The Hardanger fiddle resembles its ancestor the viola d’amore in that it has a course of resonating strings under the fingerboard, and this gives the otherwise thin-toned instrument a certain huskiness that sounds oddly compelling. Of course, it helps that Geirr Tveitt composed two terrific concertos for this folk fiddle. The first, dating from 1955, is quite a substantial piece (nearly half an hour long), and as might be expected the music takes traditional Norwegian melodies as its starting point–but like Bartók Tveitt integrates the idiom into a contemporary musical language. It’s a lovely work, one that consistently engages the ear and skillfully contrasts solo episodes with evocative and powerful passages for full orchestra. The second concerto, from a decade later, has three movements named for three famous fjords. Tveitt marks the slow movement “Danza determinata e lenta”, and “determined” is the quality that comes most readily to mind in this compact (less than 20 minutes), tuneful, and purposeful piece. Soloist Arve Moen Bergset plays both concertos with the necessary verve and gutsy enthusiasm, and Ole Ruud supports him confidently.
Nykken, subtitled a “symphonic painting for orchestra”, tells the story of a mischievous water sprite who takes the form of a white horse, lures a young man onto its back, and then takes him on a wild ride that culminates in a deadly plunge back into its native pond. The music is extremely colorful and quite graphic, making the story easy to follow and one heck of a good time too. There’s an excellent earlier recording of this piece on Simax, but the differences between the two aren’t really significant. Anyone who has recently been turned on to Tveitt as a result of the wealth of attention he has been getting from Naxos and BIS needs no further urging from me. This is marvelous music, marvelously played and recorded.
