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1In the bleak midwinterIf you try to find this much-loved Christmascarol in Gustav Holst’s own list of hiscompositions, you will look in vain. Shortlyafter the turn of the previous century Holst’scomposer friend Ralph Vaughan Williamswas engaged to edit the musical material forthe English Hymnal, and asked his friendGustav Holst to contribute. Holst producedthree hymns, of which In the bleak midwinteris the first (no. 25 in the English Hymnal). Itwas subsequently published in a collection ofsix Christmas carols by Oxford UniversityPress and thus began its journey to becomingone of the most-loved carols of all times. Thebeautiful poem which inspired Gustav Holstwas written by Christina Rosetti, sister of thegreat Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rosetti andone of the noblest woman poets of theVictorian age.2Et lite barn, så lysteligThis tune, which is usually associated withGrundtvig’s words, has deep roots in Nordicsoil. It was given Nordic words as early asduring the renaissance; the tune has thecharacter of a Norwegian folk melody.3Mitt hjerte alltid vankerWe take the most established hymns in thehymn-book for granted – words and melodyare part and parcel of the same entity. Often,however, they are the result of a fusing of verydifferent ages and spiritual climates – as is thecase with the wonderful ‘hand in glove’ tuneto Brorson’s hymn “Mitt hjerte alltid vanker”.The words were written during Brorson’speriod as pastor in southern Jutland in the1730s. The link-up with the present tune didnot, however, happen until 80-90 years laterafter Norway had parted with Denmark andentered into a union with Sweden. The editorsof the hymn-book gave the tune’s origins asbeing in Vestergotland, but the form in whichit exists with Brorson’s words is an adapted,Norwegian folk song version. Apart from itsdeeply pious mood, it is probably safest to saythat we know nothing for certain of the tune’sorigins; the index in the hymn-book gives theorigin as ‘unknown’ – which does not at alldetract from its qualities.4Maria WiegenliedMary’s song at the crib is the beloved subjectof a German folk song that has been set tomusic by both Brahms and Max Reger.Reger’s usual megalomania is totally absenthere, in what is perhaps his finest single Lied.5Angels from the realms of gloryAlmost a Christmas national anthem incertain parts of the English-speaking world,this carol is a product of Victorian England.The disparagement of this era in retrospect is06
quite remarkable. Henry Smart, born into anEnglish composer and organ dynasty, wasconsidered in his day (1860-70) “second onlyto Bach as a composer of organ music”(Spark). Today only two of his hymns are inregular use, but the one presented here hasbecome something of a Christmas hit!6Ode for the birthdayof Queen Anne–“Eternal source of light divine”Handel never became fully at home with theEnglish language, but his relationship withthe last Stuart on the throne of England,Queen Anne (daughter of James II), was ofthe very best. There is disagreement as towhether it was on the occasion of the queen’slast birthday on 5 February 1714 or the yearbefore that the newly-immigrated Handelwrote his tribute to the queen. The openingaddresses the birthday girl directly: “EternalSource of Light Divine.”7Sinfonia in DGiuseppe Torelli has perhaps beenovershadowed by his predecessor Corelli andnot least by his successor Vivaldi, but he hadwithout any doubt a greater role than either ofthe other two in developing trumpettechnique and integrating trumpet withstrings. The basis for his reputation in Europeis five collections of “Sonatas, Sinfonias andConcerti”. His interest in and contribution tothe trumpet’s place in the musical texture isdue to one person, namely GiovanniPellegrini Brandi. Torelli proved himself to bea true experimenter with an open mind whenit came to new textures.8Ave Maria<strong>Music</strong> history offers many settings of theangel Gabriel's greeting to Mary: Ave Maria.An 'alloy' comprising elements from differentcenturies became one of the best known andmost loved versions, namely Gounod'smelody borrowing the first prelude fromBach's “Das wohltemperierte Klavier” as aperfect accompaniment. Those broken chords,flowing freely in a steady rhythm, were awell-crafted foundation for the melodic skillsof the romantic composer Charles Gounod.9EngledansThe nature and actions of angels has receivedrenewed focus in recent times. Inspirationcomes from above, in a double sense: theangels dance incessantly. In a pleasant waltzthey hover weightless above the earth in TineThing Helseth’s performance. A contrastingsection, which does not depart from theirheavenly dignity – in favour of earthly skills –is successfully brought off. We can butconfirm that this virtuoso trumpeter also07
Page 1 and 2: my heart is ever presenttinethinghe
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Page 8 and 9: handles the mournful side of her in
Page 11 and 12: Tine Thing Helseth, born 1987, star
Page 13 and 14: she has also held with the Denmark
Page 15 and 16: Recorded 10-13 June 2009 in Jar chu

tiNE thiNG hElSEth - Naxos Music Library

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