the additional title “Missa brevis”, as its four movements resemble the structure of the mass. The Liturgical Concerto for Organ and Strings (2005) is “liturgical” in the same spirit as, for example, Honegger’s Symphonie Liturgique (No. 3). The three movements of the work are related both to the concerto form and to the liturgical form; the titles are Kyrie, Gloria and Agnus Dei.
Great works on serious themes
R EPER TOI RE T I P S KALEVI AHO Mysterium (2019) Dur: 25’
for piano left hand and string quartet The sketches for Scriabin’s unfinished Mysterium inspired Aho to write this work dedicated to its commissioner Izumi Tateno. Enchanting Scriabin-like harmonies serve as a basis for the melodic material. The work opens in shadowy, misty mood. The finale draws the musical material together, fading in mysterious moods.
Jyrki Linjama’s major works include his two church operas. Die Geburt des Täufers (The Birth of the Baptist, 2010) was commissioned by the Austrian Carinthischer Sommer festival. The theme is the birth of John the Baptist as told in the Gospel of Luke. The opera has also been spun off into a foursong suite, Lieder der Elisabeth (2011). Also related is the four-movement song suite Das fliessende Licht der Gottheit (2012), set to texts by the 13th-century mystic Mechthild von Magdeburg. Linjama’s other church opera, Three Letters to Laestadius (2017), is about the Swedish Sami botanist and priest Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861), who inspired an Evangelical Lutheran revival movement. In the opera’s story, Laestadius, on his deathbed, receives three letters from women in the present day whose fates reveal the darker side of Laestadianism and horrify the priest. The work offers a reflective and critical perspective on the distorted interpretation of spiritual legacy. The form of the work follows the structure of the mass and is, in a way, situated between opera and liturgy. Alongside the operas, Linjama’s main output includes two large-scale vocal works that reflect on serious themes. The Finnish Stabat Mater (2012) interprets the familiar Stabat Mater text as a Finnish translation. This time there are no Gregorian melodies, but instead a connection to the archaic Finnish lament tradition. The instrumentation includes the kantele in addition to strings. The composer’s other large-scale vocal work is Vanitas (2013), based on the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Jyrki Linjama’s pragmatic approach is illustrated by the fact that the choral part tends to be a little more simplistic, while the orchestral part has a harmonic and tonal richness.
DANIEL BÖRTZ Agora (2009-2010) Dur: 15’
Kimmo Korhonen
Dur: 5’
Footnote: Jyrki Linjama (born on 23 April 1962) celebrates his 60th anniversary this year.
for piano quintet Agora is the Greek word for marketplace; in ancient times it was also a place of assembly where the citizens held discussions and selected persons made decisions. Börtz’s quintet consists of five “character pieces”, including gravity, joy, pleasure, argumentation – all typical of an Agora.
CECILIA DAMSTRÖM Minna – Quintet No. 1 (2017) Dur: 24’
for piano quintet Minna is the first in a trilogy of quintets on the theme ”Women’s destiny”. The work depicts various events in the life of author and first Finnish feminist, Minna Canth whose willpower is clearly manifested in the forceful and energetic music. But there are also fragile melodies and humorous features here.
ANDERS ELIASSON Fogliame (1990) Dur: 19’
for piano quartet Fogliame means foliage and refers to the continually shifting and unpredictable shimmer of light in the shadows of the trees. It is written in a single movement but contains numerous contrasting sections where intensity and allegro alternate with soothing calm and lento – an often repeated indication is dolcissimo. The music develops freely, like when the winds randomly stir the luminous flux among the leaves.
HALVOR HAUG Trio (1995) Dur: 22’
for piano trio Haug’s Trio is a deeply expressive work filled with strong feelings, drama, seriousness and mystery. The piece was commissioned by the Grieg Trio, to whom the work is dedicated.
MIKKO HEINIÖ The Voice of the Tree (Puun ääni) (2006) Dur: 17’
for piano quartet This exciting quartet was inspired by the poems of Eira Stenberg about trees: their voices, movement, spaces and light. Hitting, tapping and rubbing endow the music with the soulful sound of wood and trees as well as captivating physicality. There are also hints of West African pentatonics and rhythms.
UUNO KLAMI Piano Trio in F Sharp Minor (1917) Klami completed only the first movement (Quasi allegro) of this piece. The trio was recently edited by Esa Ylönen and Eero Kesti and acts as an enchanting introduction to Klami’s development as a composer. After the folk-song like beginning, the texture becomes more expressive and proceeds with dramatic outbursts.
Piano Trios, Quartets & Quintets HELVI LEIVISKÄ Piano Trio (1924) Dur: ca 30’
The one-movement youthful trio impresses with its directness of expression, affective potential and profound sonority. It focuses on symbols of spirituality: the mystery of existence and spiritual quest were themes that dominated Leiviskä’s life and thoughts and they come across in her music.
Piano Quartet (1926/1935) Dur: 25’
This quartet is considered one of the cornerstones of Leiviskä’s chamber music. It is in three movements featuring religious and ecstatic imagery such as may be found in French, German or Russian neo-Romantic styles.
KAI NIEMINEN Reflecting Landscapes (2011) Dur: ca 19’
for piano trio Emily Dickinson’s poem inspired this piece which includes delicate bird motifs and church bells in the opening section. The violin and cello flageolets paint a dream-like atmosphere, leaving room for the piano’s hypnotic movements
MARIE SAMUELSSON In Horizons (2018) Dur: 13’
for piano trio Samuelsson composed In Horizons during a stay at the island of Fårö, north of Gotland. She describes the work as ”different meetings of light, dark streaks and forward-looking.” The work was written for Trio Lindgård-Rodrick-Öquist and premiered during the Swedish Music Spring Festival 2018.
ALBERT SCHNELZER Predatory Dances (2003) Dur: 12’
for piano trio The trio starts out violent and aggressive, in forte fortissimo. Like pursued game the strings rush on with the piano driving them from behind. In between there are sections of calm and rest, and melodic lines that are here and there achingly beautiful. This is also how the trio is concluded: Andante e tranquillo.
JEAN SIBELIUS Trio in C Major (Lovisa Trio) (1888) Dur: 16’ In this work, Sibelius left Classicism behind and adopted an air of melancholy Romanticism. He wrote it at his aunt’s villa in Lovisa, his favourite summer retreat, for the family trio: Jean played the violin, his sister the piano and his brother the cello.
Piano Quartet in C Minor (1891) Dur: 6’
Sibelius wrote a theme and seven variations for piano during his stay in Vienna. Afterwards, he arranged it for piano quartet and added an Adagio introduction in C major, which is why it is sometimes known as the C major quartet. This is a form rare in Sibelius’s early output, and the introduction already shows that his musical thinking had taken an orchestral turn.
JOHAN ULLÉN The Deadly Sins (2006-08) Dur: 37’
for piano trio These seven tangos each describe the character of one of the Deadly Sins. For example “Envy”, is in the form of a crime passionnel with the violin in focus, “Gluttony”, stuffs itself with new melodies that make the tango grow until it bursts, and the seventh and final tango, “Anger”, is a slow dance in which rage gradually comes to a boil inside.
LOTTA WENNÄKOSKI Hem (Päärme) (2014-15) Dur: 11’
for piano trio A cheerfully brisk piece, the amusing and unusual title of which was prompted by the idea of steady but erratically colourful stitching. The music has a pulsative character, especially in the outer sections. According to the composer, the result is not always intended to be over-neat or regular and noise sounds are also an intrinsic feature of the hand-made texture.
HIGHLIGHTS
2/2022
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