Rautavaara: Angels & Visitations

$18.99
Label
Ondine
Release Date
August 29, 2002
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      RAUTAVAARA, EINOJUHANI
    • PERFORMER
      Segerstam, Helsinki Po, Etc.
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      August 29, 2002
    • UPC
      761195107928
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      ODE 1079-2D
    • LABEL
      Ondine
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      2
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. I. Suo (The Marsh)

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    2. II. Melankolia (Melancholy)

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    3. III. Joutsenet muuttavat (Swans Migrating)

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    4. Autumn Gardens: III. Giocoso e leggiero

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy

    5. Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 45: III. Molto vivace

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Ralf Gothóni

      Conductor: Max Pommer

    6. Clarinet Concerto: II. Adagio assai

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Richard Stoltzman

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    7. Symphony No. 7, "Angel of Light": III. Come un sogno

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    8. Vespers: Psalm of Invocation

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    9. Vespers: Evening Hymn

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    10. Vespers: Ekteniya

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    11. Vespers: Final Blessing

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    12. Apotheosis

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Mikko Franck

    13. Adagio celeste

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Belgium National Orchestra

      Conductor: Mikko Franck

    14. Flute Concerto, Op. 63, "Dances with the Winds": IV. Allegro

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Patrick Gallois

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    15. I. Before the Arras: The Unicorn questions the nature of the chase

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    16. II. Horn and Hounds: Young Sagittarius

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    17. II. Horn and Hounds: A Virgin, waiting

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    18. Anadyomene, "Adoration of Aphrodite"

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam

    19. Piano Concerto No. 3, "Gift of Dreams": III. Energico

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy

      Conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy

    20. Symphony No. 1: II. Poetico (2003 version)

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Belgium National Orchestra

      Conductor: Mikko Franck

    21. II. Laulu oravasta (The Squirrel)

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    22. III. Sydameni laulu (Song of My Heart)

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Finnish Radio Chamber Choir

      Conductor: Timo Nuoranne

    23. Angels and Visitations

      Composer: Einojuhani Rautavaara

      Ensemble: Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Leif Segerstam


The magical world of Einojuhani Rautavaara is one that evokes other realms. Angels figure particularly heavily, especially those angels that deal with death and destruction. As Rautavaara himself says, “My angels are not those like in the altarpieces of Raphael...my angels are powerful.”

As well as with angels, many mystics have been preoccupied with the language of the birds (Messiaen in music, but think also of Saint Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds). One of the most popular Finnish works of recent years has been the Cantus arcticus, for prerecorded bird sounds and orchestra. It is a hugely impressive three-movement soundscape marked by a timeless feel and by beautiful, glowing lines. The taped birds could easily have sounded like a cheap effect, so it is telling that they emerge as an integral part of the work’s emotional vocabulary. Segerstam’s performance is excellent, as one would expect from this fine musician.

The very title Autumn Gardens seems to invite comparison with Takemitsu—all we need is a descending flock of the birds from the Cantus arcticus. It is certainly easy on the ear, so much so that the acerbic, percussive dissonances of the third movement of the First Piano Concerto come as something of a relief. Gothóni is an excellent pianist here; his way with some rhythms makes me suggest he has links to jazz. Back to pure atmosphere for the Clarinet Concerto, though—truly excellently played by Stoltzmann.

The second disc begins with an Adagio celeste for string orchestra. The strings of the Belgian National Orchestra play really sumptuously in this gently pulsating score; the much more abrasive Flute Concerto excerpt that follows (complete with agile low bassoon and menacing percussion) acts as a necessary corrective, although it is not long before it, too, shows its delicate side.

True and False Unicorn is a reminder of Rautavaara’s stature as a composer of choral works. The second movement, “Young Sagittarius,” is full of delightfully light rhythmic play, as is In the shade of the willow. Anadyomene , subtitled “Adoration of Aphrodite,” evokes more of a sense of the massive, using expansive, coloristic writing and including moments of real light.

The final work, Angels and Visitations , has a deliberately ambiguous title. “Visitations” may indeed refer to the Annunciation, but it may equally invoke something more sinister. Climaxes, therefore, tend towards the darkly hued. There are shades of Sibelius during the course of the piece, but Rautavaara transforms the material so that it glows in a most un-Sibelian way. This tense score (with its Pétrouchka -like mêlée of sounds) is one of the most impressive on either disc here, and is an apt way to close.

Although other companies are championing the Rautavaara cause, most notably Naxos, Ondine has a certain authority. Both sides of Rautavaara’s personality—the meltingly beautiful and the near violent—are given a chance to make their mark here.

-- Fanfare