CD: Leif Ove Andsnes: The Long, Long Winter Night

On one of my favorite albums, A Land of Pure Delight (now known as Early American Choral Music, Volume I), there's a particularly engaging passage from William Billings's "The Rose of Sharon," the text of which is drawn from the Song of Solomon. His Majestie's Clerkes sing:

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

Well, that's from the Bible and not the meteorologist, and perhaps it's not going to be so easy this year. True, the trees are beginning to blossom, and I actually saw some forsythia on 16th Street today. But following the surreally mild temperatures of January (trees blooming on Capitol Hill at the opening of the 110th Congress!), Mother Nature dragged us kicking and screaming back into winter.

I once asked a Scandinavian colleague how she was able to bear the lengthy, dark winters in her homeland. "Don't feel sorry for us," she began, and explained how holidays, family gatherings, and the like bestowed a glow in the midst of winter.

Back here in the States, however, I get to thinking dark thoughts in the winter, and almost every glance at the newspaper leaves me thinking I can handle nothing more taxing than another cup of tea.

So it was nothing short of inspirational to drop everything this past Saturday and take in a performance of Doubt, John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning drama of an epic clash of wills in a Bronx parish, circa 1964.

Don't allow the title to put you off. Doubt is one of those beautifully constructed plays that seizes the imagination and holds it fast. Shanley's discipline and artistry as a playwright is matched by the fearless performance of Cherry Jones, here playing a parochial school principal confronting the possibility that a charismatic young priest may have engaged in illicit behavior with a student. Her Sister Aloysius is informed by an iron will, a surprising wit, and ultimately a touching humanity. Jones's memorable portrayal is complemented by the rest of the cast, particularly Chris McGarry as the priest in question and Caroline Stefanie Clay, who, as the student's mother, requires but a single scene and a few lines to convey a lifetime of painful choices.

Another artistic effort that seizes the imagination and puts it through its paces is The Long, Long Winter Night, Leif Ove Andsnes's brilliant recital of Norwegian piano music. As you would expect, Grieg is represented, and indeed Andsnes has been recording the composer's works for many years now.

All very well and good; you know and perhaps enjoy Grieg. But prepare yourself for the compositions from an array of Norwegian composers of the 20th century: David Monrad Johansen, Harald Saeverud, Geirr Tveitt, and Fartein Valen. To a man they were entirely unfamiliar to me, despite lives and careers which extended across the 20th century.

Don't feel trepidation about wandering into unfamiliar territory here, though; the music is demanding but accessible, and is informed by a variety of composers and eras. This is particularly true of the careers of Johansen, Saeverud, and Valen. However, all of them, in one respect or another, fell under the influence of their Norwegian heritage: folk tunes, folk tales, mythology, national pride and, in at least one case, outright defiance in the face of invasion.

Those influences help make this a truly Scandinavian affair, too, thematically speaking: everything from the reindeer to the god Thor puts in an appearance. Just read the track listings or, better yet, summon up your own images as you listen to the recording. Andsnes is masterful in his technique, finding the mood, tone, and coloring for each piece, from serene to sprightly, from thunderous to meditative. Is this disc a tale for a winter's night, or is it the story of a people? You could make a case for both views.

And if you are wondering where we have squirreled away this particular CD, just head over to the browser with all the EMI Encore sale items. Yes, this treasure has gone budget!

But don't reserve this album just for the long winter nights. Summon it up for your springtime, your summer, your autumn.