Vagn Holmboe's 10 Preludes for Sinfonietta, five of which are presented here, were composed between 1986 and 1991 and dedicated to the British music critic Robert Layton (hence their English titles). Though composed for a number of different performing ensembles, the Preludes' orchestration is pretty much consistent throughout, with variable use of percussion and piano. The music is highly contrapuntal and requires a good deal of concentration on the part of the listener, but the reward is an engaging musical experience. The disc opens with To the Unsettled Weather, the most accessible of the collection, with its hushed chords and modal harmonies reminiscent of Carl Nielsen. From there, Holmboe's technique becomes increasingly inventive (his writing for the trumpet, bassoon, and xylophone is particularly ear-catching), yet never forbiddingly academic. Indeed, in the last two preludes there are haunting echoes of Sibelius' Sixth Symphony (in its evocation of the music of Palestrina), albeit with a preponderance of more modern, astringent harmonies. I cannot imagine these marvelous, recognizably Nordic works being technically better or more convincingly performed than by Giordano Bellincampi and the Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen. Da Capo's sound is top-drawer.

--Victor Carr