<\/p>\n
Fartein Valen: visions of another beauty<\/p>\n
If you have not made your acquaintance with the works of Fartein Valen before, then the chance is there now with this first release of his complete songs. Norwegian soprano Siri Torjesen has worked with the songs of Valen for many years towards this recording. Pianist extraordinaire H\u00e5kon Austb\u00f8 follows her in the songs with piano, and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra with Christian Eggen provides the wonderful colours Valen used when writing for the orchestra and song.<\/p>\n
The texts Valen uses are by Goethe, Schiller, Whitman, M\u00f6rike and Bethege. Throughout it is evident that it is not only in shaping of musical ideas he is inspired by the lyrics, but also that the textual contents are reflected directly in the fabric of the music. Valen\u2019s lasting love for the music of J.S. Bach has left distinct imprints in the compositional style, perhaps contributing to that eternal flavour Valen\u2019s music undoubtedly has. After a long period of difficult working conditions, he was among other things put in the centre for the Norwegian atonality-debate in the 1930s, Valen experienced international acclaim after the Second World War.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The work of Fartein Valen has a strange way of finding its way out to the audience. It is fair to say
\nthat his violin concerto and symphonic poems are quite well known around the world (and of course
\nfound in the Simax Classics catalogue, together with the symphonies). Arve Tellefsen\u2019s recordings of the concerto has of course given this work a special significance in our times, but young composers also often refer to Valens approach as a model for their own compositional work.<\/p>\n
So if you have not made your acquaintance with the works of Fartein Valen before, then the chance is there now with this first release of his complete songs. Norwegian soprano Siri Torjesen has worked with the songs of Valen for many years towards this recording. Pianist extraordinaire H\u00e5kon Austb\u00f8 follows her in the songs with piano, and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra with Christian Eggen provides the wonderful colours Valen used when writing for the orchestra and song.<\/p>\n
The texts Valen uses are by Goethe, Schiller, Whitman, M\u00f6rike and Bethege. Throughout it is evident that it is not only in shaping of musical ideas he is inspired by the lyrics, but also that the textual contents are reflected directly in the fabric of the music. Valen\u2019s lasting love for the music of J.S. Bach has left distinct imprints in the compositional style, perhaps contributing to that eternal flavour Valen\u2019s music undoubtedly has. After a long period of difficult working conditions, he was among other things put in the centre for the Norwegian atonality-debate in the 1930s, Valen experienced international acclaim after the Second World War.<\/p>\n
– Many performers dream about finding their \u201cown\u201d music \u2013 something that holds a very special meaning for them. Valen\u2019s songs have become my \u201cown\u201d personal treasure trove. They hold every kind of challenge I could possibly want to encounter. They have a constant ability to reveal themselves in new, unexpected ways, as though I am hearing them for the first time. Valen\u2019s music makes the poems glow with an extraordinary power and passion, and helps to imbue them with an almost volcanic pressure. The texts are constrained within a strictly polyphonic form, with orchestration that makes the voice an integral part of a vivid tapestry.<\/p>\n
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Valen\u2019s lasting love for the music of J.S. Bach has left distinct imprints in the compositional style, perhaps contributing to that eternal flavour Valen\u2019s music undoubtedly has.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":27569,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[180],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-415","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-simax-classics","7":"product_shipping_class-cddvd-shipping","8":"uni_artist_tag-andrew-keener","9":"uni_artist_tag-bergen-philharmonic-orchestra","10":"uni_artist_tag-christian-eggen","11":"uni_artist_tag-fartein-valen","12":"uni_artist_tag-hakon-austbo","13":"uni_artist_tag-siri-torjesen","14":"uni_main_artist_tag-siri-torjesen","15":"uni_artist_genre-contemporary-music","16":"uni_artist_genre-lieder","17":"uni_artist_genre-song-with-orchestra","19":"first","20":"instock","21":"taxable","22":"shipping-taxable","23":"purchasable","24":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grappa.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}