Arctic Hysteria
Atso ALMILA (b. 1953) Wind Quintet II Arctic Hysteria
(2006) [19:53]
Pehr Henrik NORDGREN (1944 – 2008) The Good Samaritan Op.141
(2007) [9:49]; Quintet No.2 for Winds Op.22 (1975) [16:23]
Joonas KOKKONEN (1921 – 1996) Wind Quintet (1973) [10:56]
Arktinen Hysteria Wind Quintet
rec. The Sello Hall, 20-22 February 2009
ALBA ABCD 307 [57:31]
First of all do not be put off by the generic title, the subtitle of Almila’s
Second Wind Quintet or by the name of the performing ensemble. There is nothing
hysterical here, be it in the music or in the actual playing. On the contrary,
what we have is a happily varied programme of Finnish works for wind quintet
of which the Kokkonen is by far the best known piece.
I must admit (again!) that Almila’s name and music are completely new to me.
Browsing through his list of works available on the Finnish Music Information
Centre’s website shows that he has a huge and varied catalogue to his credit.
His Second Wind Quintet Arctic Hysteria is in fact a kind of
suite comprising six character pieces. The meditative and melancholy first
movement New Thousand and Six seems to allude to “a deeply tragic event”
about which we are not told anything at all. The next movement Neither
and Nor is a brief Scherzo. This is followed by a rather dark-hued movement
Name of the Blame with clear allusions to the Dies Irae and
some disturbing or ambiguous elements. The next movement is a fairly simple
and quite beautiful lullaby. The fifth movement, too, is another rather straightforward
piece of great delicacy. The final movement Arctic Hysteria opens with
an arresting fanfare launching what I could best describe as a surreal kaleidoscope
in which a marching tune clashes with shadowed hints of The Internationale
and a Finnish folk tune. The movement and the whole work end unresolved. What
comes clearly through here is the superbly crafted and effective writing for
winds.
The late Pehr Henrik Nordgren seems to be a sort of house composer since Alba
has already released a number of discs entirely devoted to his music, most
of which I have reviewed here ALBA
ABCD288; ALBA
ABCD269; ALBA
ABCD294; ALBA
ABCD308) He composed two wind quintets (Op.11 Three Enticements
– 1970 and Op.22 recorded here) as well as The Good Samaritan Op.141.
Incidentally, the notes about the Arctic Hysteria Wind Quintet mention a third
wind quintet that I have not been able to identify, so that remark might actually
be about The Good Samaritan Op.141.) Nordgren’s The Good
Samaritan is a miniature tone poem. It opens calmly, hymn-like before
leading into the rather fierce central section describing how the traveller
was beaten by the robbers and ignored by the lofty priest and the Levite and
eventually rescued by the despised Samaritan. The piece ends calmly as it
began with a peaceful benediction. The Wind Quintet No.2 Op.22
was composed after the composer’s return from Japan. It is in three movements,
the first of which displays some minimalism, which was then new in Nordgren’s
music, but the music unfolds freely, with lively rhythms and colourful textures.
The second movement might well be the work’s slow movement with a brief, animated
central section. The music is characterised by mildly dissonant harmonies.
The third movement opens with a long solo played by the alto flute alluding
to the Japanese shakuhachi, later joined by soft humming from the other players
imbuing the music with a slight oriental colour. The music then becomes more
animated and, at times, allows for a short cadenza for each instrument. A
brief, varied restatement of the opening leads into the peaceful, dreamy coda.
As already mentioned Kokkonen’s compact Wind Quintet is the best known work
here. It was composed when the composer was at work on his opera The
Last Temptations, and the wind quintet served as a workshop in which
the composer tried out various ideas that were later more fully developed
in the opera. This is a typical Kokkonen work in which not a single note is
wasted.
So, in short, this is a varied programme of worthy pieces all superbly played
and well recorded. The only complaint that I might voice again is about the
rather short playing time that might have allowed the inclusion of Nordgren’s
first wind quintet. This notwithstanding, what we have here is a very fine
release up to Alba’s best standards.
Hubert Culot
A varied programme of fine works in excellent performances and recording,