Rumon Gamba – Wiren: Sinfonietta in C Major, Serenade, Symphony No. 3 & Divertimento (2018) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

No, no: we would never suggest that the music of the Swedish composer Dag Wirén (1905-1986) was in the slightest bit avant-garde. On the contrary, he always strove to write music which, while certainly novel, made for pleasant listening, without either dogma, or pedagogy, or a particular method. His oeuvre, more remarkable for its quality than its quantity, contains five symphonies, of which the Third from 1944 is presented here, and above all the renowned Divertimento for strings from 1957, in which one can discern the legacy of Grieg or Dvořák just as much as Honegger, whom Wirén venerated, or other musicians from the Group of Six; or indeed Shostakovitch in his more wily moments. The writing shares more than a few family resemblances with Jean Françaix, in its impeccable harmonic, thematic and architectural conceptions, all while retaining its light and transparent spirit. During his lifetime, his rejection of the avant-garde was a black mark against his name; but thirty years on from his death, this kind of consideration is no longer relevant. We can finally rediscover Wirén for what he is: an excellent composer. To cut a long story short, it was he who wrote the score to Absent Friendwhich was Sweden’s entry for the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest – which was won by France Gall, under the flag of Luxembourg, and not of France, as it happens – Absent Friend was neither strictly pop, nor variety, but a piece of pure classical romance, a tragic waltz sung by a truly great operatic baritone, Ingvar Wixell, accompanied by an exclusively classical orchestra, without drums or anything of the sort!

Tracklist:
Dag Wirén (1905-1983)
01. Symphony No. 3, Op. 20: I. Allegro
02. Symphony No. 3, Op. 20: II. Adagio
03. Symphony No. 3, Op. 20: III. Allegro molto
04. Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 11: I. Preludium
05. Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 11: II. Andante espressivo
06. Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 11: III. Scherzo
07. Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 11: IV. Marcia
08. Divertimento, Op. 29: I. Moderato
09. Divertimento, Op. 29: II. Allegro moderato
10. Divertimento, Op. 29: III. Andantino
11. Divertimento, Op. 29: IV. Allegro moderato
12. Sinfonietta in C Major, Op. 7a: I. Molto allegro ad energico
13. Sinfonietta in C Major, Op. 7a: II. Andante espressivo
14. Sinfonietta in C Major, Op. 7a: III. Molto allegro

Personnel:
Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Rumon Gamba (conductor)

Download:

mqs.link_RumnGambaIcelandSymphnyrchestraWirnSinfniettainCMajrSerenadeSymphnyN.3Divertiment20182496.p.rar
mqs.link_RumnGambaIcelandSymphnyrchestraWirnSinfniettainCMajrSerenadeSymphnyN.3Divertiment20182496.p.rar