Aurora Borealis - Magic Of The Mysterious North

This compilation made exclusively of previously released material (rec. 1990-99) makes a perfect introduction to 20th century Finnish symphonic music. With a few exceptions, notably Vaino Raitio, the Scandinavian country's most talented composers have been included. How such a small population could generate such a large number of great, deeply personal composers remains a complete mystery. The works selected from the Ondine catalogue share at least one common character: the use of long, sustained harmonic patterns, which create colors of hallucinatory beauty and astounding originality.

Rautavaara's cosmic concerto for "bird" (on tape) and orchestra, Sibelius' dramatic Storm from the incidental music for Shakespeare's Tempest, Merikanto's dreamy Lento cantabile, Pingoud's Scriabinesque Extinguished Torches, Nordgren's fiery and folksy The Fiddler's Favorite Tune--all in their own ways present perfect examples of that magic sound world, created in contact with nature and its abysmal winters. The performances are perfectly idiomatic and the recordings always spacious and coherent. Too bad Ondine didn't provide any liner notes or introductory text whatsoever.

--Luca Sabbatini, ClassicsToday.com

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Levitation - Eotvos, Nielsen, Sallinen

"This is a beautifully recorded CD, and the performances from all concerned are exemplary. The side-drum player in the Nielsen is named in the booklet, but not - a serious omission - the accordionist in the Eötvös. Sallinen provides the short commentary on his own work, whereas the informative notes on the other two pieces are by Jouni Kaipainen." --William Hedley, MusicWeb International

"A brief word on the sound: the stereo layer of Alba’s hybrid SACD sonics emerges sharply and clearly from my non-SACD player, proving that you do not have to bathe the recording in aural goo in order to project good sound. Thanks, Alba!" --FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

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