Chinese Songs (1997) [18:29]
Symphony No. 4 (1972-3) [44:51]
Tiina Vahevaara (soprano)
Lahti Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vänskä
rec. June 1999, Ristinkirkko, Lahti, Finland
BIS-CD-1066 [63:20]
The Book of Questions [24:29]
Viola Concerto [24:29]
Symphony No. 14, Rituals [30:35]
Monica Groop (mezzo); Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic (viola); Herman Rechberger (percussion
Lapland Chamber Orchestra/John Storgards
rec. November 2007, Rovaniemi Church, Rovaniemi, Finland
BIS-CD-1686 [79:34]
Kalevi Aho excels in vocal music. The contemporary Finn is up
to 15 symphonies and a number of concertos for unlikely instruments
(even the contrabassoon), but not enough of a spotlight has been
shone on his orchestral song cycles, given their qualities.
The Chinese Songs, written in 1997 and quickly recorded
by BIS, are a set of six which evoke Chinese musical idioms and
scales without reaching condescension or that cutesy orientalism
which western composers so often fall into. There are a few moments
of overt Chinese-sounding music, particularly in the last song,
but the overall effect is subtler.
Even better is the Book of Questions, a suite of eleven
songs from 2006. These are texts by Pablo Neruda, the first of
which Monica Groop speaks rather than sings; in all of them, Aho
says he was especially keen to make sure that every word could
be heard. That reminds me of a quality he exhibits in both cycles:
though his musical language does not always contain fluid, melodic
lines, his singers are treated to them, and their parts tend to
have an eloquence that preserves the expressiveness of the original
lines. Like with many other composers, the presence of a voice
acts to tame aggressive or wild instincts.
Those get their voice in one of the two symphonies. No. 14, paired
with the later song set, features a solo percussionist, who plays
the exotic darabuka and djembe (hand-drums from Arabia and Africa).
The darabuka starts off the symphony with a hypnotic rhythm, and
the percussionist is a near-constant presence, pitted concerto-style
against the orchestra, waking it from a string-heavy introduction
(5:20ish mark) and urging it to greater heights of passion.
The Symphony No. 4, by contrast, is a monumental, melancholic,
almost reverential work in two sprawling slow movements and a
scherzo. The slow movements are varied and powerfully built, from
the slow fugal introduction to a finale that feels like dusk fading
to twilight. There’s a slightly sacred feel to some of the
melodies, and this would make a fine requiem symphony. The scherzo,
though, strongly evokes Shostakovich, especially the chirpy, sarcastic
woodwind melodies of the Symphony No. 9 - think of its
boisterous laughing tune. The climax, though, moves back to earlier
Shostakovich, a crashing hair-raising spectacle.
The second CD, featuring Book of Questions and Symphony
No. 14, was designed to form a single evening’s entertainment
in concert; the Lapland Chamber Orchestra premieres both on the
same programme as the Viola Concerto. Three premieres
in one night? Beethoven once had that luxury. The Viola Concerto,
which in this recording is the same length as the song cycle down
to the second, starts with a brooding viola solo against wild
timpani rolls in different pitches; for the first time a comparison
to late Sibelius seems natural. The faster sections do call to
mind his tone poems, although one Aho-specific trait is the long
cadenza which forms a movement of its own. The whole piece plays
continuously.
More or less every performance in the BIS Aho series is outstanding
(see Dan
Morgan's survey), particularly these. The Lahti and Lapland
orchestras are outstanding, and if I have one complaint, it’s
that the voice of Tiina Vahevaara (soprano, Chinese Songs)
is simply not to my personal taste. Not her fault, either: just
the natural sound of it. Other reviewers haven’t complained,
so the problem lies with my ears. The songs, taken together, are
an interesting and under-explored part of Aho’s output.
Investigate.
Brian Reinhart
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