Despite the suggestion in the title of a vocal work, this is a recording exclusively of Norwegian music for trumpet and organ; the Missa da Tromba (1988) of Kjell Mørk Karlsen is "inspired by the character and content" of several sections of the Latin mass. The bright fanfares and quartal harmonies of that work draw on the music of
Poulenc and other French composers of the middle twentieth century. Other works are more or less conservative, with the exception of the Lamento (track 2) of Jon Laukvik. That work may be the highlight of the disc, using a mute and various jazz elements in the trumpet part that give it a fresh sound despite its clear stylistic debt to
Messiaen. The most conservative of all is the opening Chorale Sonata No. 3 of Karlsen, with its contemporary treatment of Lutheran chorales. Ketil Vea's Sonata for trumpet and organ (tracks 7-9) features an unusual inversion of the usual three-movement sonata format, with a pair of contrasting meditative movements -- brooding over a problem from two different perspectives, perhaps -- before a joyous finale. The music is all neo-classic, and perhaps neo-neo-classic, but the oddly spare trumpet-and-organ medium adds an indefinable honesty. The combination is rare in the twentieth century, not only in Norway but everywhere else, and it highlights the fluent contrapuntal writing and the idiomatic use of the trumpet in each of these works. Trumpeter
Jan Fredrik Christiansen handles the stylistic diversity confidently, and the Super Audio sound will display the capabilities of a system even better than other trumpet-and-organ recordings (the duo is a common choice for audiophiles). A modest release that makes a good counterpoint for a collection of either Baroque trumpet music or British music (or one of the other conservative national traditions) of the twentieth century.