In Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament Ståle Kleiberg combines various elements of history and human experience into one orchestral programme. The album features three different works, performed by the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra with Peter Szilvay conducting, each piece addressing its topic from a different angle. The final product is an album not based on a single story but rather on the connections between remembrance, place, loss and migration.
The Lamento – Cissi Klein in memoriam has the effect of personal remembrance; it is dedicated to Cissi Klein, the young Jewish girl from Trondheim who was murdered during the Second World War, and thus presents one of the album’s most moving historical themes. By coming first in the programme it provides a reflective opening before The Town and its People shift the emphasis to that of a community. The two pieces together form an interesting contrast between an individual story and a broader sense of place.
The album then moves on to the large-scale Symphony No. 3, which is its main statement. This symphony was inspired by the Norwegian emigration to North America in the 19th and 20th centuries and examines the meaning of leaving Norway in order to start a new life across the ocean. The three movements take the listener through feelings of yearning, drama, and mystery before ending with a hymn-like finale. This sequence gives the work a clear narrative structure at the same time as enabling the theme of migration to be explored via changing perspectives rather than simply retelling history.
The way that Kleiberg has grouped these pieces gives the album a thoughtful sense of continuity. Although the works are a tribute to a life that has been lost, one that focuses on a town and its inhabitants, and another which is a symphony about departure and belonging, and so deal with different subjects, each of them addresses themes of memory and human connection. Since the orchestra performing them is one that is closely associated with Kleiberg’s work, the album comes across as a thoughtful presentation of his orchestral compositions. ‘Across the Ocean towards a Higher Firmament’ will appeal to those who are looking for contemporary classical music with significant historical and human themes.
