Werle, Lars Johan
Werle, Lars Johan
Werle, Lars Johan Swedish composer; b. Gavie, June 23, 1926. He studied with Back (composition) and Moberg (musicology) at the Univ. of Uppsala (1948-51). He held positions at the Swedish Radio (1958-70) and as an instructor at the National School of Music Drama in Stockholm (1970-76), and then was resident composer of Göteborg (1976-79). In his music, he employs an amiably modern idiom, stimulating to the untutored ear while retaining the specific gravity of triadic tonal constructions. His theater operas have been received with smiling approbation.
Works
dramatic: Drömmen om Thérèse (The Dream of Thérèse), opera, after Zola (Stockholm, May 26,1964); Zodiak, ballet (1966; Stockholm, Feb. 12, 1967); Resan (The Voyage), opera, after J. P. Jersild (Hamburg, March 2, 1969); En saga om sinnen, television opera (Swedish TV, June 21, 1971); Tintomar a, opera, after C. J. L. Almquist (1972; Stockholm, Jan. 18, 1973); Medusan och djävulen (Medusa and the Devil), lyrical mystery play (1973); Animalen, musical (Göteborg, May 19, 1979); Ar gryningen redan här, ballet (Göteborg, Sept. 5,1980); En midsom-marnattsdrb’m (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), opera, after Shakespeare (1984; Malmö, Feb. 8, 1985); Gudars skymning eller När kärleken blev blind..., cabaret (1985); Lionardo, opera (1985-88; Stockholm, March 31, 1988); Kvinnogräl, opera (Göteborg, Oct. 18, 1986); Tavlan eller En eftermiddag pâ Prado, chamber opera (1991-93); Hercules, opera (1993); Äppelgriget, opera (1995-96). ORCH.: Sinfonia da camera (1960); Summer Music 1965 for Strings and Piano (1965); Vaggsâng for orden (1977); Animalen (1986); Födelse for Band (1992). CHAMBER: Pentagram for String Quartet (1959-60); Attitudes for Piano (1965); Variété for String Quartet (1971); Tva miniatyrer for Flute and Marimba (1988-89). VOCAL: Canzone 126 di Francesco Petrarca for Chorus (1967); Nautical Preludes for Chorus (1970); Chants for Dark Hours for Mezzo-soprano, Flute, Guitar, and Percussion (1972); Flower Power for 6 or More Voices and Instruments (1974); Trees, 4 poems for Baritone and Chorus, after e. e. cummings (1979); Sweet sixties: Dialog for Solo Voices and Keyboard (1990); Ännu sjunger valarna, cantata for Soloists and Chamber Ensemble (1992); Sonetto 292 for Soprano and Chorus (1993).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire