The symphony is in four movements and is very traditional in its form. The first and last movements are written in the usual sonata form. The work is very Post Romantic and yet harks back to an even earlier time. It is neither typical of the music being written at that time by the many composers embracing contemporary compositional styles and forward-thinking-ness; nor is it typically 'Swedish', as the music feels much more rooted in German Romaniticism {ie: Schumann and / or Mendelssohn}.
Jonsson is more or less unknown outside of his native Sweden, and indeed this was the first time I had ever come across him. He was ridden with polio and confined to a wheelchair throughout his life, however this did not stop him from composing a large number of works, mostly religious or vocal, with several larger symphonic writings.
This, his first symphony, was given excerpts from Scandanavian poetry to supersede each of the four movements. These to me acts as a kind of 'afterthought', as to what his music might represent, and a neat way of tying all four movenets in, to be able to create and afford the title 'Nordland': giving the symphony more of a Tone Poem feel to the whole work, although there is no programmatic element in the symphony, and sadly, many of the themes and musical ideas he brings to the work get lost and remain undeveloped.
The first movenemt is expansive and bombastic; the second is subdued and brooding. The short third movement is light, dancing and joyful, whilst the final movement is a sprawling expanse of dark mysticism and solemnity.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 2/5/20
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