The album cover features "The Tarn" by Norwegian painter Lars Hertervig, whose landscape style is considered a unique manifestation of Nordic nature romanticism.
Interpretation
Juha Kangas describes Nordgren's arrangement of the folk chorale "Koko maailma valittanee" as "hewn with the axe," noting its rugged yet tender quality.
Composition History
Pehr Henrik Nordgren composed Equilibrium, Op. 94, in 1995 as a tribute to Juha Kangas's 50th birthday, who premiered the work.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Nordgren believes music is not an isolated phenomenon and cannot escape the perception of global war, suffering, and the demise of charity.
Compositional Technique
Nordgren developed a unique "melodic-polyphonic cluster" technique, aiming to write melodic music using clusters, similar to Ligeti but with a focus on melody.
Composer Biography
Pehr Henrik Nordgren, the Finnish composer, was inspired to become a composer at age three after hearing an excerpt from Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony.
Performer Biography
The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, led by Juha Kangas, started as a student ensemble in 1972 and became a professional string orchestra in 1989.
