Fanfare 1

****Highly dramatic and varied song cycles from three contemporary Danish composers.

The overall mood of these three contemporary Danish song cycles for bass-baritone and church organ is dark, with subtle splashes of humor. Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s Seven Solomon Songs best fits this description of the three. The vocal septet is based on an opera that the late composer had toiled over for most of his creative life, Sun Rises, Sun Sets, based on biblical accounts of Solomon. In the opera the Hebrew sage is depicted in his youth and in his old age, with the words set to bass and baritone ranges, respectively. In the song settings, it is only the older Solomon that we hear. The operatic roots of the work are immediately evinced by the theatrical presentation, including the regular beating of a bass drum, a task assigned to the singer. The old Solomon looks back on his life and decries vanity (tomhed, in Danish), a theme he returns to in subsequent songs, and in the concluding words (“all is vanity,” alt er tomhed). The music is more declamatory than it is lyrical, but the words and the structure of the songs build to a thoughtful and benevolent portrayal of one of the most revered figures in ancient history.
As the title suggests, Bent Lorentzen’s Erotic Hymns explores the relationship between piety and carnality, especially in the context of Christianity. In his excellent notes, Jakob Bloch Jesperson notes the influence of Wagner, citing Parsifal in particular. I also hear the Liebestod in the stately terracing of harmonic progressions. Lorentzen’s theme climaxes in the final song, with gently rapturous music set to the words of the 18th-century Danish bishop H. A. Brorson; “I lie so close upon Jesus’s breasts, and am drunk and sated with love.” This flowing work showcases the baritone end of Jespersen’s range that was so magnificently displayed in his recent widely acclaimed recording of Winterreise.
Nicolai Worsaae’s 2017 A Shipwreck is the most daring music on this program, with its vivid portrayal of a nautical disaster, concluding with the inevitable engulfment of the ship by the menacing waters. It’s quite a ride, with fascinating use of the organ for narrative effect. At one point, the sounds emanating from my speakers were so strange that my corgi started barking at them. I’m not sure if that was a criticism or an approval, but I certainly found the experience to be highly entertaining, if in a rather macabre way. Peter Burwasser