Once the Grand Old
Man of Norwegian music, Harald Saeverud
was a much respected and highly regarded
composer of almost international status.
His reputation, curiously enough, rests
on a quantitatively limited output,
the backbone of which lies in his nine
symphonies - although the first two
have been either discarded or lost.
During the LP era, his music was reasonably
well served in several recordings by
Philips’ Norwegian branch. Some of them
have since been re-issued in CD format
on Aurora NCD-B 4953 and NCD-B 4954
and these may still be available. Some
time later, BIS recorded a selection
of his piano music - now re-issued as
part of a double-CD set including the
complete piano music by Fartein Valen
[BIS CD-173/4]). More recently still,
BIS launched their Saeverud series of
orchestral music by the Stavanger Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Alexander Dmitriev
and Ole Kristian Ruud. The release under
review is the sixth – and possibly final
– instalment in that series, unless
BIS still holds some surprises in stock
(the Fourth Symphony, maybe?).
The Symphony
No.5, subtitled Quasi una
fantasia, is the first of the so-called
"war symphonies", the other
being Sinfonia Dolorosa [No.6]
Op.19 (1942) and Salme
[No.7] Op.27 (1944/5). These
"war symphonies" were all
composed during the German occupation
of Norway. The composer never denied
that they were influenced by the situation
of the country, although they are by
no means programmatic. It seems that
its subtitle was to be Symphony of
resistance (this was revealed after
the war); but, for fairly obvious reasons,
it was first performed as Quasi una
fantasia, a nondescript innocuous
title unlikely to anger the German authorities.
It is in one single movement falling
into four sections, but roughly moulded
in so-called sonata form, much in the
same pattern as Sibelius’s Seventh.
On the whole the crux of the work is
a set of twenty-six short variations
on the main theme stated at the outset.
The variations are contrasted, in an
almost kaleidoscopic way; and, although
there does not seem to be any real national
element, the music sometimes displays
folk-inflected turns of phrase that
must have meant a lot for the audience
at the first performance. Saeverud’s
music is often understated and avoids
bombast and grandiloquence. It speaks
directly in a concise, "straight-to-the-point"
manner, which must be one of its most
endearing qualities.
The Oboe Concerto
Op.15, composed two years earlier,
is a quite different proposition. It
is an unproblematic, happy work in which
the soloist is given free rein in music
of almost improvisatory nature. "It
was the composer’s intention ... to
let the oboe itself determine the form
by letting its characteristic voice
choose its themes ..." (the composer’s
words). Saeverud brilliantly realised
his views; and the Oboe Concerto is
undoubtedly one of his most appealing
works, joyfully dancing in the outer
movement and gently lyrical in the central
Adagio molto. It has always been a cause
of wonder to me that this lovely work
is not heard more often.
Composed for the opening
of the Bergen Festival in 1960 and dedicated
to King Olav V, Entrata regale
Op.41 is much weightier and
more developed than its title might
suggest in spite of its comparative
brevity. Actually it takes the form
of a symphonic dance of sorts cast as
a short set of variations.
Much the same may be
said of Sonata Giubilata Op.47
composed to celebrate the 900th
anniversary of the City of Bergen. Again,
it is in a much compressed sonata form
("the loftiest and most demanding
of musical forms", said Saeverud).
Excellent performances
from all concerned, warmly recorded
and very well produced; well up to BIS’s
best standards. Gordon Hunt plays superbly
in the Oboe Concerto and his performance
is very fine indeed. Will there be a
seventh volume, I wonder? Anyway, the
BIS Saeverud series has done much to
restore his best-known works to the
catalogue as well as adding some other,
hitherto unrecorded substantial pieces
(e.g. the Third Symphony and the Cello
Concerto).
Hubert Culot
see
also review by John Phillips
Gordon Hunt (oboe)a 
