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Oerbos

& Other Works Vol. II

Peter Greve composer

Release Date: April 8, 2022
Catalog #: NV6381
Format: Digital & Physical
21st Century
Orchestral
Solo Instrumental
Orchestra
Piano

A primeval forest, unaltered by man and teeming with natural greens and ancient oaks, and its power struggle between chaos and order is unearthed in OERBOS from composer Peter Greve. His third volume of all original compositions, the composer offers a wide variety of works for solo, chamber, choral, and orchestral performers, along with a riveting narrative of forest life in the album’s titular symphonic poem. Join the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava as they guide you through a turbulent passage of music, beginning with a calm sunrise and ending with an ode to the unity of mankind and nature, a celebratory movement after a ravaging storm.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Oerbos (Primeval Forest): I Adagio Peter Greve Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 1:53
02 Oerbos (Primeval Forest): II Allegro vivo Peter Greve Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 2:02
03 Oerbos (Primeval Forest): III Agitato Peter Greve Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 0:45
04 Oerbos (Primeval Forest): IV Andante maestoso Peter Greve Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava | Stanislav Vavřínek, conductor 1:50
05 In Memoriam: Ciaconna: theme with 12 variations and Coda for clarinet, cello, and piano Peter Greve Harry-Imre Dijkstra, clarinet; Ephraim van IJzerlooij, cello; Antal Sporck, piano 7:30
06 Prelude, Chorale & Voluntary: I Prelude Peter Greve Wim Ruitenbeek, carillon; Fred Vogels, organ samples 1:40
07 Prelude, Chorale & Voluntary: II Chorale (Mantra) with Chorale Variation Peter Greve Wim Ruitenbeek, carillon; Fred Vogels, organ samples 1:21
08 Prelude, Chorale & Voluntary: III Voluntary Peter Greve Wim Ruitenbeek, carillon; Fred Vogels, organ samples 2:10
09 Dialogues: I Discussion: Moderato Peter Greve Markéta Soldánová, flute; Petr Nouzovský cello; Lucie Kaucká, piano; David Chevalier, narrator 2:35
10 Dialogues: II Dispute: Vehemente Peter Greve Markéta Soldánová, flute; Petr Nouzovský cello; Lucie Kaucká, piano; David Chevalier, narrator 2:41
11 Dialogues: III Reflection: Adagio tranquillo Peter Greve Markéta Soldánová, flute; Petr Nouzovský cello; Lucie Kaucká, piano; David Chevalier, narrator 4:01
12 Dialogues: IV Celebration: Allegro energico – Moderato Peter Greve Markéta Soldánová, flute; Petr Nouzovský cello; Lucie Kaucká, piano; David Chevalier, narrator 3:14
13 Sonatina: Allegro energico - Poco meno - Adagio - Tempo I, ma poco più mosso Peter Greve Peter Greve, piano 2:54
14 Symfonietta: I Adagio – Allegro vivace – Tempo I Peter Greve Filharmonie Brno | Mikel Toms, conductor; Stewart Clapp, narrator 4:55
15 Symfonietta: II Adagio – Andante espressivo – Tempo I Peter Greve Filharmonie Brno | Mikel Toms, conductor; Stewart Clapp, narrator 6:54
16 Symfonietta: III Allegro moderato Peter Greve Filharmonie Brno | Mikel Toms, conductor; Stewart Clapp, narrator 6:13

Oerbos
Recorded May 25, 2021 at Dům Kultury města Ostravy (The Ostrava House of Culture) in Ostrava, Czech Republic
Recording Session Producer Jan Košulič
Recording Session Engineer Pavel Kunčar
Editing & Mixing Lucas Paquette

In Memoriam, Ciaconna
Recorded October 26, 2021 at Het Witte Kerkje in Baarn, Netherlands
Recording Producer Martin Claassens

Prelude, Chorale & Voluntary
Recorded November 11, 2020 at the studio of Fred Vogels in Zwolle, Netherlands; Carillon recorded November 18, 2020 in the open air next to the Town Hall of Hilversum, Netherlands; Mixing at Sweet Studio in Baarn, Netherlands; Wim Ruitenbeek – carilloneur of the Town Hall of Hilversum; Organ Samples from the organ of the Union Chapel, London UK
Recording Producer and Mixing Martin Claassens

Dialogues
Recorded June 24, 2016 at Reduta Hall in Olomouc, Czech Republic
Recording Producer Vit Mužík
Editing & Mixing Shaun Michaud

Sonatina
Recorded October 9, 2020 at Sweet Studio in Baarn, Netherlands
Recording Producer Martin Claassens

Symfonietta
Recorded December 6, 2014 at Besední Dům in Brno, Czech Republic
Recording Producer Jaroslav Zouhar

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil

General Manager of Audio & Sessions Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
Production Director Levi Brown
Production Assistant Martina Watzkova
Mastering Melanie Montgomery

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner

Artist Information

Peter Greve

Composer

Peter Greve (1931-2021) was born in The Hague (Netherlands). He received musical training in The Hague from Jean Antonietti and Léon Orthel (piano), Theo Laanen (trumpet), Dr. Marcus van Crevel (music theory), and later from Willem Frederik Bon (Amsterdam), Myers Foggin (United Kingdom) and Terence Lovett (United Kingdom), in orchestral conducting. During this time, he also studied at the State University of Leiden (Netherlands), where he obtained M.Sc. (1957) and Ph.D. (1959) degrees in chemistry.

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Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava

Orchestra

The Janáček Philharmonic is a world-class symphony orchestra based in Ostrava, Czech Republic and an emerging figure on the international performance scene. With over 100 top-level musicians, the orchestra aims to introduce unique, quality repertoire while showcasing their own recognizable sound.

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Notes

History
The subject of this work is the nature and inhabitants of the area now called “The Netherlands” in the time of the “Hunebed-builders” (Late Stone Age, approximately 5000 years ago). In that time, the area was mainly covered with swampy primeval forest cut by many rivers and brooks. On higher places, isolated groups of men lived in simple huts and utilized primitive forms of agriculture, hunting, fishing, and animal husbandry. They could not write, and worshiped nature gods which they tried to keep lenient with offerings and rituals.

It is assumed that the “Hunebeds” (simple man-made natural stone structures) marked collective graveyards and worshiping places. The total number of inhabitants of the area at that time is estimated at approximately 10,000 (today almost 18,000,000).

Scenario
The fundamental thought behind this work is the permanent struggle in Nature between chaos and order.
There are 4 movements:

I. Adagio: It is springtime. The sun rises, the contours of the wood become visible. Animals awaken and make their presence known.

II. Allegro vivo: Young animals play with each other and try their strength. Grown-up animals go seeking food and come in conflict with intruders of their territory and families. As more and bigger animals appear, the atmosphere becomes fierce, but when the trespassers have been chased away, the animals get quiet; some go for a nap, others withdraw and look for family members.

III. Agitato: Thunderstorms and rain chase animals and humans into their refuges; trees are felled by strong winds and bolts of lightning. River banks are flooded, woods set afire. Chaos is everywhere, but simultaneously conditions are created for new life and order.

IV. Maestoso: Wind and rain subside and men get together in order to thank the gods for ending the storm. They accompany their hymns with primitive drums, small flutes, and lithophones ( “sounding stones”). The work ends as an ode to the unity of mankind and nature. There are no pauses between the movements.

— Peter Greve

The piece is written as a Ciaconna with 12 variations and a Coda. Composition techniques from early Renaissance to today have been used to illustrate the timeless character of mourning for a loved one.

— Peter Greve

This piece is written for carillon and a sound track obtained electronically using samples from the Union Chapel organ in London. The carillon part is live-recorded from the carillon of the Town Hall of Hilversum (Netherlands). The organ and carillon part were combined later to a fixed performance on UCB.

The first movement (“Prelude”) explores the sonorous interactions of the two very different and technically complicated instruments, both based on long traditions from the Middle Ages to today.

The second movement (“Chorale (Mantra)”) has a pivotal function in the piece; it expresses the mental process of meditation in a philosophical or religious sense. After the Chorale, a Chorale Variation follows, suggesting an instrumental improvisation as intermezzo.

The third movement (“Voluntary”) is a Theme with 4 variations concluded by a Coda. The style form “Voluntary” stems from the English early-Renaissance tradition; it often used folk or religious tunes for the Theme. The Coda combines the folkish theme of the variations with the spiritual chorale of the second movement.

— Peter Greve

The central theme of the work is human communication, more specifically between two partners in a loving relationship. The two persons are represented by the two solo instruments; the piano fulfills the role of friends, family, or other persons near to the couple, who are involved—sometimes closely, sometimes at a distance—in the relationship between the partners.

In the first movement, “Discussion,” the dialogue starts animated and friendly, but gradually the tone becomes sharper, the partners interrupt each other, the phrases become shorter and lose coherence. Eventually, the communication ends in a grumpy silence.

In the second movement, “Dispute,” the conflict escalates further; the partners shout reproaches at one another, friends become involved in the dispute and thus become part of the problem. The dispute ends in a slamming door.

The third movement, “Reflection,” represents the core of the work; the partners have quieted down and reflect over their relationship.

Their situation is expressed in the poem “Quiero” from Cuentos para pensar (1999, ISBN 84-7901-868-2) by the Argentine poet Jorge Bucay (b. 1949). An English version of this text is spoken by a narrator simultaneously with a musical accompaniment played by the three musicians.

The last movement, “Celebration,” elaborates on the last line of the poem just recited: “I want you to know that you can count on me, unconditionally.” This commonly reached conclusion is celebrated in an extraverted feast, leading to a solemn confirmation of the relationship.

— Peter Greve

This piece is written in the spirit of one of the most important Dutch composers from the first half of the 20th century, Willem Pijper (1894-1947).

The reference to Pijper especially hints at his formal conciseness and his use of “basic cells” from which the musical structure is built up; it alludes less to his harmonic idiom, which mostly uses bi- or poly- classical tonality. In place of this, I used a tonal system based on four special seven-tonic modi and five five-tonic chords (more details given on my website www.petergreve.nl).

The Sonatine consists of three short, directly linked movements, together forming a classical Sonata Form.

— Peter Greve

This piece describes how a community of “trolls” (small, grotesque fairy-tale creatures with almost-human properties which frequently play a role in Scandinavian folk stories) try to survive in the bitter cold of the arctic winter. On the album, each movement is introduced by a narrator explaining the story behind the music to come.

A version of the same music illustrated with pictures by the Dutch visual artist Rik van Linden is accessible on www.petergreve.nl and on YouTube through the link youtu.be/1nLaPeMqBzA

— Peter Greve