Evocation

An album containing chamber music by Pehr Henrik Nordgren of the Kokkola Quartet, made up of musicians from the Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Orchestra (KPKO). "Evocations" (ABCD 421) is the first of the current line-up and is released by the label Alba. The Kokkola Quartet was already founded at the turn of the 70s and 80s, but the orchestra in its current composition has only played since the end of 2016. However, its members have been in chamber music interaction with each other for a very long time, and this has honed the band's sound and style ideals. KPKO's 1st concertmaster Reijo Tunkkari, 2nd violin deputy conductor Annica Brännkärr, solo violist Hanna Pakkala and 1st solo cellist Lauri Pulakka play in the Kokkola Quartet. Pehr Henrik Nordgren's (1944-2008) music's strong need for expression and absolute honesty connect it to two very different sources of influence: Dmitri Shostakovich and folk music. Japanese influences and, on the other hand, large orchestral ensembles characterize several of his works from the 1970s. String Quartet No. 3 op. 27, however, marks a return to the king of chamber music. The piece is a one-part piece and was premiered by the Voces Intimae quartet during the Helsinki festival week in 1976. Equivocations for kantele and string trio was composed in 1981. Its stylistic period is characterized by Nordgren's own words: "Recently I have consciously tried to simplify my style". The kantele, our traditional national instrument, appears in the work as an equal, modern instrument with other instruments. According to Reijo Tunkkari, Hanna Pakkala and Lauri Pulaka, kantele singer Eija Kankaanranta joins. Cello artist Marko Ylönen will perform the sonata for cello. The piece dates from 1992, and Ylönen, to whom the piece is also dedicated, was responsible for the first performance at the Turku Music Festival. String Quintet Op. 110 is the most recent of the album's works, dating from 2000. Karelian and Ingrian poetic tunes, e.g. streams of tears, had become the object of Nordgren's special interest around this time. Although the string quintet does not borrow poetic tunes, its timbre is closely related to the composer's late-period way of handling this material. In addition to the Kokkola Quartet, the string quintet features Janne Virkkala, KPKO's 2nd solo cellist.
Nordgren's impassioned obliquity
by Martin Anderson