Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1867-1942) Frösöblomster opus 16 (1896)

 

1. Rentrée

2. Sommarsång (Summer Song)

3. Lawn Tennis

4. Till Rosorna (For the Roses)

5. Gratulation (Congratulations)

6. Vid Frösö Kyrka (By Frösö Church)

7. I Skymningen (At Twilight)

8. Hälsning (Salutation)

 

 

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger was born too late. His idioms are close to Grieg, sometimes embarrassingly so, with a knack for cute melodies. He was an outspoken conservative racist and anti-Semitic, and derided contemporary composers and modernist trends. As an influential critic in a major Swedish newspaper he alienated the more enlightened cultural elite. The large-scale works (among them five symphonies and a violin concerto) were moderately successful, but some of his incidental music has survived well. Best known by far is Frösöblomster (Flowers of Frösö), a collection of piano pieces depicting life in the Island of Frösö in the north of Sweden, his much beloved summer home (in a map of Sweden you find Frösö in almost the exact geographical center, in the lake Storsjön near Östersund). Frösöblomster contains three books, written 1896, 1900 and 1914, with in all 21 pieces.

 

In Rentrée the jubilant feeling of returning to his summer paradise is very clear. The more peaceful Sommarsång (Summer song) is one of the best known Swedish piano pieces ever, almost a national anthem. The charming Lawn Tennis depicts a relaxed and friendly game where the ball bounces back and forth, and only occasionally erupts in a heated argument. Then we go daydreaming at the flowerbed in Till Rosorna (For the Roses), a kind of unashamedly sentimental slow ballet.  In Gratulation (Congratulations) we encounter a boisterous and not always completely coherent party. In Vid Frösö Kyrka (At Frösö Church") we have escaped to the peace and serenity outside the beautiful church, where bells and organ can be heard. But it becomes late and we must go back. 

I Skymningen (At Twilight) is a dangerous time where we have to watch our step lest we trod on the small goblins that have come out to play mischief (Swedish folklore is full of them); it can also be beautiful when we see the fairies dance. The final Hälsning (Salutation) must be a farewell for this time, with a hope of returning next year.