Aulis Sallinen:
01. - 08. Elaman ja kuoleman lauluja 'Songs Of Life And Death', op.69 [46'55]
09. - 15. Rauta-aika 'The Iron Age'. Suite, op.55# [28'23]
Jorma Haininen- baritone*, Margit Papunen- soprano#, Opera Festival Chorus, East Helsinki Music Institute Choir#, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu
Ondine ODE844-2 (recorded January 1995; CD issued 1995)
(digital download; flacs, cover and inlay scans, no booklet provided)
Recording venue: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki
Recording engineer: Enno Mäemets; Producer: Seppo Siirala
Another terrific pair of performances and recordings of the music of Aulis Sallinen kindly provided by friend Howard. It is particular unfortunate that the main work, the song cycle for baritone, chorus, and orchestra Songs of Life and Death - music described by the distinguished American music writer Henry Fogel has described as "one of Sallinen's most important works" - has commercial digital downloads missing the detailed booklet notes and texts. It is very sad to see the usually exemplary Ondine label join EMI/Warner, Sony/BMG and Universal Music in this contempt for their audience.
Both works are written in Sallinen's most accessible voice. The very powerful song cycle, using texts specially written by Lassi Nummi, Songs of Life and Death is in effect Sallinen's Requiem Mass. It has also been quite accurately described as the choral and orchestral masterpiece that Sibelius should have written. The work was completed in 1994 and this recording (so far the only recording) was made shortly after its premiere by the same forces. To quote Fogel again "This is music (and poetry) of immense humanity, dealing with, as Sallinen himself says, the inseparability of life and death, death's harshness and beauty."
The Iron Age Suite is drawn from music that Sallinen wrote for a television documentary series in the early 1980s and although it is much more lightweight than Songs of Life and Death, it is very attractive music and I imagine that it must have aptly accompanied the visual images.Although I have no knowledge of the actual subjects of the documentaries, some of the titles are eerily reminisent of Sibelius' Lemminkainen Suite - Lemminki and the Maidens of the Island and Lemminki in Tuonela for instance.
The recorded sound is excellent and the performances of both works is absolutely first-rate. Sallinen's champion, Okko Kamu, leads intense and committed performances from the choral and orchestral forces with the great baritone Jorma Hynninen at his very best here. Because there is no information provided with this digital download, I have included a copy of Henry Fogel's perceptive review for Fanfare Magazine in the download.
Download from MEGA.
01. - 08. Elaman ja kuoleman lauluja 'Songs Of Life And Death', op.69 [46'55]
09. - 15. Rauta-aika 'The Iron Age'. Suite, op.55# [28'23]
Jorma Haininen- baritone*, Margit Papunen- soprano#, Opera Festival Chorus, East Helsinki Music Institute Choir#, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Okko Kamu
Ondine ODE844-2 (recorded January 1995; CD issued 1995)
(digital download; flacs, cover and inlay scans, no booklet provided)
Recording venue: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki
Recording engineer: Enno Mäemets; Producer: Seppo Siirala
Another terrific pair of performances and recordings of the music of Aulis Sallinen kindly provided by friend Howard. It is particular unfortunate that the main work, the song cycle for baritone, chorus, and orchestra Songs of Life and Death - music described by the distinguished American music writer Henry Fogel has described as "one of Sallinen's most important works" - has commercial digital downloads missing the detailed booklet notes and texts. It is very sad to see the usually exemplary Ondine label join EMI/Warner, Sony/BMG and Universal Music in this contempt for their audience.
Both works are written in Sallinen's most accessible voice. The very powerful song cycle, using texts specially written by Lassi Nummi, Songs of Life and Death is in effect Sallinen's Requiem Mass. It has also been quite accurately described as the choral and orchestral masterpiece that Sibelius should have written. The work was completed in 1994 and this recording (so far the only recording) was made shortly after its premiere by the same forces. To quote Fogel again "This is music (and poetry) of immense humanity, dealing with, as Sallinen himself says, the inseparability of life and death, death's harshness and beauty."
The Iron Age Suite is drawn from music that Sallinen wrote for a television documentary series in the early 1980s and although it is much more lightweight than Songs of Life and Death, it is very attractive music and I imagine that it must have aptly accompanied the visual images.Although I have no knowledge of the actual subjects of the documentaries, some of the titles are eerily reminisent of Sibelius' Lemminkainen Suite - Lemminki and the Maidens of the Island and Lemminki in Tuonela for instance.
The recorded sound is excellent and the performances of both works is absolutely first-rate. Sallinen's champion, Okko Kamu, leads intense and committed performances from the choral and orchestral forces with the great baritone Jorma Hynninen at his very best here. Because there is no information provided with this digital download, I have included a copy of Henry Fogel's perceptive review for Fanfare Magazine in the download.
Download from MEGA.