The music of Snöfrid, a major work for orchestra, narrator, and chorus, strongly resembles that of The Wood-Nymph. Given its date of composition (1900) it comes straight out of Sibelius' early maturity, and much as I normally detest any music for narrator and orchestra, this is powerful stuff that does not deserve to be neglected. The same holds true of the cantata Oma Maa (My Country), though the Coronation Cantata of 1896, pleasant enough, is more of an occasional work. All three are very well performed by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, as we have come to expect. The Jubilate Choir, while not as polished as some, has the right enthusiasm and the populist touch that the music ideally demands. It isn't a large body, and this actually seems to work to the music's advantage, allowing orchestral detail to register naturally and keeping each work from sounding over-inflated. On the other hand, there's certainly no question of timid or tepid performances. There have been other good recordings of Sibelius' works for chorus and orchestra, not least from Paavo Berglund, but these equal or surpass the competition in just about any area you care to name.
As for the orchestral works, the performances are just as fine. The Andante Festivo, not a major work in any case, sounds unusually gripping in this taut interpretation, while Rakastava ("The Lover") is tuneful and charming, if not much more. The real treat here is the Overture in A minor, another mature work (1902) full of arresting writing for the brass section and a central allegro that, in its pastoral freshness, could have come from the pen of no other composer. Fans of Sibelius who don't know this piece will find much to savor--and again, this is as fine a performance as it has ever received. Indeed, the entire package is unusually interesting and uniformly desirable, which is unusual given the wide-ranging variety of music on offer. Sonically this is as fine as anything BIS has given us from Lahti, which is to say that it's on par with the best the industry has to offer. If you are looking to extend your Sibelius collection beyond the best-known symphonies and tone poems, this extremely enjoyable disc should command your immediate attention. [12/1/2004]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
