Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Sacra", Op. 29 (1941, rev. 1945) / Symphony No. 5, Op. 35 (1944) - Owain Arwel Hughes

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Holmboe's Fourth is a choral symphony on sacred texts that makes an immediate and overwhelming impact. There's nothing in it beyond the range of most amateur or semi-professional choral societies, and it would make a terrific first half to a program that included some other choral favorites, like Orff's Carmina Burana or Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, which it in some ways resembles. The Fifth, by contrast, was the work that put Holmboe on the international map as a symphonist. It's a sturdy, tuneful piece with a particularly vital sense of rhythm, and it's magnificently performed and recorded here. Great music. --David Hurwitz

Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Sacra", Op. 29 (1941, rev. 1945) / Symphony No. 5, Op. 35 (1944) - Owain Arwel Hughes, Music, Vagn Holmboe, Owain Arwel Hughes, Århus Symphony Orchestra, Classical, Classical Composers, Concerto, Piano Concerto, Symphonic, Symphony

Vagn Holmboe: The Complete Symphonies
Average customer rating:

Wonderfully attractive and compelling music

Vagn Holmboe stands next to Shostakovich and Prokofieff.

Vagn Holmboe: The Complete Symphonies

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0000016P9
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Sym No. 3, 'Sinfonia Rustica', Op. 25 M.126: I. 'Brujdan' (Allegro non Troppo, Ma Con Vivo)
Sym No. 3, 'Sinfonia Rustica', Op. 25 M.126: II. 'Skammelsen-Variationer' (Poco Maestoso...)
Sym No. 3, 'Sinfonia Rustica', Op. 25 M.126: III. 'Bryde Kloster' (Vivace)
Sym No. 1 For CO, Op. 4 M.85: I. Allegro
Sym No. 1 For CO, Op. 4 M.85: II. Andante
Sym No. 1 For CO, Op. 4 M.85: Allegro Energico
Sym No. 10, Op. 105 M.250: I. Poco Sostenuto-Allegro Espansivo
Sym No. 10, Op. 105 M.250: II. Andante Affettuoso
Sym No. 10, Op. 105 M.250: III. Allegro Con Forza

Tracks:

Sym No. 2, Op.15 M.107: I. Impressioni (Allegro)
Sym No. 2, Op.15 M.107: II. Lamentazione (Adagio, Molto Tranquillo)
Sym No. 2, Op.15 M.107: III. Espressione (Allegro)
Sinf In Memoriam, Op. 65 M.185: I. Molto Moderato
Sinf In Memoriam, Op. 65 M.185: II. Allegro Vivace
Sinf In Memoriam, Op. 65 M.185: III. Andante

Tracks:

Sym No. 4, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 29 M.132: I. Allegro Passionato
Sym No. 4, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 29 M.132: II. Adagio
Sym No. 4, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 29 M.132: III. Con Fuoco
Sym No. 4, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 29 M.132: IV. Moderato
Sym No. 4, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 29 M.132: V. Gloria. Allegro Non Troppo
Sym No. 4, 'Sinfonia Sacra', Op. 29 M.132: VI. Laudate. Con Moto
Sym No. 5, Op. 35 M.145: I. Allegro Non Troppo
Sym No. 5, Op. 35 M.145: II. Andante Affetuoso
Sym No. 5, Op. 35 M.145: III. Vivace

Tracks:

Sym No. 6, Op. 43 M.155: I. Adagio-Allegro-Adagio
Sym No. 6, Op. 43 M.155: II. Allegro Molto E Con Fuoco
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Allegro Con Fuoco
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Intermedio I. Andantino
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Adagio
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Intermedio II. Andantino
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Presto
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Intermedio III. Andantino
Sym No. 7 In One Movt, Op.50 M.167: Coda. Andante

Tracks:

Sym No. 8, Op. 56 M.175 'Sinfonia Boreale': I. Allegro Molto Intensivo
Sym No. 8, Op. 56 M.175 'Sinfonia Boreale': II. Tempo Giusto
Sym No. 8, Op. 56 M.175 'Sinfonia Boreale': III. Andante Con Moto
Sym No. 8, Op. 56 M.175 'Sinfonia Boreale': IV. Allegro Passionato
Sym No. 9, Op. 95 M.235: I. Allegro Fluente
Sym No. 9, Op. 95 M.235: II. Intermezzo I. Quieto
Sym No. 9, Op. 95 M.235: III. Allegro Con Fuoco
Sym No. 9, Op. 95 M.235: IV. Intermezzo II. Quieto
Sym No. 9, Op. 95 M.235: V. Andante Austero

Tracks:

Sym No. 11, Op. 144 M.304: I. Allegro Non Troppo-Piu Allegro-Alla Breve-Pesante
Sym No. 11, Op. 144 M.304: II. Tempo Giusto-Presto-L'Istesso Tempo
Sym No. 11, Op. 144 M.304: III. Andante-Piu Mosso-A Tempo
Sym No. 12, Op. 175 M.338: I. Allegro Con Forza
Sym No. 12, Op. 175 M.338: II. Andante Sereno
Sym No. 12, Op. 175 M.338: III. Adagio-Allegro Con Brio
Sym No. 13, Op. 192 M.362: I. Allegro Assai-Con Moto-A Tempo
Sym No. 13, Op. 192 M.362: II. Allegro Moderato-Animato-Calmo-Tempo I
Sym No. 13, Op. 192 M.362: III. Allegro Con Brio-Calmo-Piu Mosso-Tempo I

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully attractive and compelling music.......2002-08-20

This music is fabulous! It absolutely compels one's attention, with its power, directness, and colour. While the thematic and harmonic material is definitely contemporary, these elements are rhytmically and formally framed in recognisable structures. This music holds the listener from beginning to end. Don't miss Holmboe's symphonies!!!

Vagn Holmboe stands next to Shostakovich and Prokofieff........1998-10-10

Vagn Holmboe is one of the top composers of the 20th Century. His music speaks to us, not with a lot of noise or intellectual mind games that so many "modern" composers try to pass off on us as "music", but he speaks to us through emotion, the calling card of great music. He speaks to us as Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Shostakovich speaks to us. Starting with Symphony No. 1 he makes us sit up in our chairs, knowing that we are going to be in for something special. With the final note of Symphony no. 13, we realize that his recent passing will be missed by those who love great music. Vagn Holmboe's music is not the music of the "now" but the music of humanity. The Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Owain Arwel Hughes give wonderful performances of each symphony and the BIS sound is never better than in these recordings. If you want 20th Century Music that stands alongside the best of what classical music has to offer, you can't go wrong with Vagn Holmboe's Symphonies.

Vagn Holmboe: Four Symphonic Metamorphoses

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The Subterranean World of Vagn Holmboe
Some of Holmboe's most powerful music

Vagn Holmboe: Four Symphonic Metamorphoses

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Vagn Holmboe: String Quartets, Volume 2
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ASIN: B0000060H0
Release Date: 1996-10-01

Tracks:

Allegro Con Fuoco -
Andante Tranquillo - Piu Mosso - Lento - Andante -
Allegro Con Brio
Allegro Con Forza - Andante Tranquillo - Allegro - Allegro Con Forza
Symphonic Metamorphosis No. 2
Symphonic Metamorphosis No. 3
Tempesta
Tempo Calmo
Tempo Piovoso E Sereno

Amazon.com

Holmboe (1909-96) is considered by some the greatest Danish symphonist after Nielsen. Holmboe certainly compares to Nielsen in that he too had a strong sense of nationalism, a keen ear for the simple folk melodies of his land, and a brain filled with modern ideas. The orchestral works on this disc are Epitaph (1954), Monolith (1960), Epilog (1962), and Tempo Variable (1971-72). They are an excellent introduction to Holmboe's middle period. (If you want the symphonies, check out Bis 843/846.) You won't necessarily hear Nielsen here, but the colors of this music definitely have a Scandanavian tint. Highly recommended. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

The Subterranean World of Vagn Holmboe.......2000-10-24

Vagn Holmboe (1909-1998) led the post-Nielsen generation of Danish composers. A native of rural Jutland, he wrote prolifically - thirteen symphonies, twenty string-quartets, a roughly equal number of concertos, and a good deal of orchestral music in forms hardly less ambitious than the symphonic. Among the latter figure the four works that Holmboe referred to as "metamorphoses." Humphrey Searle and Robert Layton, surveying contemporary Scandinavian music in 1967, wrote of Holmboe's music that it generates "the overwhelming feeling that the musical processes that take place are the inevitable steps in the working out of a drama. In a way, the experience is not unlike a journey; the sense of forward movement is inexorable, the feeling of purpose firm, yet the wealth of detail en route renders it unpredictable... The music grows consistently from [its] initial germ-material." The four "metamorphoses" in order of compostion are: "Epitaph" (1956), "Monolith" (1960), "Epilogue" (1961-62), and "Tempo Variabile" (1971).* As the titles indicate, these four works partake of the programmatic, at least in stemming from specific ideas or events, and so differ from the symphonies as such. While it is true, as Searle and Layton say, that Holmboe "does not deal in big gestures," yet he does deal in Titanic processes - or forces - that seem to occur in a subterranean world, among the lightless roots and stones, only shooting into the inhabited earth at the last moment. Holmboe frequently disturbs the listener this way, as he does in "Monolith," the shortest of these works. The first bars are all rhythm in the drums, followed (very rapidly) by figures heard in strings and then in horns. Holmboe begins the development immediately, with stirrings and transformations and recombinations of the components, always in dark motion, until the vision of some antique monument seems to stand before us. The other three works effect the same inevitability, but on a larger scale. It is remarkable how much the composer packs into eight brief minutes. This disc forms a good introduction to the symphonic thinking of a first-rate twentieth century musical creator. [*"Sinfonia in Memoriam" (1954) is also subtitled "symphonic metamorphoses."]

Some of Holmboe's most powerful music.......2000-01-01

Holmboe's "Symphonic Metamorphoses" are works of symphonic length and proportions, but are structured differently than his actual symponies. In these works, Holmboe's ideas on musical metamorphoses are laid out with a purity and transparency not seen in the symphonies (though they also use metamorphosis but to a lesser degree).
Metamorphosis to Holmboe was very different from variation form, where the aim is to compare and contrast a theme. With metamorphosis, there is a clear musical goal. Just as a caterpillar goes through several stages before becoming a butterfly, so Holmboe's works here go through several stages to reach their musical goals. It lends a sense of direction and drama to the music that is very moving and involving.
The first work, Epitaph, is in a three movement fast-slow-fast format, and is full of powerful melodies and a lot of turbulent drama. Even the slow middle movement still has plenty of tension. Probably my favorite work on the CD.
The second work, Monolith, is shorter ( < 10 minutes) and written for smaller forces. However, the vast array of percussion makes the work sound even bigger than Epitaph. Conductor Hughes has no qualms about letting the percussion cut loose! It works well in this loud and powerful piece.
The third work, Epilog, is big and dark. Written for what sounds like quite a large orchestra, the cellos and basses are given a lot of material to work with. At 26 minutes, it is the longest work on the disc and Holmboe actually initially meant this to be his 9th symphony.
The fourth work, Tempo variable, is separated by 10 years from Epilog, whereas a mere 8 years separated the first three works. It does sound somewhat different from the other works. There is more balance to this work in terms of fast/slow and dark/bright, less of the sturm und drang of the earlier pieces, and it looks forward to his later works.
The Aalborg SO play very well. They are not a 1st rate European orchestra like the Concertgebouw or the VPO, but I wouldn't describe them as 2nd rate, maybe 1 & 1/2 rate! In particular they have a great string sound, even if occasionally underpowered compared to the brass and percussion. Owain Arwel Hughes conducts strongly. Indeed I think this is his best work in the Holmboe series on BIS.
Highest recommendations.

Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Sacra", Op. 29 (1941, rev. 1945) / Symphony No. 5, Op. 35 (1944) - Owain Arwel Hughes

Average customer rating:

A Fine 20th Century Composer in the Wings
No.5 is mandatory listening. Recording average.

Vagn Holmboe: Symphony No. 4 "Sinfonia Sacra", Op. 29 (1941, rev. 1945) / Symphony No. 5, Op. 35 (1944) - Owain Arwel Hughes

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Vagn Holmboe: Symphony Nos. 2; Sinfonia "In Memoriam"

ASIN: B0000016IQ
Release Date: 1994-01-04

Tracks:

I. Allegro Passionato - The Jutland Opera Choir
II. Adagio - The Jutland Opera Choir
III.Con Fuoco - The Jutland Opera Choir
IV. Moderato - The Jutland Opera Choir
V. Gloria. Allegro Non Troppo - The Jutland Opera Choir
VI. Laudata. Con Moto - The Jutland Opera Choir
I. Allegro Non Troppo - Owain Arwel Hughes
II. Andante Affetuoso - Owain Arwel Hughes
III. Vivace - Owain Arwel Hughes

Amazon.com

Holmboe's Fourth is a choral symphony on sacred texts that makes an immediate and overwhelming impact. There's nothing in it beyond the range of most amateur or semi-professional choral societies, and it would make a terrific first half to a program that included some other choral favorites, like Orff's Carmina Burana or Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, which it in some ways resembles. The Fifth, by contrast, was the work that put Holmboe on the international map as a symphonist. It's a sturdy, tuneful piece with a particularly vital sense of rhythm, and it's magnificently performed and recorded here. Great music. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

A Fine 20th Century Composer in the Wings.......2006-05-10

Vagn Holmboe may not be a composer whose name comes immediately forward in discussions of 20th century composers, but hopefully some enterprising conductor will take him on and start what would probably be a popular support for this composer's work. A Danish composer (1909 - 1996) Vagn Holmboe was prolific, writing 13 symphonies, 20 string quartets, many chamber concertos and choral works and was clearly in the vein of his fellow Nordic composers whose works have become standards in the repertoire.

Holmboe's music is tonally based and deals with fragments of melody, some resolved, some left as segue into further fragments. His use of the full percussion array is quite spectacular and his sense of painting the spacious atmospheres so closely associated with the Nordic music is exciting. He lived through wars and experimental musical changes and the influence of these is evident in the power of his symphonies. Yes, there are definitely traces of Sibelius, Nielsen, Janacek and Shostakovich and his penchant for incorporating folk melodies and rhythms is not unlike Kodaly and Vaughn Williams. But he does have a place along side his more famous colleagues.

Symphony No. 4 'Sinfonia Sacra' was written in honor of his brother who died in a concentration camp in 1944. The text, divided into six sections, is written by the composer and deals with fear, dark, anguish and all the feelings that war engenders and ends in a plea of peace. The texts were translated into Latin in order to make the work more universal. After a harsh military opening the chorus expresses the sense of loss and terror. The remaining movements alternate slow, gentle adagio type musings with moments of praise and exaltation, ending in a Laudate Dominum that is deeply touching. The Jutland Opera Choir sings with commitment and Owain Arwel Hughes conducts the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra of Denmark with obvious dedication to this work.

Symphony No. 5 is purely symphonic and the orchestration is richly composed, pulsating varying sections of the orchestra with isolated leading melody lines exchanged among strings, brass, winds, and percussion. There is a clear similarity to the symphonies of Carl Nielson here and the comparison is a fair one. Holmboe knew how to manage the big orchestral sound and seemingly endless phrases that suddenly are augmented by moments of reverie. For this listener it seems that with more exposure of Vagn Holmboe's music he may well step into the important echelon of 20th century composers. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 06

No.5 is mandatory listening. Recording average........1999-01-16

I've known #5 since a BBC broadcast by the BBC Welsh SO with the late Bryden Thomson in the mid 80's. The opening movement has so much momentum and logical discourse that you wish everyone could hear it. The middle movement has a lot of power but Hughes overdoes the orchestral outburst half way through. The finale has been criticised for being bombastic but I love it, Unfortunately, Hughes doesn't understand this movement and misses the fun and games. The fourth symphony is relatively immature, full of curious choral outburst that don't really work for me. The recording is a little reverberant and the quality of orchestral playing is only average. In the absence of any other recordings of #5 however, this must go down as important listening.

Average customer rating:

Stunning Performance by Hughes/Aarhus

Vagn Holmboe: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 10

Manufacturer: Bis
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000016JI
Release Date: 1994-09-09

Tracks:

I. 'Brujdans' (Allegro Non Troppo, Ma Con Vivo)
II. 'Skammelsen-Variationer' (Poco Maestoso...)
III. 'Bryde Kloster' (Vivace)
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro Energico
I. Poco Sostenuo-Allegro Espansivo
II. Andante Affettuoso
III. Allegro Con Forza

Customer Reviews:

Stunning Performance by Hughes/Aarhus.......2000-10-28

This disc offers a sampling both from the very beginning and from near the end of Vagn Holmboe's (1909-1996) great cycle of thirteen symphonies. The term "nationalism" has acquired some obnoxious connotations in the 20th century, but it is by no means synonymous with xenophobia, parochialism, or aggression across borders. When William Wordsworth in his poetry or Gustav Holst in his music celebrated the presence of the specifically English countryside, both were working a vein of nationalism. So were Karen Blixen (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen) and Vagn Holmboe in their assimilation of the Danish countryside respectively to narrative prose (See "Sorrow Acre" or "The Ring") and extended symphonic composition. They were exercising what Oswald Spengler called "physiognomic tact," the subject's profound immersion of himself in the local scene, his attunement of the ear to the local tongue, of his body to the local gait and gesture, his sense of placement and direction to the form offered by local pathways and hills and hollows. In just this "physiognomic" manner, Holmboe's First (1935) and Third (1941) Symphonies qualify as intensely "nationalist," that is to say, Danish - or even more specifically, Jutish. The First, scored for chamber orchestra, shows Holmboe pouring his sense of Jutish folkmusic into three rhythmically animated movements that show how much he had learned from Bartók. The Third, subtitled "Sinfonia Rustica," offers two lively outer movements ("Brujdans" and "Bryde Kloster") flanking a substantial variations on the medieval ballad "Skammelse" ("The Shaming"). The example of Bartók is again evident. The Tenth Symphony (1970-71) manifests the later, somewhat more "cosmic" Holmboe. Indeed, after the work's première, critics spoke of "solar flares," "nebulae," "supernovae," and other stellar phenomena. Formally speaking, the Tenth is a gradually unfolding metamorphosis of the plainsong "Dies Irae," which however does not reveal itself in its recognizable outline until the final pages. (It is a kind of "metamorphosis-in-reverse.") Despite the larger scale and the increased sophistication of the procedures, the Tenth is unmistakably by the same composer as the two earlier works. If the Third makes explicit reference to Jutish culture and history, the Tenth too is Danish, calling to mind the cosmological and theological speculations of the Renaissance astronomer Tycho Brahe (who was also a poet). This too, then, is Holmboe exercising his "phyiognomic tact" - as Brahe did - microcosm (man) to macrocosm (universe).

Track Listings:

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