The Pastoral Suite (in Swedish: Pastoralsvit), Op. 19, is a three-movement suite for orchestra written in 1938 by Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson. The suite remains not only one of Larsson's most celebrated compositions,[2] but also one of the most frequently performed pieces of Swedish art music. In particular, the Romance (No. 2) is often performed and recorded as a stand-alone concert piece.[3]
Pastoral Suite | |
---|---|
by Lars-Erik Larsson | |
![]() The composer | |
Native name | Pastoralsvit |
Opus | 19 |
Composed | 1938 |
Publisher | Gehrmans Musikförlag (1942) |
Duration | Approx. 12 minutes[1] |
Movements | 3 |
Premiere | |
Date | 11 October 1938 |
Location | Stockholm, Sweden |
Conductor | Lars-Erik Larsson |
Performers | Radio Entertainment Orchestra |
Background
editBeginning in 1937, the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation—the country's national, publicly-funded radio—employed Larsson as a composer-in-residence, music producer, and conductor;[4] his main task was to write music to accompany various radio programs.[5] One of Larsson's colleagues was the Swedish poet Hjalmar Gullberg, who had joined Swedish Radio the year before and headed its drama division.[3] Together, the two men developed a genre of popular entertainment they called the "lyrical suite",[a] which alternated recited poetry with musical interludes.[6][3][7] Larsson's first commission of this type was to compose four orchestral vignettes to accompany the 1938 radio recitation of a Swedish-language translation Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale; he subsequently published these as A Winter's Tale (En vintersaga; Op. 18).
After the success of A Winter's Tale, Larsson began composing a second lyrical suite for Swedish Radio: The Hours of the Day (Dagens stunder).[b] He contributed six orchestral movements to accompany six poems by various Swedish authors:[9][10]
- No. 1: Adagio
- Recitation: A Day (En dag) by Verner von Heidenstam
- No. 1 (cont.): Allegro
- Recitation: The Earth Sings (Jorden sjunger) by Erik Blomberg
- No. 2: Andantino con moto
- Recitation: Siesta by Oscar Levertin
- No. 3: Adagio
- Recitation: The Two Tones (De två tonerna) by Kerstin Hed
- No. 4: Vivice
- Recitation: An Afternoon (En eftermiddag) by Erik Lindorm
- No. 5: Andantino
- Recitation: Man's Home (Människans hem) by Erik Blomberg
- No. 6: Andante tranquillo
The Hours of the Day—and, by extension, what would later become the Pastoral Suite—premiered over Swedish Radio on 11 October 1938, with Larsson conducting the Radio Entertainment Orchestra (Radiotjänsts Underhållningsorkester) in Stockholm;[10] the Swedish actor Gunnar Sjöberg read the first, second, third, and fifth poems, while the Swedish actress Gunn Wållgren read the third and fourth poems.[9] Afterwards, Larsson excerpted Nos. 1, 3, and 4 as the Pastoral Suite,[11] while Nos. 2, 5, and 6 faded into obscurity.[c]
Structure
editThe Pastoral Suite, which lasts about 12 to 13 minutes, is in three movements. They are as follows:[1]
- Overture (Uvertyr): Adagio—Allegro
- Romance (Romans): Adagio
- Scherzo: Vivice
As a whole, the piece is in the neoclassical style that was "fashionable" in Swedish between the two world wars.[3] In the Scherzo, Larsson's writing recalls the concerto grosso form.[2]
Instrumentation
editThe Pastoral Suite is scored the following instruments:[1]
- Woodwinds: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B♭), and 2 bassoons
- Brass: 2 horns (in F) and 2 trumpets (in C)
- Percussion: timpani
- Strings: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses
The two outer movements are for full orchestras, whereas the central Romance is for strings.[2] Gehrmans Musikförlag published the suite in 1942.[1]
Recordings
editThe sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Pastoral Suite:
Notes, references, and sources
editNotes
edit- ^ The original Swedish is "lyrisk svit".
- ^ Dagens stunder is sometimes translated to English as Moments of the Day[8] or Times of Day.[7]
- ^ a b c In 1992, James DePreist and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra made the world premiere studio recording of the complete six-movement The Hours of the Day (Dagens stunder), which lasts 22:29.[12] In 2003, Mats Rondin and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra also recorded the complete The Hours of the Day (21:34).[8]
- ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
- ^ S. Westerberg–Decca (LX 3086) 1953
- ^ S. Westerberg–Swedish Society (SCD 1051) 1997
- ^ U. Björlin–HMV EMI (E 063–34405)
- ^ G. Nilson–Bluebell (ABCD 003) 1987
- ^ J. Wedin–BIS (CD–165) 1988
- ^ M. Bernardi–CBC (SMCD5157) 1996
- ^ J. DePreist–BIS (CD–570) 1988
- ^ E. Salonen–Sony Classical (SK 64140) 1993
- ^ A. Nanut—Classical Gallery (CLG 7105) 1993
- ^ O. Kamu–Naxos (8.553115) 1995
- ^ D. Matson–Centaur (CRC2607) 2002
- ^ C. Warren-Green–Intim Musik (IMCD 082) 2003
- ^ M. Rondin–Naxos (8.557426) 2003
- ^ O. Rudner–Bella Musica (BM319288) 2013
References
edit- ^ a b c d Gehrmans Musikförlag (b).
- ^ a b c Lundin 2002, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d Skans 1989, p. 2.
- ^ Schlüren 2015, p. 15.
- ^ Nyström 1993, p. 6.
- ^ Schlüren 2015, p. 16.
- ^ a b Lundin 2002, p. 2.
- ^ a b Jacobsson 2003, p. 6.
- ^ a b Caprice 2019.
- ^ a b Gehrmans Musikförlag (a).
- ^ Lundin 2002, pp. 2–3, 6.
- ^ Eriksson 1992, pp. 3–4.
Sources
edit- "Dagens stunder: Lyrisk Svit" [Moments of the Day: Lyrical Suite]. gehrmans.se. Gehrmans Musikförlag. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- "Pastoralsvit" [Pastoral Suite]. gehrmans.se. Gehrmans Musikförlag. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- Lars-Erik Larsson (2019). Under tonsättarens taktpinne: svenska tonsattare dirigerar egna verk [Under the composer's baton: Swedish composers conduct their own works] (CD booklet). Caprice. OCLC 1104066491. CAP21920.
- Eriksson, Tore (1992). Malmö Symphony Orchestra: Portrait (CD booklet). James DePreist & Malmö Symphony Orchestra. BIS. pp. 4–5. OCLC 29640891. CD–570.
- Jacobsson, Stig (2003). Nordic Classical Favourites (CD booklet). Translated by Thomas, D. Russell. Mats Rondin & Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. Naxos. pp. 4–7. OCLC 871876769. 8.557426.
- Lundin, Peter (2002). Lars-Erik Larsson: God in Disguise / Little Serenade, Op. 12 / Winter's Tale, Op. 18 / Pastoral Suite, Op. 19 (CD booklet). Translated by Schenck, Linda. Christopher Warren-Green & Jönköping Sinfonietta. Intim musik. pp. 2–3. OCLC 53054794. IMCD 082.
- Nyström, Martin (1993). Lars-Erik Larsson: Förklädd Gud (God in Disguise) / Pastoral Suite / Violin Concerto (CD booklet). Esa-Pekka Salonen & Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Sony Classical. pp. 6–7. OCLC 34697048. SK 64140.
- Schlüren, Christoph (2015). Lars-Erik Larsson: Symphony No. 2 / Variations, Op. 50 / Barococo Suite, Op. 64 (CD booklet). Translated by Robinson, J. Bradford. Andrew Manze & Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. cpo. pp. 14–20. OCLC 965545444. 777 672–2.
- Skans, Per (1989). Lars-Erik Larsson: Förklädd Gud (God in Disguise), Op. 24 / Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 34 (CD booklet). Sten Frykberg & Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. BIS. pp. 2–4. OCLC 21568279. CD–96.