Henning Sommerro (b. 1952)
Borders
Solstice
Ostara
Borders
Sigmund Groven (harmonica)
Roar Engelberg (pan flute)
Marianne Thorsen (violin)
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra/Nick Davies
rec. 2021, Landemoen Church, Trondheim, Norway
2L Records 2L-173-SABD SACD/BD-A [48]

Henning Sommerro is less of a household name outside Norway, but this much acclaimed and decorated composer had his breakthrough back in 1977 with the folk music group Vårsøg. Since then Sommerro has been part of the Norwegian music scene and beyond as a performer with numerous groups and as a solo artist, as well as writing music for over 140 different theatre and film productions.

The three works on this recording are based on themes from myths and European history, but in basic terms form a set of three-movement concertos for soloist and orchestra. Solstice for harmonica and orchestra tells of the Icelandic skald or poet Sigvat Tordsson, who is in reflective mood while on his way to the eternal city just before the summer solstice. Sigmund Groven’s steel-edged tones sing and speak over a colourful score with clear narrative qualities, the quiet and atmospheric central movement framed by a descriptive first movement titled Striding and a finale, The Sun, which has both a jaunty character and moments of introversion.

Ostara for pan flute and orchestra revolves around the eponymous goddess of spring, with opening dark moods evolving into a lighter folk-like theme in the first movement. There is a troubled atmosphere however that never entirely disperses, our attempts at flight held down by low rumblings and timpani ostinato. Tango makes an appearance in the central movement, and the finale carries through the dance feel with a touch of the Rite of Spring from the accented chords in the orchestra.    

The violin and orchestra sonorities of Borders come as something of a surprise after the previous more exotic soloists. This concerto is set in the present day: “The year is 2016, and our world picture is shaken by a stream of refugees the like of which Europe has not seen since the Second World War. Accusations across countries’ borders proliferate. It is the others who are responsible for taking in refugees, and hopes for a united response are collapsing. Who dares acknowledge and respond to the alarming roar of the work’s opening?” There are extensive notes in the booklet on this and the other works which to a certain extent clarify their content but shouldn’t really steer your response to the music, which will always be personal in any case. There is a tension between optimism from the soloist and a caricature of militarism from the orchestra in the first movement, and tender melody spins its line through the second, entitled Lament. The final movement illustrates Hope with a certain amount of virtuosity, and dance rhythms that sail close to America from West-Side Story. Although there are hints of darker undertones throughout this work it is hardly an emphatic protest against inhumanity, and tensions between the stated subject and the actual music make it seem a bit like a missed opportunity.         

This is a superbly performed and recorded release full of accessible and enjoyable music that need hold no fears for those who consider themselves allergic to contemporary classical work. Stylistically it is a bit of a patchwork, with for instance moments that reminded me of late Penderecki and Sibelius in Ostara, and perhaps aspects of Mahler and Malcolm Arnold in Borders. This is the kind of music that will always throw up associations depending on the listener’s experience, and while this is more an observation than a complaint a more thoroughly personal idiom might have given these concertos more substance. Sommerro’s lyrical themes have a cinematic quality as his pedigree might lead us to expect, but these often come with an air of romantic sweetness that has the mind questioning which direction such eclecticism wants to take us. There is no doubting this music’s effectiveness however, and I for one am delighted to have made its acquaintance.

Dominy Clements

Availability: 2L Records

Technical details
Disc 1
Hybrid SACD
MCH 5.1 DSD
Stereo DSD
RedBook PCM: MQA CD

Disc 2  Pure Audio Blu-ray
2.0 LPCM 192/24
5.1 DTS HDMA 192/24
7.1.4 Auro-3D 96kHz
7.1.4 Dolby Atmos 48kHz
Region: ABC – worldwide