Recording of the Week, Rumon Gamba conducts overtures from Finland

It was almost two years ago that I reviewed an album of Finnish orchestral music on the BIS label entitled 'Scenes from the Kalevala', which introduced me to the delights of several composers approximately contemporary with Sibelius. I'm very pleased to say that my education in this area has now been increased further, thanks to a captivating new release from Chandos of a selection of rarely-recorded overtures, performed by the Oulu Symphony Orchestra under their chief conductor, Rumon Gamba.

It is quite understandable that such a collection would be obliged to include something by Sibelius, but even the piece chosen here is slightly out of the ordinary: whilst his Karelia Suite must count amongst his most popular works, the larger set of incidental music from which it is derived is less frequently performed, and Gamba gives us the overture. It makes for a rousing opener, with the famous trumpet march from the Intermezzo of the suite putting in a satisfying appearance halfway through, albeit reimagined as a jaunty ditty for the woodwind.

That's not the only item on the menu to originate from music for the stage: there's a wonderfully brooding overture by Erkki Melartin written for a play based on Sleeping Beauty, which includes some stirring playing from the Oulu strings, as well as an overture for Cinderella by Selim Palmgren, an evocative work with plenty of charming woodwind solos and sweeping string writing.

Perhaps inevitably, there are places where the influence of Sibelius can be felt, notably in the Prelude, Op. 7/1 by Heino Kaski (who coincidentally died on the same day as Sibelius in September 1957), but overall I was struck by the breadth and fecundity of the varying compositional voices. Gamba is adept at remaining alert to the changing moods of each piece, whether it be ensuring that things are kept fizzing along nicely in Leevi Madetoja's Comedy Overture, Op. 53, or bringing out the expressive range of Armas Järnefelt's Overture lyrique. Similarly, the players respond splendidly to the wit and panache of Uuno Klami's concert overture, Nummisuutarit.

The most substantial offering is the 12-minute Dramatische Ouvertüre, Op. 6 by Ernst Mielck, where a solemn opening eventually gives way to faster, more turbulent music that often sounded to me as if it could have been a long-lost composition by Mendelssohn or Schumann. Mielck himself described it as 'a battle between a hero's good and evil spirits', and this conflict is expertly portrayed by Gamba and his orchestral forces. For a moment or two towards the end it seems as if good might triumph, but then an explosive climax (with thundering timpani, raucous piccolo, portentous brass, and an intense roar from the tam-tam) informs us that alas this is not the case. With a final lament from solo horn, the piece sinks to its defeat.

Easily one of my favourites, though, must be another Järnefelt piece, Præludium, a short, infectiously exuberant affair that contrasts jolly, energetic outer sections with a brief central passage featuring a melancholic solo violin. It's a cheeky little gem, and provides a pleasingly playful conclusion to a terrific assortment of under-recorded treasures.