Graffiti

Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) writes in large, monolithic blocks of sound, with dense harmonies and melodies that often move in short, crabbed steps. That hasn't changed, but the two recent pieces included on this disc suggest a new concern with humanizing values and communicative clarity. "Seht die Sonne," which the San Francisco Symphony co-commissioned and gave its North American premiere in 2008, is as massive and solidly built as anything else in Lindberg's catalog. What's different is the melodic grace of the writing and the gleaming transparency of the orchestral textures, beautifully rendered by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under conductor Sakari Oramo. The companion piece, "Graffiti," is a choral setting of various Latin scribbles - commercial, philosophical, obscene or inscrutable - left behind along the streets and alleyways of Pompeii. The use of Lindberg's trademark sonorities to conjure up ancient walls is a little obvious, and there's more than a whiff of sword-and-sandal cliches here; but the cumulative effect of the piece is powerful in spite of it all.