Jan Carlstedt: The Great Chamber Works

Emotionally, the first string quartet (completed in 1952) reflects a strong and at the same time controlled temperament, marked by Nordic seriousness with lyrical undertones, but also by passionate fervor. Carlstedt’s style here could be described as a free- and bitonal polyphony, with modal colouring. But while the term modality in the accepted sense implies adherence to the modus, the church mode, Carlstedt allows the modal color palette to constantly shift. Perhaps Sibelius offers a stylistic point of reference, mainly, of course, the quartet Voces intimae, but also the modally influenced Symphony No. 4.

The folk musical elements are more evident in the varying moods of the second string quartet (1966). It is a freshly musical quartet – but also expressive (sometimes with clenched fists!), it is improvisatory sounding – but very firmly composed, it is lighthearted – but also restless, often shifting. There are plenty of internal allusions, and the concluding fifth movement is an alloy of the material used before, and culminates in an unambiguous chorale-like statement. The piece was commissioned and premiered in Stockholm by the Slovak Quartet.

The Third String Quartet (1967) was first performed by the Czech Novák Quartet, and was soon incorporated into the repertoire of several prominent ensembles, such as the Fine Arts Quartet, the Finlandia Quartet and, of course, the Fresk Quartet. It is a work with many dimensions and consequently offers different angles of analysis. The style – that’s the human being. Similarities in style reflect similarities in personality as well. Like Shostakovich, Carlstedt often conveys a message in his music, although he does so in a more abstract way, without an obvious autobiographical connection. The quartet has no subtitle and we do not know its inspirational background, but still the listener senses that Carlstedt’s work reflects a spiritual drama. With each movement, the structure thickens, the dramatic expression is heightened and the musical gestures take on an increasingly fateful character. The entire work consists of a continuous development from the presentation of the first thematic idea to its final return in the finale’s coda.

In 1955, Carlstedt spent a year in Rome, on a scholarship from the Italian government. It was mainly during this time that the string trio for violin, viola and cello came into existence. The mood alternates between strict tone and passionate rage, you can hear that the stay in Rome made an impression. But Carlstedt had taken the greatest impression from composers further east, perhaps even here Shostakovich. In the limited contemporary trio repertoire, this work has been widely performed in both France, the Czech Republic and Sweden. The Trio d’Archi di Roma rehearsed the piece with the composer and embraced it with real enthusiasm.

Dos danzas suecas – “Two Swedish dances” – from 1966, is strongly reminiscent of Dalecarlian fiddler’s music, but at the same time is coloured by Carlstedt’s international style of writing, with both charm and power. The dances were originally written for two violins, and later adapted by the composer together with José Thomas for guitar.

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