Click here for an excerpt from Det syng

Click here for an excerpt from Jei nebutu saules I

Click here for an excerpt from Gudzai svoskste visa nakti

Click here for an excerpt from Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte

Click here to hear Illalle

All excerpts were recorded live at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, on September 4, 2005.

All excerpts are in mp3 format.

 

 

Notes on the Composers and Works:

Edvard Grieg wrote his only song cycle Haugtussa in 1895, to poems by Arne Garborg. The poems were written in nynorsk, a language created from the dialects of West Norway after Norway gained its independence from Denmark in 1814. To this day there remain two official languages in Norway, both bokmal (a version of Norwegian liberally influenced by Danish) and nynorsk. Grieg’s cycle revels in the unique sounds of nynorsk in Garborg’s poems, and he makes brilliant use of strophic and modified strophic forms along with beautifully evocative piano interludes to create his musical framework for Garborg’s texts.

There are three different speakers in the cycle: “Det Syng” is a magical incantation sung by a mountain spirit to the girl. In “Veslemöy,” the narrator describes the girl’s dark, wild beauty, and her ability to see beyond the real world. The girl speaks to her herd in “Blåbær-li, ” describing how she will protect it from mountain predators. “Møte,” is a description by the narrator of the girl’s first encounter with the young man. In “Elsk” the girl declares her plan to weave a spell to keep the young man in her thrall, and then she leads her goats in a mad-cap dance in “Killingdans.” “Vond Dag” is a description by the narrator of the heartbreak the girl suffers when the young man does not return. In “Ved Gjætle-Bekken” the girl speaks to the brook, her desolation complete, as she calmly asks it to comfort her under its waves.

Konstancija Brundzaite was Lithuania’s first modern woman composer, and she retains a position of great importance in the history of modern Lithuanian music. She graduated in 1964 from the Lithuanian State Conservatoire, where she studied composition with Eduardas Balsys. Her list of works includes “Seven Lithuanian Folk Riddles” for chorus, “White Peaks” for orchestra, “Dialogues” for organ and chamber orchestra, and many other choral, vocal and chamber works. For more information about Konstancija Brundzaite and a complete list of works, visit the website of the Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Center.

The texts for Jei nebutu saules (If there were no sun) are taken from the diary of Lithuanian woman poet Salomeja Neris (1904-1945). These diary entries were written during a period from 1928 to 1937 when Neris was teaching and traveling widely throughout Western Europe. Neris went on to become a member of the Lithuanian People’s Diet (Parliament) and a deputy to the USSR Supreme Soviet.

Algis Bražinskas began musical studies as a child, and attended both the Vilnius Conservatory and the Academy of Music, where he studied composition with Eduardas Balsys. His list of works includes operatic, symphonic and chamber works, along with an extensive list of works for chorus and solo voice, including “Seven Ballads” for SATB choir. He has also written and arranged music for various folk ensembles. For more information about Algis Bražinskas and a complete list of works, visit the website of the Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Center.

The poems in Benamio Dainos (Vagabond Songs) come from a larger set of poems by Lithuanian poet Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas (1893-1967). A prolific poet, he was also a scholar, literary historian, novelist, dramatist and translator. Mykolaitis-Putinas taught modern literature at the University of Vilnius until his death in 1967.

Of Jean Sibelius‘ extensive song output, perhaps best known and most often performed are his settings of the poems written in Swedish by Finnish poet J.L. Runeberg. Both "Våren flyktar hastigt" and "Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte" demand a wide dynamic and coloristic range from both the singer and the pianist. Sibelius was one of a group of writers and composers who were passionately committed to creating works in the Finnish language, which was first written down in the early 19th century. In contrast to the Runeberg settings, Sibelius employs a completely different musical idiom for both voice and piano in "Lastu Lainehilla" and "Illalle," both written in Finnish. The voice line is almost exclusively syllabic, while the piano providesa shimmering background color and texture.