Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara
Performer: Gabriel Suovanen
Orchestra: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Leif Segerstam
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Ondine
Catalogue: ODE1085-2
Release: 2006
Size: 221 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
3 Sonnets of Shakespeare
01. No. 1. That time of year
02. No. 2. When I do count the clock
03. No. 3. Shall I compare thee
5 Sonette an Orpheus
04. No. 1. Da stieg ein Baum (A Tree Rose There)
05. No. 2. Und fast ein Madchen wars (And It Was Almost a Girl)
06. No. 3. Ein Gott vermags (A God Can Achieve It)
07. No. 4. O ihr Zartlichen (O Ye Gentle Ones)
08. No. 5. Errichtet keinen Denkstein (Don’t Put Up a Memorial)
Die Liebenden
09. No. 1. Liebes-Lied (Love Song)
10. No. 2. Der Schauende
11. No. 3. Die Liebende (The Woman in Love)
12. No. 4. Der Tod der Geliebten (Death of the Lover)
Guds vag (God’s Way)
13. No. 1. Guds vag (God’s Way)
14. No. 2. Barnet (The Child)
15. No. 3. Pingst (Penecost)
16. No. 4. Drom i katedralen (Dream in the Cathedral)
3 Songs from the Opera Aleksis Kivi
17. No. 1. Ikavyys (Melancholy)
18. No. 2. Laulu oravasta (The Squirrel)
19. No. 3. Sydameni laulu (Song of My Heart)
Rautavaara composed these Shakespeare and Rilke songs in his early twenties but revised them in recent years when he reaffirmed his love of literature and poetry. His music also has a religious and metaphysical dimension which is manifest in the song cycle God’s Way.
Known for his symphonies and above all for his sui genesis Cantus Arcticus for taped bird songs and orchestra, Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara has also written a considerable body of vocal music. This disc unites five sets of songs for baritone and orchestra — the “Three Sonnets” with texts by Shakespeare, the “Five Sonnets to Orpheus” and “The Lovers” with texts by Rainer Maria Rilke, “God’s Way” with a text by Swedish poet Bo Setterlind, and “Three Songs” with texts by Aleksis Kivi from the opera Aleksis Kivi. Most of the music is from early in Rautavaara’s career, although much of it was subsequently revised. But all the music, earlier or later, melancholy or joyful, tender or assertive, is easily identifiable as Rautavaara’s. The strong but supple melodies, the stark but effective forms, the hard but brilliant colors, the tonally influenced but thoroughly modernist harmonies all sound like no one else but the Finnish postwar master. Baritone Gabriel Suovanen has a powerful voice with a nuanced delivery, and he seems to intuitively grasp the meaning of the texts. Conductor Leif Segerstam, himself a composer of note, directs the Helsinki Philharmonic in performances that glow with the fire of inspiration. Ondine does its standard standout job of presenting the music in amazingly vivid sound.