Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara
Performer: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir
Conductor: Timo Nuoranne
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Ondine
Catalogue: ODE9352
Release: 1999
Size: 200 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
01.Credo
02. Canticum Mariae Virginis
03. Herran rukous (The Lord’s Prayer)
04. Psalm 23
05. Psalm 130
Magnificat
06. Magnificat
07. Quia respexit – Misericordia
08. Fecit potentiam
09. Suscepit Israel
10. Gloria
Nattvarden (Communion)
11. Communion Hymn No. 1
12. Communion Hymn No. 2
13. Kyrie
14. Herdepsalm (Shepherd Psalm)
15. Ave Maria
Missa duodecanonica
16. Kyrie
17. Sanctus
18. Agnus Dei
19. Rakkaus ei koskaan havia (Love Never Dies)
20. Legenda
21. Marjatan jouluvirsi
22. Joulun virsi (Christmas Hymn)
23. Avuksihuutopsalmi (Psalm of Invocation)
24. Ehtoohymni (Evening hymn)
Among the impressive works by composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, who passed away two years ago and who would have celebrated his 90th birthday in 2018, there are about ten operas, eight symphonies, about a dozen different concertos, large quantities of chamber music, and a very large number of a capella choral works, with his writing stretching from 1960 to 2014. In this superb album of sacred works, performed by the excellent Finnish Radio Chamber Choir with Timo Nuoranne as the choirmaster (1990s), we discover the full extent of Rautavaara’s creative ability. One thing that remained a constant throughout his long career; his magnificent choral writing, which is polyphonic and complex though always sounds extremely natural. The avant-garde music that shook the planet from the sixties onwards hardly left a mark on Rautavaara, who experimented with it for a while though quickly abandoned the genre. There are hints of neoclassicism, post-modernism and neo-Romanticism, lovely words that in fact don’t carry much meaning, they describe music that looks to display beauty and emotion. Here, all these works are overflowing with exactly that, especially when performed with such fervor. Beautiful!