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God in Disguise

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God in Disguise
Lyrical suite by Lars-Erik Larsson
The composer
Native nameFörklädd gud
CatalogueOp. 24
TextText by Hjalmar Gullberg
LanguageSwedish
Composed1940 (1940)
PublisherGehrmans Musikförlag [sv] (1946)
DurationApprox. 30 minutes
Premiere
Date1 April 1940 (1940-04-01)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
ConductorLars-Erik Larsson
PerformersSwedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

God in Disguise (in Swedish: Förklädd gud; sometimes translated to English as A God Disguised[1] or Disguised God),[2] Op. 24, is a cantata[1] (officially "lyrical suite")[a] for narrator, soprano, baritone, mixed choir, and orchestra written in 1940 by Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson. Tuneful and pastoral in style, the neoromantic God in Disguise is a setting of a 1933 narrative poem by the Swedish poet Hjalmar Gullberg; Gullberg's prose is itself a retelling of a Hellenic story by Euripides, in which the god Apollo is exiled from Olympus and condemned to mortal servitude as a Thessalian herdsman. The cantata, which premiered over Swedish Radio on 1 April 1940, remains one of Larsson's most celebrated compositions.

Background

The piece was a collaboration with Larsson's friend and colleague at the Swedish Radio, the poet Hjalmar Gullberg, who at a 1938 Christmas party approached the composer about setting a poem from his 1933 anthology Love in the Twentieth Century (Kärlek i tjugonde seklet).

God in Disguise dates to a transitional period in Larsson's art, in which began evolving his established neoclassical style with an emerging neoromanticism.[3]

The piece is based on a motif from ancient mythology where the god Apollo is doomed to appear as a human for one year and serve as farm hand with King Admetus in Thessaly in the drama Alcestis by Euripides.

In response to the 1940 Nazi occupation of Denmark and invasion of Norway during World War II, Gullberg asked Larsson if he could add to his text a new forward in support of Sweden's threatened Nordic neighbors. God in Disguise is thus a "protest against violence" that "inspired in listeners a sense of calm and confidence during dark times and instilled in them the firm hope that truth and right would eventually prevail".[4][5]

The piece premiered over Swedish Radio on 1 April 1940, with Larsson conducting the Radio Entertainment Orchestra and Chorus (Radiotjänsts Underhållningsorkester och Radiokören) in Stockholm; the narrator was Olof Molander, the soprano was Kerstin Torlind [sv], and the baritone was Hugo Hasslo.[6]

Structure

Larsson's God in Disguise is a setting of Hjalmar Gullberg's (bottom) 1933 Swedish-language poem, itself a retelling of the god Apollo's (top) exile as a Thessalian herdsman.

God in Disguise, which lasts about thirty minutes in duration,[6] comprises ten sections:

  • Prelude (Förspel): Andante tranquillo [Orchestra]
  • Recitation:
    Förword (Forward). Ej för de starka i varlden ... (This is not for the strong in the world ...)[b]
    I. Vem spelar på en pipa ... (Who breathes an air in season ...)
  • No. 2: Allegro moderato [Chorus and orchestra]
  • Recitation:
    II. Apollon bor i ett tessaliskt stall ... (Apollo dwells in a Thessalian stable ...)
    III. Kring höstlig vaktelds bränder ... (Round watchful autumn embers ...)
    IV. Välsignelse följer ... (Where gods have passed over ...)
  • No. 3: Agitato [Baritone, chorus, and orchestra]
  • No. 4: Alla marcia [Chorus and orchestra]
  • Recitation:
    V. Husbonden må vi prisa säll ... (Now blessed be Thessalia's lord ...)
    VI. Vad faller över träden ... (What woodland is transmuted ...)
  • No. 5: Andantino quasi allegretto [Soprano, chorus, and orchestra]
  • Recitation:
    VII. Än vandrar gudar över denna jord ... (And the gods are walking yet upon this earth ...)
    VIII. Tror du att fåren skulle ... (Think you at morning hour ...)
    IX. Bjuder ett mänskoöga ... (If a look bid us mingle ...)
  • No. 6: Andante—Andante molto tranquillo [Soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra]

Instrumentation

God in Disguise is scored for narrator, soprano, baritone, mixed choir (sopranos, altos, tenors, and baritones), and orchestra. The orchestra includes the following instruments:

God in Disguise was published by Gehrmans Musikförlag [sv] in 1946.

Recordings

The sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of God in Disguise:

No. Conductor Orchestra Narrator Soprano Baritone Choir Rec.[c] Time Recording venue Label Ref.
1 Stig Westerberg (1) Stockholm Radio Orchestra (1) Lars Ekborg Elisabeth Söderström Erik Sædén [sv] Martin Lidstam Voice Ensemble [sv] 1956 31:01 Royal Swedish Academy of Music Swedish Society Discofil [sv]
[d]
2 Stig Westerberg (2) Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2) Max Von Sydow Catarina Ligendza Ingvar Wixell Swedish Radio Choir (1) 1973 30:50 Cirkus EMI Classics
[e]
3 Sten Frykberg [sv] Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra [sv] Per Jonsson [sv] Birgit Nordin Håkan Hagegård (1) Helsingborg Concert Hall Choir 1978 31:23 Helsingborg Concert Hall [sv] BIS
[f]
4 Esa-Pekka Salonen Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra Erland Josephson Hillevi Martinpelto (1) Håkan Hagegård (2) Swedish Radio Choir (2) 1993 30:00 Berwald Hall Sony Classical
[g]
5 Petter Sundkvist [sv] Swedish Chamber Orchestra Frej Lindqvist Karin Ingebäck [sv] Anders Larsson [sv] Amadei Chamber Choir 1995 29:08 Örebro Concert Hall Naxos
[h]
6 Eva Karpe "Members of the Radio Symphony" Mark Levengood Charlotta Larsson [sv] Gunnar Birgersson "Members of the Radio Symphony" 2000 36:49 Enskede Church [sv] Nosag
[i]
7 Christopher Warren-Green Jönköping Sinfonietta Sven Wollter Jeanette Köhn Thomas Lander Jönköping Chamber Choir 2002 28:54 Jönköping Concert Hall Intim Musik [sv][j]
[k]
8 Gustaf Sjökvist [sv] Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Bjorn Granath Hillevi Martinpelto (2) Karl-Magnus Fredriksson [sv] Gustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir [sv] 2008 31:47 State Hall, Stockholm Palace Kungliga Hovstaterna
[l]

Notes, references, and sources

Notes
  1. ^ The original Swedish is "lyrisk svit".
  2. ^ A solo oboe plays the first 12 bars of No. 2 following the fourth and final line of the Forward: Det är en grekisk saga ... (It is a tale from Hellas ...). After this solo, the narrator reads Poem I; this, in turn, is followed by the entirety of No. 2.
  3. ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
  4. ^ S. Westerberg–Swedish Society (SCD 1096) 1998
  5. ^ S. Westerberg–EMI
  6. ^ S. Frykberg–BIS (CD–96) 1989
  7. ^ E. Salonen–Sony Classical (SK 64140) 1993
  8. ^ P. Sundkvist–Naxos (8.553738) 1996
  9. ^ E. Karpe–Nosag (NOSAGCD064) 2010
  10. ^ This recording of God in Disguise is sung in English rather than the Swedish original; the translation is by the British composer John Hearne.
  11. ^ C. Warren-Green–Intim Musik (IMCD 082) 2003
  12. ^ G. Sjökvist–Kungliga Hovstaterna (7320470113356) 2012
References
  1. ^ a b Tillman 2012, p. 21.
  2. ^ Gehrmans Musikförlag 1946.
  3. ^ Tillman 2012, pp. 20–21.
  4. ^ Bergfors 1996, p. 2.
  5. ^ Skans 1989, p. 3.
  6. ^ a b Gehrmans Musikförlag.
Sources
  • Bergfors, P-G (1996). Lars-Erik Larsson: Förklädd gud (God in Disguise) / Hilding Rosenberg: Den heliga natten (Holy Night) (CD booklet). Translated by Smith, Andrew. Peter Sundkvist & Swedish Chamber Orchestra. Marco Polo. p. 2–3. 8.225123.
  • Tillman, Joakim (2012). Förklädd Gud (A God Disguised) (CD booklet). Gustaf Sjökvist & Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. Kungliga Hovstaterna. p. 20–21. 7320470113356.
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