Rolf Wallin (b. 1957)
Stride (2023)
Whirld (2018)
Spirit (2017)
Five Seasons (2022)
Eldbjørg Hemsing (violin, Whirld), Ida Nielsen (electric bass guitar, Spirit), Wu Wei (sheng, Five Seasons)
Stavanger Symphony Orchestra/Andris Poga
rec. 2022-23, Stavanger Concert Hall, Stavanger, Norway
Ondine ODE1429-2 [75]

Rolf Wallin believes that – in our troubled times conducive to passivity and moral depression – the best way toward positive outlook is to stride forth: “I know it won’t change the world, but it makes me see the other side of the coin.” This is roughly what one hears in the short overture Stride. It begins with percussion tattoo of sorts, trying to help the music move ahead, although that does not occur right away. The music tends to free itself from the earth-clinching gravity but it never really takes flight, and so does not really achieve its aim.

Unlike Imella, a 2019 piece for violin and ensemble, Whirld is scored for violin and orchestra. The curious title apparently refers to fractal mathematics “where the straight rules of numbers open up into the realm of swirling clouds, meandering rivers and mesmerising bird flocks”. Wallin’s words perfectly sum up what is on display in the concerto. He also refers to chemist Johann Conrad Barchussen (1666-1723). An image in Barchussen’s beautifully illustrated Elementa chemiæ – reproducd in the booklet – depicts the alchemical process as a dove flitting up and down. The solo violinist is like the bird flying through the four vessels of Nigredo [blackening], Albedo [whitening], Citrinitas [yellowing] and Rubedo [reddening] – these are also the titles of the four movements played without break.

Do not be deterred by the comments meant to explain what is to be heard in the concerto. The subliminal programme should definitely not be taken at face value, but the writing is exceptionally complex. One cannot but admire Eldbjørg Hemsing’s immaculate technique and incomparable stamina in dealing with the fiendishly difficult solo part.

Spirit for electric bass guitar and orchestra, a mouth-watering instrumental combination, is rather difficult to bring out successfully. Wallin handles his orchestral forces masterlfully as ever but I am not sure that soloist and orchestra really meet. A pity; such pieces rarely work satisfyingly. (I felt the same slight disappointment after having listened to Tristan Murail’s 2007 piece Contes cruels for two electric guitars and orchestra.)

I became aware of sheng player Wu Wei in Ettelbrück in Luxembourg  He played the six finalists’ pieces at the International Composition Prize 2008 held by the Luxembourg Sinfonietta for works for sheng and ensemble. Those piece were issued on Luxembourg Sinfonietta’s CD 408 – see here. Later I realised that Unsuk Chin also composed a concerto for Wu Wei; he recorded it for Deutsche Grammophon – see here. Unlike the electric bass guitar, the sheng has a wider and more varied sound palette. This is a kind of mouth organ, and it sounds like that, so it mixes more easily with the orchestral fabric.

Wallin explains that in a traditional Chinese year there are five seasons, each corresponding to an element: Spring/Wood, Early Summer/Fire, Late Summer/Earth, Autumn/Metal, Winter/Water: “And just as the elements are in constant flux, either nourishing, as Water feeds a tree, or destroying, as Water extinguishes Fire”. The five movements of Five Seasons flow continuously till the final apotheosis, when the full power of the all-consuming fire is unleashed. This splendidly imaginative piece of music probably needs repeated hearings to make its point to the full, but it is well worth the effort. Soloist and orchestra move through the piece with commitment and impeccable technique.

I may have sounded lukewarm in my comments on Stride and Spirit, which I feel partly misfired. I can only enthuse about the violin concerto and the sheng concerto. They make the disc worth having.

Hubert Culot

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