Per NØRGÅRD (b. 1932)
A Light Hour (En Lys Time) (2008)
Percurama Percussion Ensemble/Gert Mortensen
rec. February 2009, Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen, Denmark
DACAPO 8.226100 [59:34]
Ready for a tantalising tone-feast or two? This through-composed version of
a work first performed at the Winter Solstice in Jutland 24 years ago, shows
Danish composer Per Nørgård at his most relaxed and rewarding.
Intended for ten percussionists, A Light Hour is divided into four
sections, each with its own melodic, rhythmic and textural characteristics;
they also draw on different traditions, such as Afro-Caribbean music in Part
II and the Far East in Part III. The composer specifies that each player produce
‘bright’ and ‘dark’ sounds from ‘skin, metal
and wood’, the music itself organised according to his so-called ‘infinity
series’. True, that may sound overly schematic - and reminiscent of
the improvisational fads of the 1960s - but this is a carefully notated, consistently
inspired work that should have wide appeal.
As a recent convert to Nørgård - albeit his post-infinity-series
opera Der
göttliche Tivoli - I’m constantly astounded by the range
of ear-catching sounds he conjures from percussion instruments. The opera
- also a Dacapo offering - features a hugely talented group of players called
Hoptiquaxes, who underpin the singers with music of vitality and vision. Here,
the Percurama Percussion Ensemble, made up of students and teachers from the
Royal Danish Academy of Music, is just as committed; as for the airy, unstressed
dynamics and detail of this recording, it does the musicians proud. Indeed,
the ‘tingle factor’ of this disc reminds me of Kroumata’s
Encores, superbly played and presented on BIS-SACD-1452.
So what of the work itself? Well, sometimes it’s best to cut back on
the analysis and let the music speak for itself. Suffice it to say, A Light
Hour presents a veritable smörgåsbord of rhythms and sonorities,
lightly flavoured by xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, gamelan and crotales.
Surely even those who shy away from such fare will be tempted by its enticing
sound-world? And although there’s real compositional rigour here you’d
never think it, such is the ease and elegance of this music. Miraculously,
Nørgård’s artful combination and opposition of rhythms
and textures makes his inventions sound consistently fresh and spontaneous
- and that’s quite a feat over 60 minutes. Factor in exemplary playing
and sonics and I daresay you’ll be coming back for more.
Dan Morgan
Ease and elegance … I daresay you’ll be coming back for more.