June 5, 2015

  • Kristjan Jarvi's Sound Project: Baltic Sea Voyage

     

    Baltic Sea Voyage
    Baltic Sea Youth Philharmonic/Kristjan Jarvi
    Naïve 5407
    Total Time:  68:02
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    Kristjan Jarvi has been bringing high school students from throughout the Baltic countries together to help create a sense of common bonds throughout the region.  Through music education, Jarvi hopes to help bridge the otherwise nationalistic gaps that exist in the region.  From this rich diversity, Jarvi hopes to further build and unite the young people here to understand this as a strength and a rich heritage that can lin them together.

    There are several releases in this series from Naïve.  The present one features music of these Baltic countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Russia.  The music spans from the latter 19th Century through more recent works that flirt with modern styles (Gelgotas, Kalnins).  Familiar pieces are also part of the release,

    The CD opens with Nielsen’s Maskarade Overture and then moves on to some Stenhammar (“Mellanspel” from Sangen); Grieg (“At the Wedding” from Peer Gynt); and the “Ballade” from Sibelius’ Karelia Suite.  The last two works are the “Sacrificial Dance” from Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps and an arrangement of music from Wagner’s Ring.  The middle of the disc explores selections from Eastern Europe with Gediminas Gelgotas’ Never Ignore the Cosmic Ocean and Part’s Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten providing a glimpse at some of the spiritual minimalism of more recent composers.  These are very difficult works with rich harmonic moments and subtle shifts that are very hard to pull off and can be quite exhausting.  Here the energy is contained well to make these quite moving performances.  The movement from Kalnins’ Rock Symphony is interesting and perhaps more familiarity with the whole work would allow for context to appreciate it more.

    Recordings were made over several years, 2010-2014, so the orchestra obviously changes tremendously in its players.  This is not all that discernible with Jarvi helping to excite the players where needed and help them explore some of the emotional depth of these pieces.  The performances are carefully chosen to help highlight the accomplishments of this educational project.  It would be a bit crass to carp about much of anything here, and honestly, the performances are quite fine reminiscent of the Venezuelan Youth orchestras that have released music from South and Latin America over the years.  The attractiveness of the set also comes in the very unique programming that is featured here.  Though it is mostly excerpts, one can appreciate the release as a sort of pops-like concert.  The tempos in the Nielsen and Grieg are great and there is a tremendous excitement here.  By contrast, the Stenhammar is a simply beautiful and well-shaped lyrical movement that is equally well played; likewise the Sibelius, where the soloists here do themselves very proud.  The result is a really wonderful collection of music.

    Naïve has released a few other CDs in this series highlighting other aspects of musical connections for this region and with Jarvi helming these amazing young performers.