Klassiskmusikk.com ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ «Perhaps it’s the title of the album, Northern Timbre, that predisposes the ear, but you’re instantly more aware of the sound of bow over string in this violin recording than in most others. The next thing that strikes you is that in the opening movement of the Grieg Third Sonata, Allegro molto ed appassionato, Ragnhild Hemsing and Tor Espen Aspaas take that last word really seriously and throw themselves into the music with rare passion. Then you will notice that, perhaps because of her familiarity with the hardingfele, Ragnhild Hemsing phrases with an unusual degree of portamento – now out of fashion, of course, and it takes a bit of getting used to, but who’s to say that this wasn’t how Grieg himself have known the music? And he would be thrilled, I imagine, to hear the finale performed with the wild spontaneity that Hemsing and Aspaas find in it here. The other two works here are far less familiar fare, but our two musicians throw themselves in with the same fearless abandon as in the Grieg: Sibelius’ five Danses champêtres take on a kind of sonata strength when played with this kind of commitment, and it’s good to hear Nielsen’s neglected score being given a performance that projects its unusual blend of lyricism and strength. Harald Herresthal’s lucid notes remark that in this work “Nielsen hadde frigjort seg far sine forbilder. Tonspråket er fortstatt romantisk, men djervere og mindre sentimental”, and Hemsing and Aspaas manage to catch both the Romantic big-heartedness and the more muscular, goal-oriented sense of direction; indeed, the sense of drive is such that the big tunes are all the more effective when Nielsen does stop to admire the view. The immediacy of these thrilling performances is captured in sound of similar immediacy, as we have long since come to expect from 2L. Altogether a remarkable release.» — Martin Anderson, August 2017
All digital services, including MQA on TIDAL http://phonofile.link/northern-timbre
Pure Audio Blu-ray with Auro-3D and Dolby Atmos from 2L https://shop.klicktrack.com/2l/1001832
A Hybrid SACD is included in the box. The compact disc looks like a normal CD and plays on all standard players and computers. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VVVZCM
NORTHERN TIMBRE Ragnhild Hemsing & Tor Espen Aspaas
Album details, artwork and eBook: www.2L.no/pages/album/138.html