Composer: Kaija Saariaho
Performer: Helsinki Chamber Choir, Uusinta Ensemble
Conductor: Nils Schweckendiek
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BIS
Catalogue: BIS2662
Release: 2023
Size: 1.39 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Nuits, adieux
01. I. Nuit I
02. II. Adieu I
03. III. Nuit II
04. IV. Adieu II
05. V. Nuit III
06. VI. Nuit IV
07. VII. Nuit V
08. VIII. Adieu III – IX. Adieu IV – X. Adieu V
09. Horloge, tais-toi
Echo!
10. I. Dolce energico
11. II. Calmo, espressivo
12. III. Libero, intenso
Tag des Jahrs
13. I. Der Frühling
14. II. Der Sommer
15. II I. Der Herbst
16. IV. Der Winter
17. Überzeugung
Reconnaissance
18. I. The First Martian in a Long Time
19. II. Count Down
20. Interlude
21. III. Green House
22. IV. Desert People
23. V. Requiem
Nuits, adieux
24. I. Nuit I
25. II. Adieu I
26. III. Nuit II
27. IV. Adieu II
28. V. Nuit III
29. VI. Nuit IV
30. VII. Nuit V
31. VIII. Adieu III – IX. Adieu IV – X. Adieu V
This recording presents Kaija Saariaho’s works for choir, a cappella and with electronics, and displays her virtuosity in the treatment of texts, which she endows with the full range of verbal expression. At least one of these works is also a discographic premières. Nuits, adieux, presented here both in its a cappella version and with electronics, could be described as a lullaby, not so much for a sleeping child as for an elderly person sleeping out of our world. Funny and very serious at the same time, Horloge, tais-toi was conceived for a children choir. Écho! deals with the myth of Echo and Narcissus, with the idea of echo being naturally extended with electronics that process and reverb the voices of the singers. Based on poems by German poet Friedrich Hölderlin, Tags des Jahrs display an archaic choral treatment expanded by sounds of the human voices, birds, wind and other natural phenomena. Überzeugung engages with medieval music and treats the contrast between light and dark as a trance-like interplay between past and present. Finally, Reconnaissance can be seen as a ‘science-fiction madrigal’. Nils Schweckendiek and the Helsinki Chamber Choir initially performed this programme in concert in August 2022 as part of the celebrations surrounding Saariaho’s 70th birthday.