Ole Bull, Norwegian Romantic hero and possibly the model for Ibsen’s
Peer Gynt, occupied a unique place in his nation’s affections.
He was the fulcrum of the country’s mid nineteenth century musico-literary
aspirations and the one towering figure of European stature. It’s
not surprising that his own compositions sought to reflect his
lineage and that of the Norwegian muse and that his wide travelling
gave him the opportunity to serenade concert halls across Europe
and America with the romantic vistas embodied in them.
This disc seeks
to explore these features of his art. Arve Tellefsen, a Bull
redivivus, takes on the violinistic honours with his accustomed
allure and stature. Tellefsen has never shied away from the
lighter environs of the repertoire as several discs attest and
one thing he doesn’t lack is charm. It’s an under appreciated
facet and imbues Bull’s Nocturne with tremendous warmth
and a delicate refinement. It’s true that a number of Bull’s
compositions cleave strongly to the Germanic mainstream and
lack real individuality however superbly they may be written
for the violin. But A Mountain Vision brings with it
the sense of vista and space, Beethoven and birdcall, lush orchestral
underpin and verdancy that proves captivating. Bull was fond
of integrating the fiddle music he knew so well into the fabric
of some of his scores – here appositely – alongside some entertaining
double-stopping demands to ensure the executant is on his technical
toes.
It’s clear from
Adagio Religioso - A Mother’s Prayer written when he
was twenty-four, that Bull must have had exceptional intonation
as it takes the player high up the fingerboard. This is a very
expressive, romantic opus with plenty of sweet lyricism. What
a shame that Bull died before he had the chance to record.
One of his compositional models was Paganini, in whose shadow
he walked as a virtuoso. The Polacca Guerriera has been
orchestrated by Harald Heide and arranged for violin by Arve
Tellefsen but its ceremonial brass and ripe, flashy Paganinian
rhetoric attests to the influence. Tellefsen plays it as if
he believes every note – as he must.
It’s valuable to
enjoy the slow movement – warmly limpid – of the E minor Violin
Concerto but rather more intriguing is the Cantabile doloroso
e Rondo giocoso which was written four years earlier, in
1837. This sounds programmatic to me, bathed in revolutionary
wine, possibly pitting an individual against a mass, from the
sound of the distribution of the thing; or maybe an operatic
scena such as Paganini often played. Bull swings between the
grandiose, such as this, and the modestly lyric, such as La
Mélancolie “I ensomme stunde.” Something like the Scotch
Fantasy is a rather by-rote piece of Euro-Folk and that’s
a component of his writing as well.
There are musical
reminiscences here - the Andante maestoso from Agiaco
Cubano for example - and musical theatre pieces, as well
as parts of bigger works (the slow movement of the Concerto
for instance) and morceaux. Bull’s muse was broadly contemplative
and insinuating, steeped in lyricism and central European romanticism,
but also dashingly Paganinian when he needed to be. All sides
of the Bull personality are covered here.
Tellefsen plays
beautifully and his accompanists are fully supportive as is
the warmly inviting recorded sound. The notes are especially
attractive, full of detail and some excellent photographs.
Jonathan Woolf
Arve Tellefsen
(violin) 
[73:06]
