To listeners outside
his native Sweden, Dag Wirén
might seem to be a "one hit wonder",
the hit being the Serenade for Strings
- from which the March is particularly
famous. Of course, he wrote much else
besides and, on this evidence, in a
similar vein. Although recognisably
Nordic, his music reminds me of George
Lloyd; no boundaries pushed back but
good, tuneful listening. The disc takes
its title from the fourth movement (of
five) of the Romantic Suite. This work
is based on music that Wirén
wrote for a production in Stockholm
of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ in 1944.
Gyckeldans is the Jester’s Dance,
a fantastic romp that is probably the
most striking piece on the disc. It
is sandwiched between two lovely movements
– ‘Serenade for Jessica’ (Shylock’s
daughter) and ‘Portia’s Castle’. This
suite surely deserves to be better known.
The Flute Concertino
is in a traditional three movement format.
A relatively late work, it has some
darker overtones, perhaps reflecting
a man who became more serious in later
life. There is some beautiful flute
playing from soloist Jan Bengtson to
be heard here. This is followed by the
first recording of Plats på
scenen (which translates as ‘Take
your places on the stage’), a ballet
which Wirén wrote for the dancer
and choreographer Julius Mengarelli.
When Mengarelli died unexpectedly just
before the première the production
was abandoned and the music lay unperformed
for over forty years until this recording
was made. The ballet is a humorous tale
about what can happen behind the scenes
when staging a ballet. The music which
is cast in nine short sections is certainly
worthwhile and I wonder if it will eventually
be staged?
I enjoyed hearing more
of Wirén and was disappointed
that the disc did not contain something
else, given that he was fairly prolific
and there are almost 33 minutes of empty
space. That is my only significant gripe,
for the playing of the DalaSinfoniettan
and the recording are most impressive.
This orchestra is based in Falun, a
fairly small place about 150 miles North-West
of Stockholm. They describe themselves
as "a flexible orchestra in size,
time and place". I suppose all
orchestras have to be nowadays but perhaps
more so if you are based in rural Sweden.
They were formed in 1988 have twenty
regular musicians, complemented with
freelancers and they also join forces
with neighbouring orchestras. Their
conductor, Stefan Karpe, appears youthful
too and is a name for watch out for.
I’d certainly be happy to hear more
of such committed, idiomatic playing.
The track titles are
given only in Swedish but everything
else is translated, and the notes are
informative. This well-presented disc
seems to be aimed mainly at the Swedish
home market but it deserves a wider
audience.
Patrick C Waller
*Jan Bengtson (flute) 
