Rautavaara: Orchestral Songs

 

With the recording Song of My Heart, I end my series on drab, brown paintings for Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara's vocal and choral music. This one may be the worst of the four or five I have seen in a row from Ondine's resident painter Pekka Hepoluhta, worst only in the manner of them being extremely similar. That said, peeping through a wooded forest is a neat idea for a painting, focusing the viewers attention in a very specific place.

I suppose such art work is appropriate, as the orchestral songs featured on this set are rather dour and overly serious as a group, reflecting the feelings of brown on the artwork. Really, it isn't until the last collection of Three Songs set to the poetry of Aleksis Kivi, that we truly receive some characterful song settings, although Guds väg comes close.

Strangely, all of these orchestral songs come from the 1950s and 1960s, except for the Kivi set mentioned earlier. The tonal palate is pretty monochromatic, with neither the voice nor the orchestra providing motion anywhere expected nor completely satisfying. The songs are melodic but not especially tuneful, flowingly lyrical but with no expected harmonic movement or traditional cadential tonality. These attributes aren't off-putting, but neither do they reach out to the listener with great ease. Each song only lasts 1 to 3 minutes total, so Rautavaara does not drag out his music as can sometimes be the case.

I enjoy the song texts all around, although Rilke's verse seems denser and more soul-searchingly deep than I remember. This could also be due to the translation from German, where in the Five Sonnets to Orpheus, one forgets the main subject due to the heavy topics. Die Liebenden's songs are longer than the other cycles, but not necessarily providing more inspiration

The little poems to God's Way are rather charming, particularly The Child, where the action and mood is actually invoked through Rautavaara's music. The songs in the God's Way cycle are also more bitingly dissonant, although not harshly so, simply in contrast to the others. Also, the only really upbeat song in the 60-minute runtime comes in Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day from the Three Sonnets of Shakespeare. That English-language song cycle may also be the cheekiest Rautavaara gets with his orchestrations, involving the percussion most colorfully.

Coming from 1997, the Three Songs from Aleksis Kivi are the most pleasant, ably grabbing the pastoral nature of a lullaby to a Squirrel and finding tender moments for the last titular Song of My Heart. I have also heard these Kivi pieces for chorus as well, so perhaps I am also more familiar with them. I am not surprised I enjoy these later songs, as Rautavaara's compositional style is finally settling at this time in his career.

Well, if it seems like I am down on this music, which I think is due more to the program presented here rather than any individual piece, I don't have any such qualms regarding the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Leif Segerstam. They get fair little to do on their own, but voice and orchestra rarely move in the same patterns as is usually typical for orchestral songs, so both voice and ensemble share an importance.

Nordic baritone Gabriel Suovanen handles the sung English and German language remarkably well. Suovanen has a big voice, but not at all unpleasant. He will often glide softly into his highest reaches with great ardor, while maintaining a burly vibrato throughout the rest.

I think I will go back and listen to these orchestrated song cycles individually, as I don't think they work together as a program very well. In the case of these performances though, there is nothing particularly wanting.

 

 

Works
Three Sonnets of Shakespeare (7.48)
Five Sonnets to Orpheus (12.26)
The Lovers (18.28)
God's Way (6.19)
Three Songs from Aleksis Kivi (12.19)

Ensembles
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Leif Segerstam, conductor

Label: Ondine
Year: 2006
Total Timing: 57.52

As a program of song cycles, Rautavaara's music is simply too dour and monochromatic. I do hope to go back and get to know them individually.

Gabriel Suovanen has a big baritone voice, perhaps too weighty for the thoughtful texts Rautavaara selects in his songs. Segerstam meets him with Helsinki in gorgeous tones.

 

Find more Rautavaara recordings HERE!