The music of Emil Hartmann (1838-1896) has been mostly forgotten outside of Denmark; two of the three works performed here are claimed to be receiving their world-premiere recordings. Yet the rediscovery of the late Romantic repertoire continues as modernist scolding of audiences loses its force, and distinctive recordings like this one result. Hartmann traveled around Europe from his small country, and his music shows a variety of influences. But he adds something to each. The opening Nordic Folk Dances (apparently published separately, but with much in common) have a delightful way of sounding superficially like
Mendelssohn (sample the "Old Memories" minuet, track 2) until you tune in more closely and notice the overlaid heraldic horns, the sensitively handled mode mixtures, the little rhythmic subtleties that mark the music as Scandinavian, and as a product of its own time. The
Copenhagen Philharmonic under
Bo Holten is as graceful as could be desired here, but the massive symphonic poem Hakon Jari, Op. 40 (track 6) seems to demand some
Karajan muscle and glitter, and does not quite get it. This work has a detailed program concerning the triumph of Christianity over paganism in Norway, reproduced in full in the very informative booklet. The strings of the orchestra do not seem secure in the upper registers, and the engineering does not make them very easily heard -- the effect is that of sitting at the exact spot in an auditorium where the brasses converge on their sonic sweet spot. The same problem plagues A Carnival Feast, Op. 32, but here the orchestra is back in comfortably vigorous territory. An enjoyable disc, introducing music -- the Nordic Folk Dances -- that
Nielsen must have known well.