This collection reveals Hugo Alfvén as both nationalist colourist and deeply subjective tone poet. The three Swedish Rhapsodies draw on folk melodies and student songs, yet transform them with orchestral brilliance and narrative flair. Midsummer Vigil sparkles with rustic humour and high spirits, its dances and quarrels unfolding in bright, finely etched detail. The Upsala Rhapsody blends academic ceremony with affectionate irony, weaving drinking songs into a glittering symphonic tapestry. In the Dalecarlian Rhapsody, the tone darkens: a herd-maiden’s lonely reverie expands into dream, legend and elemental force, before returning to quiet melancholy. The symphonic poem A Legend of the Skerries evokes storm, moonlight and human longing in music of brooding intensity, while the suite from The Mountain King balances virtuoso dance with lyrical stillness and northern enchantment. Under Neeme Järvi’s direction, the orchestra shapes these scenes with rhythmic vitality, glowing colour and a keen sense of storytelling, allowing Alfvén’s richly imagined Sweden to emerge in all its light and shadow.