Kalevi Aho - Symphony No.8; Pergamon

Kalevi AHO (1949)

Symphony No. 8 for organ and orchestra (1993)* 

Pergamon, for four orchestral groups, four narrators and organ (1990)**

*Hans-Ola Ericsson (organ)

**Lilli Paasikivi, Eeva-Liisa Saarinen, Tom Nyman and Matti Lehtinen (narrators); 

Pauli Pietiläinen (organ)

Lahti Symphony Orchestra

Osmo Vänskä

Recorded:  23-25 May 1994, Ristinkirkko, Lahti, Finland

This work, one of many commissions from the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, is Aho’s very own ‘Organ’ Symphony. A densely packed piece in eight movements it’s also rougher and more angular than the earlier symphonies, with great cliffs of sound alternating with quieter, more intimate moments that recall his earlier works.

‘The tragedy of society and the individual, and its musical setting’, the title of Anne Weller’s booklet essay, gives one an idea of what to expect from this music. And although the Eighth marks a somewhat traditional journey from innocence to experience, what is less traditional is Aho’s musical language, which is much more uncompromising than before. Dissonances are plentiful, the organist playing a series of cadenzas in the three interludes, while adding colour and weight elsewhere.

For once I couldn’t think of a comparable sound world, such is the individuality of Aho’s writing here. The opening of the Introduction starts at both frequency extremes; it’s a strange effect and the first of many in this work. excerpt The first somewhat manic Scherzo displays a growing tension that erupts in a series of confrontations between organ and orchestra. Aho intersperses these conflicts with quietly rhythmic – yet restless – episodes. excerpt

It’s curiously unsettling music, exacerbated by the organ’s virtuoso display in the first Interlude and the strident dissonance that opens the second Scherzo. There is still plenty of instrumental detail audible but nothing prepares you for the epic battle that begins at 3:26. Remarkably Vänskä keeps his forces on track and the engineers never allow the music to slide into incoherence. This is demonstration material that will surely tax even the best sound systems. excerpt

Aho knits these movements together with considerable skill, so that the bells and organ at the end of the second Scherzo act as an effective ‘bridge’ between it and the ensuing Interlude. Ditto the transition from this Interlude to the ferocious music of the third Scherzo.

If it’s spectacle you want just listen to the passage that begins at 7:46 in this third and last Scherzo; it’s a shattering stand-off between organ and timps, fading to a simple yet reassuring Interlude. (And yes, there’s another one of those near miraculous transitions here too.) example Indeed, there is a hypnotic calm here – a sense of spirituality, perhaps – that may well remind listeners of Messiaen at his most contemplative.

Organist Hans-Ola Ericsson plays with greatsensitivity throughout and in the Epilogue the low-frequency rumble of the instrument as it underpins the orchestra is superbly balanced by the BIS engineers. Now the agitated timps are supplanted by gentle beats below organ glissandi, the battle hard fought and hard won. It’s this unfailing ability to ambush his listeners that makes Aho’s scores so fascinating.

Pergamon, written for the 350th anniversary of Helsinki University in 1990, is based on the so-called Pergamon Altar that dates from the 2nd century BC. It’s an extraordinary edifice, with a 371ft frieze depicting the battle between the gods (in human form) and the giants (fallen angels). (Photo courtesy of G. Ray Thompson Salisbury University click for enlarged version) This gigantomachy, reconstructed in Berlin’s Pergamon Museum, gives Aho plenty of scope for thrilling orchestral effects, starting with that massive gong and drum smash and ensuing organ pedal.

But there’s more to this piece than simple sonics. The texts, by the German writer Peter Weiss (1916-82), who fled Nazi Germany and settled in Sweden, are spoken in German, Finnish, Swedish and Ancient Greek. The four narrators are arranged around the auditorium, their declamations swirling about the hall. excerpt Clearly Aho is fascinated by spatial music, an interest that culminates in his ‘Luosto’ Symphony, premiered on a mountainside.

Given Weiss’s antipathy to the Nazis his response to this great battle has obvious resonances. For his part Aho creates a most unusual work, the voices sandwiched between music that roars and shrieks at both frequency extremes. In between there is much to delight the ear; just listen to that strange glissando that begins at around 3:12.

Even though this is one work that needs to be heard live the BIS engineers have done a remarkable job capturing the essence of this ambitious score. As ever the Lahti band play with great concentration and produce some spine-tingling sounds along the way. And while the piece has its apocalyptic moments – sample the passage beginning at 7:16 – the composer’s judicious use of orchestral effects ensures Pergamon never becomes bombastic or vulgar. A terrific filler and a splendid piece in its own right. Altogether a very successful coupling.