Search - Arttu Kataja, Herman Wallén, Tommi Hakala :: Aulis Sallinen: The King Goes Forth to France

An absurdist work with stirring, almost bizarre music

G.D. | Norway | 01/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This symbolist comedy (or sort of comedy) has attained something of a cult status, and not only in Finland. It is a strange but appealing work that showcases both the strengths and weaknesses of Sallinen's idiom (and the wildly inconsistent quality of his oeuvre). The plot is certainly odd if not outright bizarre, centering on the King of England's flight to France with his Parliament and would-be queens because of the impending ice age sometimes in the future (and the king's gradually increasing malice and arrogance), and it involves a series of strange travails, including time travels. It is silly, quick-paced, ironic and in the end, rather moving. And Sallinen has certainly written music to match.



The music vacillates between tunefulness and atonality. It is masterly scored with lots of color, often based on march-like fragments and hence lots of percussion. Other reviewers have mentioned Janácek and Britten, and I tend to agree - but the idiom is usually spikier and somewhat greyer. But it describes the characters masterly and underlines the troubled and not-so-comical plotline.



The performances are excellent and none of the roles present a truly weak link - the performance by Tommi Hakala as the king should be singled out, however. Kamu has the measure of the work (to the extent that it is really possible) and the Helsinki Philharmonic responds with verve. An odd and interesting experience, this one, and worth a recommendation. But this is not Sallinen at his very best - for that, seek out his fourth and fifth symphonies."