Customer Reviews

Jon Leifs:Hekla and other orchestral works

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hekla, for those who don't know, is the imposing volcanic mountain to the north and west of Reykjavik. Iceland consists, basically, of one huge volcano thrusting up from the North Atlantic; its multiple vents, including Hekla, are active, sometimes violently so. (Hekla last erupted - spectacularly - in 1947.) In the 1960s, Icelandic composer Jón Leifs (1899-1968) composed a cycle of tone-poems celebrating the salient natural wonders of his country: "Geysir" (the namesake of all geysers, near Hekla), "Dettifoss" (Iceland's Niagara Falls), "Hafis" (the floes that break off from Iceland's glaciers), and the awe-inspiring "Hekla" (1961) herself, visible on a clear day from Reykjavik. The score, for mixed choir and orchestra to a text by poet Jónas Hallgrímsson, depicts an eruption of the mighty mountain and Leifs designs it to humble and deafen his listeners before the manifestation of power sublime. Like "Geysir" and "Dettifoss," "Hekla" is a study in carefully articulated dynamic graduation. One might be excused for linking Leifs' aesthetics to Heidegger's ontology: "Being" reveals itself apocalyptically and then withdraws, leaving its mark on a disturbed human consciousness. Hallgrímsson's poem requires three brief lines: "Grimmi djúpi dimmu daušaorg. / žangaš raušir logar yfir landiš / leidu hrauniš seidda." ("In the dim depths, death-cries. / There the red flames spread /seething lava over the land.") The "Iceland Overture" (1928) represents Leifs at his most orthodox and acceptable, although it doesn't sound like anybody but Leifs. For orchestra and chorus, it involves a handful of Icelandic folksongs developed orchestrally, with a choral finale to a patriotic poem. The "Reminiscence du Nord" (1952, for strings, is Leifs in his quiet mood, "impressionistic," icy, remote. The "Elegy" (1961), also for strings, is cut from the same cloth. We hear also a "Requiem" for a capella chorus, and the suite from music that Leifs wrote (1925) for the play "The Loft" by Jón Sigurjónsson. The booklet contains extremely complete annotations about the music, as well as all the texts in their original Icelandic and in translation. Fine performances by En Shao and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Buy this CD if you appreciate music off the beaten path.

Jon Leifs (1899-1968) is the most famous - hold on, maybe I should say "most well known" Icelandic composer, and probably has the most unique composing style I have ever heard. His music is defined by movement in parallel fifths, shifting rhythmic patterns, and extremes (volume, pitch, etc.). Leifs music often starts very quietly, but cumulates in some of the most powerful climaxes ever written. Leifs claims his style is based on old Icelandic folksong, but his treatment of the underlying material is anything but traditional.

Yes, it is true that Leifs' music does not have a tonal center, as we know it in western music, and many of his pieces do not have a traditional melody. However, this should not turn anyone away that is afraid of typical atonal / serial music (most of which is quite bad, in my opinion), as Leifs' music, believe it or not, is quite approachable.

Late in his composing career he wrote a series of powerful tone poems based on the natural features of Iceland ("Hekla" - volcano, "Hafis" - drift ice, "Detifoss" - waterfall, "Geysir" - no explanation needed, I think). These pieces, along with other Leifs compositions, attempt to provide the listener with a musical interpretation of the Icelandic landscape, at least as Leifs views it.

BIS has wisely chosen to separate each of these tone poems onto four CD's, as the inclusion of all four onto one CD would probably overwhelm the listener. The focus of this CD is Hekla, which, as the reviewer describes below, is a volcano in Iceland, the violent eruption of which Leifs apparently witnessed in person. Hekla is scored for large orchestra, chorus, organ, and an extended percussion section, which includes rocks, stumps, chains, and other bizarre items - definitely a first for classical music.

But is all of this effective? Yes, most definitely! Hekla (lasting about 12 minutes), starts off quietly, but things heat up pretty quickly. The extended percussion section is used to imitate the rumblings and explosions one would hear if he or she were standing next to an erupting volcano. The use of the chorus (primarily included for vocal effects, rather than the singing of text), is also quite effective. You have to hear it to believe it!

To call the remaining compositions on the CD "filler material" doesn't do them justice. The Iceland Overture and the Requiem are especially fine, showing Leifs' broad range of compositional talent. The overture includes Icelandic folksong material and is more traditional than Hekla, but contains the parallel fifths, shifting rhythms, and unique orchestration that make Leifs sound like Leifs. The requiem for a capella chorus, written after Leifs daughter drowned off the coast of Sweden, is really beautiful and contains none of the harshness found in Leifs' other compositions.

The music alone is worth the five stars, but I am happy to say the orchestral playing and sonics do the music justice (not an easy task, given the tremendous demands placed on the orchestra!). If you enjoy this CD, I also have the highest recommendations for the other tone poems, the saga symphony, Baldr and the choral works recorded on the BIS label.

The bottom line: If you are adventurous, get this outstanding CD to experience some of the most unique and powerful music ever composed.

64:41

That's right. For the average listener, atonal music can rarely take the place of tonal music when it comes to giving us a fufilling musical experience. This is mostly because it is limited in its capability to communicate certain emotional qualities. It cummunicates to us in methods other than emotionalism, which characterizes most of our popular music now days. Most average listeners now days find atonal music disturbing and emotionaly unsettling, and that is because that is the emotion that atonality communicates best. Here, in this ablum, Lief's composition HEKLA takes full advantage of this musical phenomenon. Here the deafening atonal blast from the orchestra is used to create the ominous suspence and the horrifing destructive power witnessed by Jon Liefs as he watched an erupting volcano. It is VERY AFFECTIVE. If you want to REALLY experience this music, you HAVE to turn it up!

I first heard about Leifs on an NPR (National Public Radio) feature, and the mention of Hekla caught my intrest. An orchestral interpretation of a volcanic eruption, by an Islandic composer whose knowledge should be firsthand? 26 percussion instruments? I was camped out south of Packwood, Washington, May 18, 1980, and Mt. St. Helens' eruption is seared into my psyche. Hekla celebrates the moment. All the other works have Western European roots, as does Hekla, but with a raw Nordic, elemental twist. A great album that I enjoy playing full volume as my 6th grade students filter into class.

This disc is perhaps the most contrastive of BIS's series of the music of Jón Leifs, and an excellent display of the remarkable style and imagination of this highly individual composer, ranging from the most primordial eruptive power (Hekla) to the subdued, but still smoldering, lyricism of the Requiem. The style is (primarily) tonal, but does not sound anything like anyone else.

Hekla is probably the most famous and spectacular of Leifs's nature pictures and is a musical evocation of the huge eruption of the eponymous volcano in 1950, a visceral musical recreation of the event with fumes and explosions, tumbling rocks and wite-hot lava streams, ripping mountainsides and huge boulders being thrown around like pellets. It is scored for a chorus and a huge orchestra including great bells, rocks, ship chains, cannons, sirens and shotguns, all used to spectacular effect. Gimmicky? Well, the impact of this work is tremendous and the tension supremely skillfully done, but the musical rewards are surprisingly great - this is a splendid, spectacular work with a power and intensity quite unrivalled by anything whatsoever. It is without doubt one of the real must-hear from the 20th century.

The Iceland Overture is gaunt and shiveringly cold, but evolves into a strange, primordial dance of searing, magical intensity - this is a true dance of the earth, furiously dark and alien. The Requiem is something different again; remote, haunting and cold - and the emotional impact is certainly bolstered by the sharp contrast it makes to the more visceral works on the disc. The Lofts Suite employs a more acerbic language, using bells and chains in a flowing work with many peculiar and effective nooks and crannies, without adding quite up in the end.

The Réminiscence du Nord is a wonderful work, mellow and dreamy but definitely cold; otherworldly in the sense of invoking the spirits of the earth and ice, sinewy but magical. Something of the same is true of the dreamlike, hauntingly beautiful Elegy, which makes a hugely effective contrast to Hekla. The performances and sound quality of this disc are up to the usual high BIS standards - in fact, all the works here are dispatched with flair and color and commitment, and the sound is all crystal clear and slightly chilly. A truly spectacular release, urgently recommended.

Leifs' music may be unusual stuff for the average classical music fan--even those who love heady 20th century product--but I've found that it's stunningly communicative to, well, average people--kids in particular, and especially if they're fans of Lord of the Rings and such. I'm sure Leifs would have been pleased to hear that.

Without meaning at all to sound patronizing (I admire this composer tremendously) there is something of the "soundtrack" to his sound. Leifs is compared to Ives, but I'd suggest he has more in common with Copland although many who've listened to his wild and woolly sound-world would disagree.

This entire BIS series is wonderful; especially Baldr.