RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Sebastian FAGERLUND (b.1972)
Clarinet Concerto (2005-6) [23:30]
Partita for string orchestra and percussion (2007-9) [18:15]
Isola (2007) [15:50]
Christoffer Sundqvist (clarinet)
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Dima Slobodeniouk
rec. June 2008 (concerto) and June 2010, Gothenburg Concert Hall, Sweden.
Hybrid SACD.
BIS-SACD-1707 [58:36] 
What a great pleasure it is to befriend an interesting person … to visit a
beautiful city for the first time … to discover for yourself a new and strong
composing voice! Sebastian Fagerlund writes music every minute of which is
fascinating. It is modern and unorthodox, opulent and strange, masterfully
composed and orchestrated. He has his own voice and is skilled and inspired.
His music is very evocative, and often seems suitable for a modern ballet.
I hear the wild rhythmic foundation of Stravinsky, the thrilling ostinato
patterns of John Adams, and the angelic terror of Einojuhani Rautavaara. Still,
Fagerlund’s style is completely independent and original. This is real 21st
century music: standing on the shoulders of those who came before yet reaching
higher than ever. This music is not easy to describe: changes so much and
so often that describing it will take as much time as listening to it. Nothing
is pleasant, soothing, lyrical here. The emotions are different: sinister,
traumatic, tempestuous.
The structure of the Clarinet concerto is based on the classical model:
introduction, Allegro, slow movement, cadenza and fast finale - all without
clearly defined borders. That said, there is nothing classical about the music.
It bursts with dark energy, with busy rhythms and mesmerizing depths. The
textures are dense and daring, and, without having any “tunes”, it is still
very approachable and fully “digestible”. The composer knows how to employ
ostinato to a great effect. He knows how to hypnotize you into a mysterious
cotton-wool trance. The clarinet part is very demanding, but the soloist Christoffer
Sundqvist shows truly Paganinian devilry on the clarinet and extracts from
of his instrument each color and every shade. There isn’t a single note that
he does not make interesting. The elaborate cadenza is impressive, and the
sparkling, explosive finale is totally fascinating.
The Partita for strings and percussion is dark and Bartókian. It starts
with a slow, moaning movement entitled “Cerimonia. Misterioso”.
It is steadily charged with power, and can be seen as a prolonged introduction
to the fast and manic second movement, “Risonanza. Furioso”.
It is rhythmically rich, like a new Rite of Spring. I want to praise
the Gothenburg percussionists for their excellent, resonant drums. The fury
stops and we enter a suspenseful, mysterious episode. The music seems to fade
away, but then the storm and stress gradually return, like a volcano that
continues to erupt after a pause. The music reaches complete frenzy and suddenly
stops, as we enter the last movement, “Preghiera. Intenso”,
full of lonely wailing sirens over gong and xylophone. The atmosphere remains
sombre, but with an added scent of magic. Slow moving layers of sound are
suspended in the air - grandiose and mysterious like the pictures from deep
outer space made by the Hubble telescope: the vast nebulas, the lighted gas
clouds, the majestic swirl of galaxies.
Isola is a gloomy symphonic poem - deeply disturbing. It also cannot
be described briefly. It is such a mixture of madness and despair, and beauty,
and fear. The beginning is like entering Dante’s Underworld. Over the echoing
steps of the descending bass, the tension grows, and the nervous brass bring
us to the fast second part. This music is like insurrection in an insane asylum,
a terrifying bacchanal, which sucks us into the blizzard of the black ostinato.
Suddenly the madness is cut off. The last couple of minutes are like catching
the breath after a wild dance; they are quiet and misty, but tense and underpinned
with sinister drum rolls.
The recording is very clear and vivid, with great feeling of presence and
volume, even if you use a regular, non-SACD player. All instruments of the
orchestra are heard in high definition. Gone are the days when a good recording
gave us the true concert experience. Now a good recording is more than we
could get in a concert: our brain is connected directly to the music. This
can only happen when the performance is good, and the Gothenburg Symphony
under Dima Slobodeniouk do an excellent job. Their playing is precise and
colourful. Fagerlund’s dense textures are presented with graphic clarity.
The striking effects are performed with verve, and the conducting is inspired.
Listening to the entire disc leaves me completely squeezed out like a lemon,
and devastated, but awed, and wanting to hear this music again and again.
Oleg Ledeniov
Real 21st century music: standing on the shoulders of those who
came before yet reaching higher than ever.