Awhile back I presented a set of easy-listening tunes from Paul Weston's catalogue, one of which was titled "Swedish Rhapsody." There ensued a discussion about just what Swedish Rhapsody this was - there were two that were popular at about the same time, one by Charles Wildman and one by Hugo Alfvén.
Well, that one was the Wildman composition. And now we will give equal time to the Alfvén. But first a little explanation - Alfvén actually wrote three Swedish rhapsodies. The best known and best loved is the first, also called "Midsommarvaka," or "Midsummer's Vigil."
This LP combines the aged composer's own final recording of "Midsommarvaka," from 1954, with a 1957 version of the third rhapsody - the "Dalarapsodi" or "Dalecarlian Rhapsody" - with Stig Westerberg and the Stockholm Philharmonic. The LP begins with a brief and very noisy "Festspel," also from Stockholm.
This recording of "Midsommarvaka" has long been a favorite of mine. The performance by the Royal Swedish Orchestra and recording (the first stereo classical record ever made in Sweden) are extremely vivid, if at times a little crude. The "Dalarapsodi" is nearly as memorable.
Westminster issued this "Midsommarvaka" recording in the US a few times in the 1950s. Both times it included music from the ballet "The Prodigal Son." The stereo issue included Sibelius' "The Tempest" and the mono a few pieces by Ture Rangström. Here I've transferred the Swedish issue because it is the best pressing and includes the third rhapsody.
