The Revelation at the «Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad 2003» Sings Grieg and Mahler

Young Finnish baritone Herman Wallén, a member of the ensemble at the Comic Opera in Berlin, proved to be the revelation at the last festival Sommets Musicaux in Gstaad. Among the eight singers selected to perform in the concert series “Voices at Four”, it was Wallén who made a particularly strong impression on the jury of specialists that had been gathered in an informal manner for the occasion; this included, among others, Marguerite Dütschler-Huber, the founder of Claves Records and a member of the festival committee, and Claude Starck, cellist of international renown. A recording was born from this wonderful moment, thanks to the support of the Sommets Musicaux of Gstaad, the Edmond de Rothschild Private Bank (the event’s principal partner and a major benefactor of young musicians) and the Association of Young Artists.

Edvard Grieg’s Den Bergtekne (the mountain prisoner) transports us into the heart of Norwegian traditions. The text was taken from an anthology of popular Norwegian poetry. Grieg himself considered this one of his best compositions: “I think this piece represents one of those few good deeds that I have done in my life.” The Songs to Poems by Aasmund Olavson Vinje date from the same period, years marked by life in the midst of nature in the mountains of Hardanger, fertile grounds for discovering Vinje’s poetry. Written in the rustic language of landsmål, these songs capture beauty and joy as well as doubt and affliction. Ragnar Søderlind, a contemporary of Grieg’s, orchestrated his Vinje songs, lending them a majestic character that represents a smoother transition to Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.