Catalogue # CHAN10710

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This is the fourth and final volume of colourful and highly\nappealing orchestral works by the Norwegian composer Johan\nHalvorsen. The series is performed by the Bergen Philharmonic\nOrchestra under Neeme Järvi.

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Based on the Passacaille (Chaconne) from the Harpsichord Suite\nNo. 7 in G minor by Handel, Halvorsen’s Passacaglia is a virtuosic\nduo for solo violin and viola, later made world famous by artists\nsuch as Leopold Auer and Jascha Heifetz.

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It starts as a simple arrangement of Handel’s original score,\nbut after the presentation of the theme and the first three\nvariations it gradually differs more and more, until it finally\nfrees itself entirely from the original and becomes pure\n‘Halvorsen’.

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Halvorsen wrote extensively for the stage, and his lifelong\nfascination with ‘exotic’ elements in music is evident in the\n‘Dance Scene’ from the incidental music to Knut Hamsun’s Queen\nTamara, a historical play set in the Caucasus. In contrast, the\nSymphonic Intermezzo from the music to Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s The\nKing is presented in the style of a tone poem, its language\nstrongly influenced by the musical universe of Liszt and\nWagner.

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Also on this disc is Halvorsen’s orchestration of Grieg’s piano\npiece Norwegian Bridal Procession. Other versions exist, among\nothers by Frederick Delius, but in Grieg’s eyes only a native\nNorwegian could portray rural Norway in music without becoming too\nromantic or picturesque. Halvorsen’s lush, but non-idealising\norchestration proved an immediate success, and at concerts and in\nthe theatre over the next twenty-six years Halvorsen conducted the\nwork at least 140 times.

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Halvorsen considered his Norwegian Fairy Tale Pictures to be one\nof his best works. The suite is colourful and vividly programmatic,\ndrawn from music that Halvorsen had written for a children’s\ncomedy: violins portray the fairy tale hero, the flute plays the\npart of the abducted princess, while the villainous troll is\nrepresented by a motif in the bass.

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Greig: Norwegian Bridal Procession, Op. 19, No. 2
\norch. Halvorsen

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Halvorsen:
\nNorwegian Rhapsody No. 2
\nNorwegian Rhapsody No. 1
\nPassacaglia for Violin & Cello/Viola (after Handel)
\nMelina Mandozzi (violin) & Ilze Klava (viola)

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Norwegian Fairy Tale Pictures, including ‘Dance of the Troll\nMaidens’
\nQueen Tamara: Dance Scene
\nThe King: Symphonic Intermezzo

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Norwegian Festival Overture
\nBergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Neeme Järvi

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