Pelle GUDMUNDSEN-HOLMGREEN (b. 1932)
Eksempler (Examples)(1970) [9:08]
Ikke blot hende (Not only she) [2:04]
Morgen (Morning) [1:43]
Born kender overmagt (Children encounter superiority) [00:15]
Barn rodkindet (Child red-cheeked) [0:59]
Gammel mand i meditation (Old man meditating) [3:17]
Pa traeet er der et blad (On the tree is a leaf) [0:15]
Igen (Again)(2006) [17:32]
Sol gar op, sol gar ned I (Sun goes up, sun goes down I) [4:07]
Tid til… (Time to…) [5:51]
Sol har op, sol gar ned II (Sun goes up, sun goes down II) [7:54]
6 Enkle Danske Sange (6 Simple Danish Songs) (2002) [9:05]
Forarsnat (Spring night) [2:19]
Sovende pige (Sleeping girl) [1:52]
Min nye kjole (My new dress) [1:04]
Barn rodkindet (Child red-cheeked) [00:56]
Digt med ikke (Poem with not) [1:34]
Det pa billeder (Something in pictures) [1:21]
Konstateringer I (Statements I) (1969) [6:05]
Episk tekst (Epic text) I-VI
Konstateringer (Statements)
I-II [1:25]
Tre stadier (Three stages) (2003)
I gademe (In the streets) [4:08]
I skovene (In the woods) [4:16]
Gader, skove, som bolgerne (Streets, woods, like as the waves) [4:40]
Fire Madrigaler fra Naturens Verden (Four Madrigals from the Natural
World) (2001)
Flagermus' ulralyd (Bat's ultrasound) [3:15]
Elefanters oktav (The Octave of elephants) [8:16]
Kohejre (Cattle egret) [2:06]
Komet (Comet) [2:26]
Ars Nova Copenhagen/Paul Hillier
rec. Stavnsholt Kirke 12-14 March 2008 (Statements, Examples); Garnisons Kirke
29 November-1 December 2009 (Danish Songs, Three Stages, Four Madrigals);
1 March 2010 (Again). Danish texts and English translations provided. A DXD
recording
DACAPO 6.220583 [70:57]
There are some fine choirs in the far north, and I’ve been fortunate
to review a few of their discs here. For instance, the YL and Talla choruses
from Finland in a cappella works by Einojuhani Rautavaara - review
- Norway’s Bærum Vokalensemble and Ensemble 96 in music by Knut
Nystedt - review
- and now, in pieces by the Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, we
have Ars Nova Copenhagen. This isn’t a full list, merely a sample of
the sophisticated, high-spec choral singing now on offer in these countries.
Ars Nova, under their much-lauded conductor Paul Hillier, are new to me, but
it didn’t take long to realise that this is a top-notch ensemble, very
well recorded. The music of Gudmundsen-Holgreen may be something of an acquired
taste, its quirkiness of style and content a challenge for singers and audience
alike. After the obligatory rites of passage in the 1960s - including flirtations
with serialism - this composer adopted a form of minimalism described as ‘the
new simplicity’. One shouldn’t take such labels at face value,
for as I’ve already hinted that doesn’t necessarily mean this
music is easy to perform.
The cool, somewhat bleached sound of this choir is typical of the breed. In
the texts of Examples Gudmundsen-Holmgreen captures the prevailing
zeitgeist - the work was written in 1970 - encompassing preoccupations
with gender in ‘Not only she’, and the drowsy narcissism of the
age in ‘Morning’; meanwhile, in the gnomic texts of ‘Children
encounter superiority’ we surely have a nod towards e e cummings. And,
in keeping with the pseudo-mystical tendencies of the time, the texts are
sometimes mere fragments (‘On the tree is a leaf’).
Ars Nova’s sound is rarefied and superbly focused; while they’re
well caught I did wish for a little more air in this recording. That said,
it sounds just fine in both the Red Book and Super Audio layers, high-lying
passages emerging with astonishing naturalness and clarity. That’s particularly
true of the writing in Again, based on Biblical texts, where the voices
circle and twine most artfully, the gentle breath of ‘Time to…’
a marking of the passage of life itself. This is music of rare skill and beauty,
magnificently sung.
I must confess that on first hearing I felt somewhat distanced by both the
sound of this choir and Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s slow-moving vocal lines,
but there’s an inner richness and complexity to the writing that reveals
itself on repeated hearings. A deeply contemplative core, if you like, and
really rather moving as well. And despite its title, the Six Danish Songs
finds a remarkably poignant spirit in small things, from the love and loss
of ‘Sleeping girl’ to the repeated cadences of ‘Poem with
[the word] not’ (insertion mine). The latter is lightly sprung and airily
sung - a real joy to hear.
In Statements we return to the composer’s earlier style, with
its trendy texts and more experimental touches; here the women’s long,
winding lines are literally punctuated by short plosives from the men. It’s
very effective, although it gets a little repetitive after a while. Those
small misgivings aside, there’s no doubting the commitment of these
singers - their intonation and blend is simply astonishing. Three stages
is much earthier in sound and sentiment, a veritable shopping list of capitalist
clichés and consumerist cravings; for instance, in a circling antiphon
the men and women engage in the strangest dialogues - ‘Money, money/Buy,
buy/Toyota! Mazda! CO2! CO2!’ and ‘Get! To! Heck! Barseback!’
It gets rather more explicit, but it’s essayed with such glee and good
humour that I doubt anyone could be offended. Well crafted and weirdly entertaining,
Three stages makes a perfect foil for the more ‘serious’
pieces in this collection. But whatever the mood or musical demands, Ars Nova
and Paul Hillier never fail to please. And, as you might imagine, the choir
has great fun with the ‘Bat’s ultrasound’ and assorted calls
of the wild in the aptly named Five Madrigals from the Natural World.
Not only is this clever, it’s also discreetly done. As a concert closer
it’s guaranteed to leave the audience in the best of moods.
A slow burner this, so I’d implore you to persevere. Just get a feel
for the composer’s unusual - and eclectic - idiom, and then listen again
with the texts. It really is a very rewarding anthology and, as always, the
liner-notes and general presentation are as good as I’ve come to expect
from Dacapo.
If you’re after something different, don’t hesitate.
Dan Morgan
If you’re after something different, don’t hesitate.