If Scandinavian sacred
choral music, predominantly Protestant,
appeals then this disc will fulfil a
need. The quartet of composers includes
only one household name, and his are
by far the most accomplished and impressive
of the settings, though all are worth
hearing. It’s undeniable that a certain
ennui sets in from time to time but
in the main we’re listening to well-crafted
and imaginative word setting.
Lange-Müller contributes
three compact Catholic settings in his
Tre Madonnasange written at the
dawn of the twentieth century. Whilst
cleanliness and clarity are the watchwords
throughout it’s the last that catches
the ear – a lissom hymnal with some
harmonically diverting writing to keep
the ear keenly alive. The choir proves
well blended here and to have this repertoire
fully under its collective belt.
Emil Hartmann’s songs
manage to be lyric and simply expressed
and melodically distinctive without
quite achieving striking memorability.
The third, a long strophic song, has
a certain English-sounding robustness
and is probably the most convincing.
Folk elements fuse with Late Romanticism
in the first of Lindberg’s four songs
which, to English ears, has a slight
Vaughan Williams accent but the last
is the best, a very modulated setting
which doesn’t evince any kind of theatrical
patina but has a strophic lyricism and
generosity.
The Grieg songs, Fire
Salmer, are set for baritone and
choir. Psalm settings, these show plenty
of dynamic variance and variety. Grieg
proves effortlessly superior to his
trio of colleagues in the sheer lyricism
and dynamism of his writing; nothing
is static. There is colour in the first
whilst the second generates a quietly
ebullient folk-like cleanliness and
strength. In the third we hear a strophic
ballad in which Grieg has utilised the
form to bring variety – the baritone
soloist and choral responses add tension;
the piety grows increasingly - gently
serious. His last setting illustrates
warm optimism.
As suggested before,
the choir proves adept exponents of
the repertoire and the notes are helpfully
concise. Recorded sound is sympathetic
as well. If one finds that Grieg rather
dwarfs his colleagues perhaps that’s
not unexpected. It’s in matters of detail
and dynamic tension that he proves so
powerful and those who have yet to experience
his settings will find them congenial
and attractive. Much the same applies
to the rest of the disc with the caveat
that not everything here is of comparable
distinction.
Jonathan Woolf
Jysk Akademisk Kor/Sǿren Birch 
