it sometimes means experimental or bad music. Not so here. Moe is fascinating. Definitely worth your time.

OK, gonna can the objectivity here to say that this is possibly the most underappreciated album I’ve heard this year. Combining a recording of the Debussy Preludes along with Schoenberg’s rarely heard “Hanging Gardens”, Webern’s Variations, and Berg’s Piano Sonata creates a picture of a moment in history when music moved from impressionism to expressionism. Jacob Greenberg is very much up to the task. Buy this one and listen, please. It’s wonderful.

Also beyond objectivity is this fascinating major opus by Kyle Gann. It didn’t get much recognition on my blog but it’s a major work that deserves your attention if you like modern music.

Well this is one of my favorite reviews in terms of the quality of my writing. The work is most wonderful as well. Though this review was actually published on December 31st I’m still including it in my 2018.

This is definitely cheating on my part but after that concert at Yerba Buena I can’t resist making folks aware of this wonderful set on the independent label, “Irritable Hedgehog”. Trust me, if you like Riley, you need this set.

I review relatively few books on this site but by far the most intriguing and important book that has made it across my desk to this blog is Gay Guerilla. The efforts of Mary Jane Leach, Renee Levine Packer, Luciano Chessa, and others are now helping to establish an understanding of this composer who died too young. Here’s looking forward to next year.

I know I have left out a great deal in this quirky year end selection but I hope that I have not offended anyone. Peace and music to all.

Piano Music by Axel Borup-Jørgensen, a Lost Master?


axelpiano

I had reviewed another disc of this composer’s music on this label here and I must admit that it took me quite a while to meaningfully grasp the music of this too little known Danish composer (1924-2012).  It should be no secret that the Danes have had and continue to have a rich musical culture and have produced quite a number of world class composers and this man is no exception.  However his style, apparently gleaned from his association with the modernists of Darmstadt, can be a tough nut to crack.

As with the aforementioned disc one might require multiple listenings before coming to realize that this man has a unique style and one that bears some serious attention.  This disc of piano music (and one piece for celesta) fills a gap in his recorded repertoire and is an excellent opportunity to see how he works in the genre of keyboard music.

These ten tracks contain works written from 1949 to 1988 so they cover a significant portion of his career and illustrate the development of his style.  Pianist Erik Kaltoft, a longtime associate of the composer, demonstrates interpretive skill as well as virtuosity and dedication in this fascinating survey.

The first (and longest 11:29) piece is Thalatta! Thalatta! (1987-88) and is given the opus number of 127.  The exclamation of the title translates as, “The Sea! The Sea!” and is said to have been spoken by the Greek armies upon reaching the Black Sea during one of their campaigns.  It is an impressionistic piece about the many moods of the sea.  His harmonies are like a modern update of Debussy, a bit more dissonant but providing a similarly soft focused feel.

Continuing with the maritime theme are the 6 miniatures called Marine Sketches (1949) opus 4b.  It is one of the earliest compositions in this collection (along with the Miniature Suite opus 3b, also 1949, on track 8).  Each of the pieces lasts around one minute and there are no track breaks to separate them.  The composer seems to expect that they will always be performed together and with a total time of 6:53, why not?  In contrast to the first piece these contain more melodic contours with less overall dissonance but clearly the same compositional fingerprint.

The four Winter Pieces opus 30b (1959) contain more energetic rhythms but with strategic silences punctuating the overall flow.  They end with a brief epilogue.

From winter we move to another season with the Summer Intermezzi opus 65 (1971) comes back to the sound world of the first track.  Here he experiments with different techniques to expand the language of the keyboard and incorporates the strategic silences of the piece on the former track.

Track 5 contains the earliest piece in this collection, Pasacaglia opus 2b (1948) which seems to suggest some influence of Scriabin.  It is a classic set of variations over the initial bass line and has a rather romantic feel.

Raindrop Interludes opus 144 (1994) is an impressionistic suite with the more dissonant style of his other later pieces.  It is the most recently composed of the recorded selections.

Epigrams opus 78 (1976) at 9:15, is the second longest piece here.  This is one of the most abstract pieces on the disc and demands concentration from both the performer and the listener to perceive delicate statements made with a wide dynamic range.

The Miniaturesuite opus 3b concentrates a praeludium, fantasia, interludium, sarabande and a repeat of praeludium in a brief 2:49.  It is more melodic and less dissonant in keeping with the composer’s earlier style.

Praeludier opus 30a (1958-9) are seven pithy and brief preludes.

The last track contains Phantasiestùck opus 115 (1985) written for celesta.  This instrument, forever doomed to familiarity by its use  in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, has a limited repertoire and this gentle abstract piece is a welcome addition.  It is consistent with the composer’s late style using dissonance and silences in an almost meditative and strangely nostalgic piece.

The extensive and useful liner notes are by Trine Boje Mortensen and are printed in both Danish and English (translation by John Irons).  The fine recording and mastering are by Preben Iwan in the fine acoustics of the Royal Danish Academy of Music.  Grateful assistance and input from the composer’s daughter Elisabet Selin.

One needs to be cautioned never to take lightly anything produced from this creative country and this album is proof of that.  Kudos to OUR recordings for bringing this music to the listening public.

 

 

 

 

Percussion Extravaganza: Music of Axel Borup-Jorgenson


Axel Borup-Jørgensen (1924-2012)

Axel Borup-Jørgensen (1924-2012)

 

While I listen to a great deal of music I realize that I have a far less than comprehensive view of the percussion genre. And this is a composer about whom I knew nothing at all until I received this disc for review. Axel Borup-Jørgensen (1924-2012) was a highly respected and decorated Danish composer. This makes him a contemporary of two Danish composers whose work I do know, Per Nørgård (1932- ) and Ib Nørholm (1931- )

A bit of research reveals that there is a soundcloud page with a great selection of his works here. He is reportedly best known for his orchestral work Nordisk Pastorale Op. 51 (1965).

He is described as a modernist but not in the redefining the nature of music modernism of Cage and his peers nor is it simply academic modernism heaping unending honors to and variations on Schoenberg’s methods. This composer’s modernism is creative but not particularly difficult listening.

The Percussion Universe of Axel Borup-Jorgensen (OUR recordings 6.220608)

The Percussion Universe of Axel Borup-Jorgensen
(OUR recordings 6.220608)

But now we come to the disc at hand, a selection of his work for various groupings of percussion, sometimes with additional solo instruments such as viola, recorder and, in one track, a brass quintet. This is an excellent recording which, one customer review noted, would be a good audiophile test disc. The performances are dedicated and virtuosic. Violist Tim Frederiksen and recorder virtuoso Michaela Petri lend their substantial talents to this recording as does the Brass Quintet of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Now to the music itself. I must confess that this music, unfolding slowly, using a wide range of percussion instruments was not easy to grasp but requires a bit of concentration. I think this disc will be more interesting as I learn some of this man’s other compositions and place them in context.   I think this recording will be of great interest to percussionists as well as devotees of this composer.  And three of the five works featured  on this recording are world premieres.

All this is held together by veteran percussionist and conductor Gert Mortensen.  The album was recorded at the Concert Hall of the Royal Danish Academy of Music.  It was produced, mixed and mastered by Preben Iwan with thankfully informative liner notes by Jens Brincker and Henrik Friis were translated by John Irons.

The Danes have a rich musical history which this disc celebrates and the documentation of this lesser known composer’s work is a welcome addition to the catalog.

Axel Borup-Jørgensen at his work desk.

Axel Borup-Jørgensen at his work desk.