Rautavaara: Works for Male Choir

 

I heard quite a bit of the Helsinki University Chorus, or Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat (YL), in the choral music of Sibelius. I enjoyed their virile, robust tone, and this application continues in the music of Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. A break-off group of 10 members from the YL, called the Talla Vocal Ensemble, sings about half the program in addition to the larger ensemble.

Suffice to say, the entire 100 minutes of a cappella men's choral music spread over 2CDs is stupendous, superlatively performed by all involved. I listened straight through both discs, and not once was a pause needed, so gripped was I by this music and its performances.

CD1 mostly covers music written in the 1950s and 1960s, whereas CD2 finds Rautavaara in the 1970s clear through to the 2000s when this recording was made. The music finds the composer in easy, approachable mode for the most part, a boon for lovers of choral music of all types.

What is most appealing are the wide variety of texts Rautavaara sets music to. He does not just stick to his native language, although there is plenty in Finnish, but branches out to English, German, Spanish, and French, usually to honor the poets homeland dialect. The sheer intellect to be able to set so many languages with meaning must be astounding in Rautavaara.

As one might expect, there is a great range of moods employed, from humor and wit, to lovelorn and morose, secular and sacred, both burly and coquettish, plus serious and lightweight; it is all here. Since the music hails from across six decades, Rautavaara never sounds too similar throughout, with some light serialism in the 50s and 60s to folk song arrangements and song cycles in the 70s and opera excerpts in the 2000s. I am especially pleased to relate that I quite enjoyed the many secular choral offerings, as I didn't much care for Rautavaara's secular choral music as presented by the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir under Eric-Olof Söderström.

Musically, it must be the Two Preludes of T. S. Eliot which are the most curious. The textures elicited from the Talla Vocal Ensemble are really neat here. The sheer variety of languages and words comes in the 11-movement A Book of Life, with the longest song given over to Walt Whitman's Song of Myself. I could easily see any of these eleven song settings being performed individually without the others.

Finnish tenor Tuomas Katajala trumpets his voice thrillingly in three pieces, given special credit on the back of the media for doing so. The Talla Vocal Ensemble sounds like it utilizes male sopranos, but not of the Baroque hooty variety; these are bright-timbred countertenors who cut through the choral texture when required. Listeners should be pleased with the sensitivity and musicianship present in both of these ensembles, not to mention the sheer volume and power which the YL Make-Voice Choir can generate.

Much of this program was also recorded by the Amici Cantus on Finlandia Records in 1998. It would be very hard to imagine that the Finland-based Amici Cantus could ply their trade as well as the YL Male-Voice Choir, but my interest is piqued to maybe at least try them out.

Regardless, the Ondine sonics are excellent, giving weight and punch to the large chorus and clarity to the smaller men's ensemble. The physical media contains all of the original song texts with translations into English, a great inclusion as there is so much vocal music here.

 

 

Works
Lauluja (2:30)
Syksy Virran Suussa (2.49)
Two Preludes of T.S. Eliot (2.52)
Psalm 23 (2.41)
Psalm 130 (2.34)
Ave Maria (3.24)
Christmas Hymn (1.32)
A Book of Life (27.23)
Aleksis Kivi: Four Songs (12.37)
Legend (3.06)
Lehdet Lehtiä (4.30)
Four Serenades (7.25)
Hammarskjöld Fragment (5.51)
Antti Isotalo and Rannanjärvi (3.48)
Hallin Janne (1.51)
Kettu Ja Sairas Kukko (1.53)
Rasputin: Four Romances (9.34)

Soloists
Tuomas Katajala, tenor

Ensembles
YL Male Voice Choir
Matti Hyökki, conductor

Talla Vocal Ensemble
Pasi Hyökki, conductor

Label: Ondine
Year: 2008
Total Timing: 1.39.08

Superlative!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find more Rautavaara recordings HERE!