BOOKLET TEXT IN ENGLISH Introduction The soloists Östersund Wind Quintet FRETS OF PREY, by Jan Tolf SERENADE, by Anders Nilsson DANQUAH CIRCLE, by Örjan Sandred SE, ÖARNA, by Sven-David Sandström Content About the recording The cover illustration of the CD sleeve was inspired by Jan Tolf’s “Frets of Prey” and the predator wasps of the rain forests of Panama. Introduction In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, there were considered to be two types of music: musica alta and musica bassa. Musica alta was loud, intended to be performed either out of doors or in large halls, while musica bassa was softer, better suited to small venues. Musica alta tended to be performed on wind instruments, often with percussion, while stringed and plucked instruments played musica bassa, possibly together with a recorder (flauto dolce). During the Baroque period, the louder wind instruments also began to be used indoors. Composers including Vivaldi, Bach and Telemann wrote solo concerti and chamber music for both woodwind and brass instruments, and during the late eighteenth century wind ensembles also began to appear in concert halls. This music was played by ensembles with two of each kind of instrument, known as "Harmonienmusik", and not actually intended for direct concert performances, but as either "tafelmusik" or music played on stage during opera performances. Table music was often composed as serenades or arrangements of popular opera tunes. The finale from Mozart's “Don Giovanni” provides an excellent example of the kind of opera performance arrangements in question, with an on-stage wind ensemble doing some of the playing. This same grouping of musicians, (two oboes, two clarinets, two French horns and two bassoons) also became known as the Viennese octet. A great deal of splendid music was written for such ensembles by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Hummel, Salieri and Schubert. Works for wind instruments and piano, however, were what paved the way for the development of the wind quintet. In their piano quintets (for oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon and piano, composed in 1784 and 1796-97, respectively) Mozart and Beethoven used a wind quartet with only one of each instrument. Later, when a flute was added, the ensemble form known today as the wind quintet was born. Around 1802, Italian composer Giovanni Giuseppe Cambini presented three wind quintets to Paris audiences, and in April 1814, in Paris as well, three wind quintets, opus 88, by Czech composer Anton Reicha were performed for the first time. Reicha was a flutist and teacher of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire, and eventually composed 21 more wind quintets. The first half of the nineteenth century saw the composition of a total of some 90 wind quintets by composers including Reicha, Danzi and others. Interest in this ensemble form abated during the later nineteenth century, despite the existence of superb ensembles that maintained the tradition in France, England and Germany. In France, flutist Paul Taffanel founded the “Societé de Musique de Chambre pour Instrument à Vent” (Chamber Music Society for Wind Instruments) in 1879. The core of the society was a wind quintet with two instruments on each part (a double quintet). Some new pieces for quintets with a single complement of instruments were also commissioned. None of the more prominent nineteenth century composers wrote works for wind quintet, whereas the twentieth century saw the expansion of the repertoire with pieces by the truly outstanding composers of the period, including Schönberg, Nielsen, Hindemith, Milhaud, Ibert, Villa-Lobos, Barber, Denisov, Henze, Berio, Stockhausen, Ligeti, Carter and others. More than 100 Swedish composers have written wind quintets: Lars-Erik Larsson, John Fernström, Jan Carlstedt, Bo Nilsson, Jan W Morthenson and Anders Eliasson, to mention only a few. There is, however, a dearth of pieces for wind quintet plus one additional, non-wind instrument, particularly if we disregard the handful of pieces for quintet and piano, including ones by Poulenc, Roussel, Jacob and a few others. This disc, on which the Östersund Wind Quintet presents four new pieces with soloists, is thus both firmly rooted in a two-century old wind quintet tradition and, simultaneously, a presentation of totally new combinations of instruments. MATS MÖLLER The soloists Mats Bergström made his debut as a concert guitarist at Wigmore Hall, London in 1983. Since then he has performed both as a soloist and an ensemble musician, playing in various genres. He has appeared with artists ranging from Tommy Körberg to Lill Lindfors, to the German group “Ensemble Modern” and as a soloist with various Swedish orchestras. Mats Bergström has made a true contribution to expanding the guitar repertoire, both as a commissioner of new works and as an arranger of others. His longest arrangement is of Schubert’s song cycle “Die schöne Müllerin” (the beautiful maid of the mill) for guitar and baritone. Ola Karlsson is solo cellist with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Assistant Professor of Cello at the Stockholm Royal College of Music. He also appears both as a chamber musician and a soloist, as well as doing quite a bit of conducting. He frequently combines the roles of soloist and conductor, for instance with wind ensembles. Ola Karlsson and wind players in Östersund have long collaborated in various combinations including the former Östersund Serenade Ensemble and the Östersund Wind Quintet. Love Derwinger enjoys performing both in ensembles of varying instrumentation and, of course, as a soloist. He made his debut at the age of 17, performing Listz’s second Piano Concerto with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has performed with most of the renowned Swedish instrumentalists, vocalists and ensembles. Contemporary music often figures in the program. He has made some thirty recordings. Of particular interest in relation to wind players are his BIS discs (BIS CD 532, 592), with the Danzi piano quintets, performed with the Philharmonisches Bläser-quintett of Berlin. As a lieder and opera vocalist, Marianne Eklöf possesses an extensive repertoire. She was previously on the staff of the Malmö Musikteater. In recent years she has performed many roles at the Stockholm Opera, including Herodias in “Salome”, Margret in “Wozzeck”, Eboli in “Don Carlos”, Ortrud in “Lohengrin”, Metella in “La vie parisienne”, and the title role in “Carmen”. Marianne Eklöf has performed a great deal of music by Sven-David Sandström, including his dream cantata “Drömmar” (1988), “High Mass” (1994), his opera “Staden” (“The City”, 1998) and “Se, öarna” (“See, the Islands”, 1999). Staffan Larson has a solid background as a musician, including a postgraduate soloist diploma in violin from the Stockholm Royal College of Music, studies in London, and as concert master with the Norrköping and Helsingborg symphony orchestras, and the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra in Stockholm. He made his conducting debut in the late 1980s, and has conducted many symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles in Sweden. He was also artistic and principal conductor of the Västerås Sinfonietta for many years. In addition, he has conducted various European ensembles, as well as opera in Japan. Östersund Wind Quintet The Östersund Wind Quintet is part of the Jämtland county music ensemble. The ensemble has performed in quintet form since 1995, prior to which its members were part of the now defunct Östersund Serenade Ensemble. The Östersund Wind Quintet performs throughout the province of Jämtland, the geographically second largest province in Sweden. Agneta Wihlstrand, flute, alto flute, Hedvig Marklund [1-4, 8-15]/Signe Møldrup [5-7], oboe, English horn, Bengt Gidlöf [1-4, 8-15]/Kjell-Inge Stevensson [5-7], clarinet, Kurt Thörnblom, French horn, Lars Hedblom, bassoon. FRETS OF PREY, by Jan Tolf Composer Jan Tolf once read a newspaper article with the following headline: “Tap-dancing caterpillars may sound like a joke”, describing how one species of caterpillar in the rain forests of Panama perform a kind of tap dance on the leaves of certain plants. The vibrations generated by this dance attract ants, who feed on a protein-glucose secretion from the caterpillars. In exchange, these aunts then defend the caterpillars against the frets of prey (a type of predator wasp) that circulate in the forest. Taking his inspiration from this description, Tolf composed “Frets of Prey”, a piece commissioned by Mats Bergström and performed for the first time in January 1995 in Sundsvall, Sweden, together with the Sundsvall Wind Quintet. The title is an intentional play on words, alluding to all the possible combinations of meanings of both “fret” and “prey”. The piece has four parts: “Tap dance”, “Entice”, “Secrete” and “Menace”. “Menace” contains a long section in which Mats Bergström improvises to sampled and processed “wasp sounds”, created by Alfons Karabuda. Jan Tolf’s background is as a guitarist in various pop and jazz groups and dance bands. Since the mid-1980s, he has written music for the theater and cinema, including pieces for the Stockholm City Theatre and Swedish Public Television (“Apelsinmannen” (Orange Man), Anna Holt, Olivia Twist, and others). In 1989, Phono Suecia issued a portrait CD of his music (PSCD 46). His work may be described as part of a Swedish film music tradition, including a great deal of music for wind quintet. Tolf himself has described the wind quintet as being “…like a hand of many colors, somehow managing to include everything.” SERENADE, by Anders Nilsson “When I was asked to compose a piece for the Östersund wind players and cellist Ola Karlsson, my idea was to write a chamber concerto - because the solo qualities of the cello seemed so perfectly suited to that context. Once I had begun, I noticed that the music I was writing had a particular kind of expressive character - a tone of melancholy and of late evening, conveyed by a small ensemble, centered around the cantabile voice of the cello. I have dedicated the resulting serenade to Ola Karlsson and the Östersund Wind Quintet.” ANDERS NILSSON Anders Nilsson studied composition with Gunnar Bucht at the Stockholm Royal College of Music, but he also considers his encounters and studies with composers including Brian Ferneyhough, Luciano Berio and Sven-David Sandström as significant to his development. His early style can be heard in his sweeping orchestral pieces with late romantic influences (such as “Trois pièces pour grand orchestre”, 1981-83). Later his work became modernistic. His subsequent orchestral works have clearly extroverted rhythms, and are the same time both deep and soulful. Nilsson’s chamber music has passed through the corresponding phases, from his expressionist song cycle “Reflections” (1982) to his expansive quartet for clarinet, piano, violin and cello, “The Angel” (1999) and the work on this disc, “Serenade” for cello and wind quintet. “Serenade” was performed for the first time by Ola Karlsson and the Östersund Wind Quintet in Östersund, Sweden, in December 2000. DANQUAH CIRCLE, by Örjan Sandred “The Östersund Wind Quintet commissioned me to write ‘Danquah Circle’ for a concert program including works by Mozart. Viennese classicism was largely a reaction to the complex music of the late baroque. This inspired me to compose a piece as a corresponding reaction to the complexity of twentieth century music. Instead of complexity, each instrument has its distinct mandate: either as a melodic soloist or as an accompanist. My desire to be explicit also resulted in easily identifiable sections that alternate and contrast with one another. The piece opens with some unobtrusive music, while the second half disrupts this quality with sudden, rhythmic sounds. The character of the piece changes, with the rhythmic aspects gaining the upper hand towards the end of the piece. The piano is not used in a solo capacity, but is an equal member with the other instruments in the ensemble. I completed ‘Danquah Circle’ in Accra in Ghana, West Africa, a city in which it is extremely difficult for a visitor to get his bearings. There are no street signs, and the whole atmosphere is quite chaotic. When people give you directions, they tend to do so beginning at one of the traffic circles, which all have names. They are the orientation points of the city, and Danquah Circle is one of them. I have tried to provide the listener of this piece with similar orientation points." ÖRJAN SANDRED Örjan Sandred was writing music for various local ensembles in his home town of Uppsala even before he was accepted at music college. His first academic studies were in musicology, and then at the age of 21 he was accepted into the composition program at the Stockholm Royal College of Music where he studied with Sven-David Sandström, Pär Lindgren and Bill Brunson. He has pursued further studies with Poul Ruders in Denmark, at McGill University i Canada, and at IRCAM in Paris. His works have been performed by ensembles including the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the NOW chamber orchestra and Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne in Montréal. Sandred has also worked extensively with electroacoustic music, the subject he also teaches at the Stockholm Royal College of Music. SE, ÖARNA, by Sven-David Sandström In her volume of poetry “Vägen till öarna” (The Way to the Islands, 1996) Swedish poet Katarina Frostenson and photographer Jean-Claude Arnault portray a journey through the Swedish province of Bergslagen and on to the village of Rämmen in the eastern part of the province of Värmland, birthplace of twentieth century Swedish poet Erik Beckman (and nineteenth century poet Esaias Tegnér). The texts for this song cycle, “See, the Islands” were taken from Frostenson’s volume, and the music is a continuation of the collaboration between herself and Sven-David Sandström which began with their opera “Staden” (“The City”). Since his breakthrough as a composer thirty years ago, with the orchestral piece “Through and through” in 1972, Sven-David Sandström has been one of the most influential and most frequently- performed (contemporary) Swedish composers. He studied with Ingvar Lidholm at the Stockholm Royal College of Music, where he later also held a Chair in composition for a decade. In addition to orchestral music and a number of solo concerti, Sandström has written a large amount of vocal music. His major compositions for soloists, choir and orchestra, including “Missa da Requiem” 1979, “High Mass” 1994 and his opera “Staden” (“The City” 1997) have met with critical acclaim. Sandström’s early classic avant garde approach has gradually been replaced by a nearly neoromantic idiom. His music has triggered lively, interesting media debate on the relationship of the composer to his audience. “Se, öarna” was commissioned for Marianne Eklöf and The Östersund Wind Quintet, and was performed by them for the first time in Stockholm, in April 1999. Content [1-4] Jan Tolf (*1949) FRETS OF PREY (1995) 10'00 [1] -Tap dance; 1'35 [2] -Entice; 2'50 [3] -Secrete; 1'01 [4] -Menace 4'33 Mats Bergström, guitar, Östersund Wind Quintet Background tape created by Alfons Karabuda Commissioned by Mats Bergström [5-7] Anders Nilsson (*1954) SERENADE, chamber concerto for violoncello and wind quintet (2000) 19'15 [5] Molto lento e sostenuto; Allegretto 8'49 [6] Scherzando con moto; Allegretto 5'56 [7] Cadenza e coda 4'28 Ola Karlsson, violoncello, Östersund Wind Quintet [8] Örjan Sandred (*1964) DANQUAH CIRCLE (1997) 9'08 Love Derwinger, piano, Östersund Wind Quintet [9-15] Sven-David Sandström (*1942) SE, ÖARNA (1998) 26'54 [9] -I ("Ros, sparv och riddarfot") 6'23 [10] -II; 2'27 [11] -IIIa ("Sparv, skär sparv") 3'44 [12] -IIIb ("Simma ros") 5'14 [13] -IIIc; ("Ulvens tunga") 2'28 [14] -IV 3'26 [15] -V ("Det är lugnt och det är inget mera") 3'11 Marianne Eklöf, mezzo, Östersund Wind Quintet, Staffan Larson, conductor Texts from “Vägen till öarna” (The Way to the Islands) by Katarina Frostenson About the recording Producer and recording engineer Lars Nilsson, Nilento (www.nilento.se). Recorded in Aspås church (Sandström) on May, 25-27, 1999 and in the Peterson-Berger concert Hall in Östersund, Sweden on December, 16, 1999 (Sandred), March, 30-31, 2000 (Tolf) and January, 9-10 2001 (Nilsson). Edited and mastered by Lars Nilsson, Nilento. Cover picture by Simon Möller. Texts by Anders Bråtén. English translation by Linda Schenck. Graphic design Sforzando Productions. All works are available through Swedish Music Information Centre (www.mic.stim.se), Box 27327, SE-102 54 STOCKHOLM, Sweden. This cd was produced in cooperation between the county music ensemble of Jämtland, Sweden (www.jll.se/lansmusiken) and SFZ records (www.sfzrecords.com). [p]&[c] SFZ records 2001.   Home