Search - Jussi Bjorling, Kungel Hovkapellet, Grevillius :: Till Havs - The Swedish Recordings 1957-59

Swedish sorcery

Joy Fleisig | New York, NY United States | 01/08/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As magnificently as Jussi Bjorling sang both opera and song in many languages, including surprisingly good English, never was he happier or more heartfelt than when he sang in his native Swedish. Many of the songs on this CD were heard regularly on Bjorling's concert and radio programs. Indeed the supreme beauty and melancholy of his voice - what British critic Nigel Douglas called 'the unshed tear', is perfect for this music which is sad and idyllic at the same time. Not to mention that by even Bjorling standards, he is in absolutely stunning voice here, and these are some of the most beautiful songs in the Scandinavian repertory. The combination will cast a spell even on the most hard-hearted listener.Of course one cannot discuss Sweden without gushing over the scenery, and many of these songs are wonderfully evocative of Sweden's forests, endless lakes, Northern Lights, snow, midnight sun, etc. Particularly striking in this regard are the two songs by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, 'Nar jag for mig sjalv I morka skogen gar' (When I walk alone in the dark forest) and 'Bland skogens hoga furustammar' (Among the high fir trees in the forest) and August Korling's Aftonstamning (Evening Mood), which Bjorling sings with utter humility and simplicity.'Sa tag mit hjerte' (Now take my heart), which is actually in Danish, was written especially for Bjorling by Hugo Alfven. This is sung with astonishing sweetness and tenderness, appropriate for a song about a red, soft, hurt, bleeding heart made calm by the beloved, ending on a stunning pianissimo that lasts at least 5 seconds. He does equally superbly with the same composer's 'Jag langtar dig', where we really believe he longs for his beloved as the title says. We hear another gorgeous pianissimo at the end of 'Tonerna'. This song by Carl Sjoberg is sort of a Swedish equivalent of Schubert's 'An Die Musik', speaking of music as a peaceful refuge from the cares of day and night.Probably the two most striking tracks on this CD are the two long narrative ballads by August Soderman - 'Kung Heimer och Aslog' (King Heimer and Aslog) and Trollsjon' (The Enchanted Lake). Here we hear Bjorling as storyteller and even poet as the texts delve into myth and fairy tale. In the former, King Heimer smuggles Aslog (the daughter of Siegfried and Brunnhilde!) to Norway hidden inside a hollow harp. Through Bjorling, accompanied by a harp, Heimer's cries for the little girl to come out from her hiding place are heartwrenching. In the latter, a young boy tries to pluck a flower from a magic lake before a snow white hand pulls it away from him. Bjorling plays both the naive boy and the mysterious supernatural creature superbly. Somewhat similar are is a Sibelius song, 'Sav, sav susa' (Sigh, sigh rushes), about a girl driven to drown herself, although 'Demanten par marssnon' is another allegory about love and nature. In the more vigorous or overtly patriotic songs, Bjorling easily achieves heroic stature without losing one iota of his essential sweetness. No surprise that such an ardent sea-lover and fisherman would make something very special of 'Till Havs' (Toward the Sea). Thanks largely to Jussi's promotion of them, 'Sverige'(Sweden) and 'Land du Valsignade' (Thou Blessed Land) became secondary Swedish national anthems - I'm actually rather surprised that he never recorded the 'official' one, 'Du Gamla, Du Fria'. There is also a superb Swedish-language orchestral rendition of the Beethoven song 'Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur'. The CD ends with what must be the greatest recording of 'O Holy Night' in ANY language, capped by an astonishing high C. In fact, when I first heard this, it was on the first track of another CD, and I replayed it 5 times before going on to the rest of the CD!The documentation is excellent, with notes and song texts in both Swedish and English, and pictures of the recording sessions. The cover is one of the few available color pictures of Bjorling, with him sitting in a boat on an intensely blue lake with his poodle Bongo (the story of how Jussi got him is in the notes!). I have not been able to test the CD-ROM file in depth. Nevertheless, what little I did see was fascinating with pictures and information on both Bjorling and the songs, notably a beautiful painting illustrating 'Kung Heimer och Aslog'.The CD is actually a remastering of an early Swedish Society Discofil CD with the same music, although `Till Havs' is new here. Also, most, but not all of the songs are also on the 4 CD Jussi Bjorling set from EMI. I tend to think this new remastering sounds slightly better - a few odd clicks have been cleaned up. Actually, Swedish Society Discofil originally put this out under the title 'Till Havs', which is the version I have. I suspect they released yet another version because they feel an English title will sell better than a Swedish one, but it's possible the CD-ROM file might be improved. In short, this is one of the very best Bjorling CDs available. Everything goes straight to the heart and will likely leave you in tears. It is an essential CD for anyone who does not already possess the material from another source, whether one is a confirmed admirer of Jussi Bjorling or is merely curious about him, or anyone with the slightest interest in Scandinavian music. Frankly, I think I owe most of my own interest in Scandinavian music to this man. Once you fall under the spell of this great magician from Borlange, you cannot help but have your life be marvellously enriched."

Swedish glory

Alvaro Rodriguez | New York, NY | 01/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jussi's voice throughout the whole album evidences the fact that he has been the master of technical singing during this Century. You simply cannot touch this man."

Best Singing of Swedish Familiar Songs

paul galbraith | west haverstraw ny | 01/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Truly Jussi Bjorling is in his element when singing his countries beautiful songs. A must for lovers of his voice!"