SIGNE LUND (1868-1950): Peace Chimes, Op. 52, Festive Prelude, Op. 21, 4 Pieces, Op. 16, 2 Pieces, Op. 17, Album Leaf, Op. 19, 3 Pieces, Op. 24, 3 études poétiques, Op. 32, Ballade in C Minor, Op. 37, Concert Étude, Op. 38, 5 Impressions of Nature, Op. 61.

Description: Lund is one of the most distinguished female composers in Norwegian musical history, but, if you haven’t heard of her before, it’s because she joined the Norwegian Nazi party in 1935 (the Nasjonal Samling). Convicted of treason after the Second World War, she remained sympathetic to the Nazi ideology until her death. However, all the pieces on the album were composed between 1896 and 1928, when Signe Lund was merely a committed socialist and dedicated feminist. During this time she was involved in a number of causes, including an effort to strengthen the rights of Norwegian composers, and she was one of the initiators of the movement that led to the founding of the Norwegian Society of Composers in 1917. This release features a selection of Lund’s most familiar pieces, among them, the languorous and melancholy Legende, and Peace Chimes, which she composed upon hearing that World War One had ended. Her distinct tonal language is characterized by a combination of clarity and melancholy darkness. Rune Alver (piano).