Rautavaara: Sacred Choral Music

 

I commented in Rautavaara's Vigilia recording (BLOG), that the Finnish composer's musical style seems pitch perfect for choirs, and my feelings extend to these sacred a cappella choral works as well. Best yet, each piece is brief, giving the listener a firm glimpse of his compositional ideas without going on for too long, sometimes a problem in his orchestral music.

Even the multi-movement works come in bite-sized pieces, with the Missa Duodecanonica and Nattvarden both only 2 - 4 minutes in total. The Magnificat is the most substantial work on the program, where I love Rautavaara's contrasting settings across five parts, each of rather small length as well. The longest single piece is the composer's Canticum Mariae Virginis, and its music is quite fetching while curious at the same time. Otherwise, the single pieces only come in 1 - 2 minute settings each, coloring its texts and moving on. Some of these may seem slight, but a little of Rautavaara goes a long way in my experience. Nuoranne also adds some songs for separate female and male chorus as well, adding to the mixture of music on the program.

Those who frequent modern choral albums know they can be floaty and meditative with little variance over their runtime, but Rautavaara has a grasp of rhythmic and harmonic variety, never letting a full album of his music ever feel tired or too samey. If there is an element which stands out among these pieces, Rautavaara tends to place a static background texture set in opposition to voices placed more forward. This is a particularly neat effect as the background and foreground slide in and out of harmonic and rhythmic phase in most interesting ways.

For this Works Series, the only item I am listening to which is not sacred is Rautavaara's Canción de Nuestro Tiempo, taken from a later recording with the same ensemble and conductor. This was added to Vol. 2 of Ondine's Choral Works set in order to add other music to the other discs in the set. If one wished for some more contrast, this one should do it, with just the slightest tinge of Spanish exoticism amongst a more experimental a cappella choral style.

All would be lost if the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir weren't able to tackle Rautavaara's specific demands on the voice, and they do so pleasantly here. As in the previously mentioned Vigilia, Timo Nuoranne has a deft feeling for the music of Rautavaara, eliciting a lovely, balanced sound out of this choral ensemble, even at the composer's most clashing moments.

Oddly, Ondine released another choral album of Rautavaara's sacred choral music from the Latvian Radio Choir, much of which is shared on this recording. I will be tackling that recording in the near future (BLOG), but I am rather enthusiastic about what is here, so I am sure both should greatly please.

 

Work Series
Vol. 2 from Rautavaara Choral Works on Ondine


Works
Credo (4.19)
Canticum Mariae Virginis (7.30)
Herran Rukous (2.30)
Psalm 23 (2.01)
Psalm 130 (1.46)
Magnificat (16.04)
Nattvarden (3.25)
Ave Maria (2.56)
Missa Duodecanonica (2.09)
Rakkaus ei Koskaan Häviä (2.30)
Legenda (2.42)
Marjatan Jouluvirsi (2.44)
Joulun Virsi (1.34)
Vigilia
  Psalm of Invocation (1.53)
  Evening Hymn (1.55)
Canción de nuestro tiempo (14.49)

Ensembles
Finnish Radio Chamber Choir
Timo Nuoranne, conductor

Label: Ondine
Year: 1999; 2012
Total Timing: 57.08

Find more Rautavaara recordings HERE!