Following their acclaimed recordings of Schoenberg with Sara Jakubiak and Britten's Peter Grimes with Stuart Skelton, Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic turn their attention to the music of Sibelius. Written in 1913 for the diva Aino AcktÃ©, the tone poem Luonnotar draws on text from the Finnish national epic poem, the Kalevala. It's virtuosic demands are ably met here by award-wining soprano Lise Davidsen, who also feature in the Suite from PellÃ©as and MÃ©lisande, music re-worked by Sibelius from his incidental music written for the first performances of Maeterlinck's play in Helsinki, in 1905, in Swedish. The tone poem Tapiola, from 1926, is Sibelius' last great masterpiece and evokes the forests of his native Finland. The programme is completed by a pair of much earlier works, Rakastava (the Lover) and VÃ¥rsÃ¥ng (Spring Song).

Tracklist:

Luonnotar, Op. 70
Tapiola, Op. 112
I. at the Castle Gate
II. MÃ©lisande
Iia. at the Seashore
III. a Spring in the Park
Pelleas and Melisande, Op. 46: IV. the Three Blind Sisters (Version for Voice and Orchestra) V. Pastorale
VII. Entr'acte
I. Rakastava (The Lover)
II. Rakastetun Tie (The Path of the Beloved)
III. HyvÃ¤Ã¤ Iltaa - JÃ„Ã„ HyvÃ¤sti (Good Night - Farewell)
Spring Song, Op. 16

UPC: 095115521724
Label: Chandos
Release Date: 7.2.21
Format: CD

Sibelius / Davidsen / Gardner - Orchestral Works (Hybr) (CD)