Pehr Henrik Nordgren (1944-2008)
Piano Quintet Op.44 (1978)
String Quartet No.7 Op.85 (1992)
Song Cycle to Poems by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää Op.45 (1978)
Kalevi Aho (b.1949)
A Letter to the Other Side (2018)
rec. 2024, Conservatory Hall (Nordgren), Snellman Hall (Aho), Kokkola, Finland
Alba ABCD484 [64]

Pehr Henrik Nordgren completed the Piano Quintet a few years after his two-year stay in Japan. Kimmo Korhonen’s well-informed notes tell us that the stay considerably affected Norgren’s personal and composing life: it brought “some stylistic liberation and opening, during which new elements of style that were usually wide apart were mixed in with new methods he had adopted up to that point”. Nordgren put some modernist elements aside without abandoning them completely.

The Quintet, cast as a single span, unfolds through a large variety of musical moods. It begins in a subdued “almost hazy mood” in the strings, brutally cut off by a pounding forte episode dominated by the piano, which then launches into a violent, turbulent cadenza of sorts. The strings take over in a fairly developed contrapuntal section, including a solemn solo by the first violin. The piano, virtually silent after its cadenza, joins in again. The music becomes quite tense until it reaches its climax. Next, the mood changes dramatically. The strings tend to predominate until the music transforms into a “lullaby-like waltz that becomes distorted with discordant notes”, followed by a short mournful coda on the viola.

Nordgren’s Piano Quintet is an impressive piece. Most ingredients of his mature style are present. Most striking of all is the sudden clash between peaceful, dreamlike episodes and overtly turbulent, aggressive ones – although one is always perfectly aware of the inner narrative thread of the music.

Kimmo Korhonen writes that string quartets have been a most significant element of Nordgren’s music-making. The First String Quartet Op.2 from 1967 is one of the earliest pieces he included in his actual catalogue of works. The Eleventh String Quartet Op.145 from 2008 was his last completed work (review). He described his Sixth String Quartet as rather aggressive; he wanted his next string quartet to be an extensive, perhaps one-hour long ‘contemplative’ and quiet piece. Yet String Quartet No.7 does not really match the initial projected work. It is a fairly concise piece of music, a little under a quarter of an hour, and the overall mood is restrained in expression and warmly lyrical. This may be because he dedicated the work to his Japanese wife Shinobu as a birthday present; there also are subtle reference to Japanese music.

In the first half of the piece, the instruments play muted in a calmly breathing meditation. Some of the melodic material may suggest traditional Japanese music. After a short cello solo, the music played without mutes becomes more animated until the piece’s climax. Afterwards, it returns in a full circle to the muted mood of the opening. This beautiful piece shows Nordgren’s real lyricism, often discreet. I hope that Alba will be persuaded to release soon the hitherto unrecorded string quartets.

The third work is the Song Cycle to Poems by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää. The piece heard here, for baritone, cello and piano, is the Sámi version called Lávllaráidu Nils-Aslak Valkeapää divttai’e. (There seems to exist a version in Finnish for alto, cello and piano.) It is a bit difficult to have a clear idea of the literary content: for some reason, the notes do not include either texts or translations. The ever-reliable Kimmo Korhonen says that “the lyrics of the song cycle reveal a path from love’s first bloom to separation and longing as well as delicate impressions of nature revealing the magic of Lapland”.

The cycle sets ten short texts; the three longest numbers barely exceed three minutes. The songs suggest highly contrasting moods, partly echoed in the agreeably varied instrumental setting. Some songs are for voice and piano; Song II is for voice and cello; in others, both players accompany the singer. The overall impression is one of intense restraint. The cycle ends in a melancholy vein: the baritone’s wordless humming slowly fades away. All in all, this beautiful song cycle is – as far as I am concerned – a real find and this release’s little gem.

This superb release ends with a work for string orchestra which Juha Kangas wanted for Nordgren’s memorial concert in 2018. Kalevi Aho wrote it “with Nordgren in mind”. A Letter to the Other Side is laid out as questions and answers. The questions are first asked by a solo violin and later by violins or violas. The answers first come from the cello section, later supported by double basses. The music unfolds with heightened intensity. The last question, unanswered, is “a kind of farewell that gradually rises to the extreme heights of the violins until it fades away”. This short piece is a deeply felt salute from a composer to a much respected and highly regarded colleague.

This release is yet another tribute to Pehr Henrik Nordgren, who has become Alba’s “house composer” in all but name. Everyone concerned obviously has the full measure of the music, and Kimmo Korhonen’s notes are as knowledgeable and illuminating as ever. It is a most welcome addition to Nordgren’s discography. The fans of the composer will want to have it, especially when played and sung with high dedication.

Hubert Culot

Performers
Piano Quintet, Kirill Kozlovski (piano), Kokkola Quartet
String Quartet No.7
Kokkola Quartet
Song Cycle to Poems by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää
Kirill Kozlovski (piano), Gabriel Kivivuori Sereno (baritone), Joanna Hanhikoski (cello) A Letter to the Other Side
Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra / Juha Kangas