REPRINT SERIES

Hugo Alfvén’s Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 39, subtitled From the Outermost Skerries (Från havsbandet), was composed in 1918-19, largely during a sabbatical from his post at Uppsala University. It was first performed in Stockholm on 4 November 1919 and is dedicated to the composer’s daughter Margita. Drawing on his lifelong love of the Stockholm archipelago, Alfvén conceived the work as a sea symphony, one that also tells of two young people in love. The four movements are played without a break and last about 45 minutes. A soprano and a tenor, singing without words, join the orchestra as the voices of the lovers.

 Alfvén uses a rather large orchestra to evoke the rocks, waves, and changing light of the skerries, from quiet, shimmering stretches to passionate climaxes, with the two voices woven into the orchestral texture. A rich, atmospheric, and rewarding work, it offers orchestras with the necessary resources a striking Swedish counterpart to the great Romantic symphonies. This score and set of parts includes the wordless vocal parts for soprano and tenor.