Rautavaara: Vigilia

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The quality is captured by the Helsinki Chamber Choir and soloists, who have to negotiate difficult glissandi, microtonal passages and whispers, and also by a superb recording made at Järvenpää,... — Choir & Organ, December 2019, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 27th Sep 2019
Catalogue No: BIS2422
Label: BIS
Length: 70 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

20th December 2019

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Rautavaara: Vigilia

Work length1:10:19

$34.00

$44.20

$59.50

Niall Chorell (tenor), Tuukka Haapaniemi (bass), Varvara Merras-Häyrynen (soprano), Sirkku Rintamäki (alto), Mats Lillhannus (tenor), Sampo Haapaniemi (bass), Meri Metsomäki (soprano), Júlia Heéger (soprano), Tove Djupsjöbacka (soprano), Iris Oja (contralto), Martti Anttila (tenor)
Helsinki Chamber Choir
Nils Schweckendiek

Vigilia: No. 1, Tulkaa, kumartakaamme meidän

Track length0:53

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$1.30

$1.75

Vigilia: No. 2, Alkupsalmi

Track length2:31

$1.00

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$1.75

Vigilia: No. 3, Katisma

Track length2:29

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Vigilia: No. 4, Avuksihuutopsalmi

Track length2:05

$1.00

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$1.75

Vigilia: No. 5, Avuksihuutostikiira

Track length4:08

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 6, Dogmistikiira Jumalansynnyttäjälle

Track length2:16

$1.00

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$1.75

Vigilia: No. 7, Ehtoohymni

Track length2:26

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 8, Hartauden ektenia

Track length1:23

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Vigilia: No. 9, Litanian stikiira

Track length2:50

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 10, Litanian ektenia

Track length2:43

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Vigilia: No. 11, Virrelmästikiira

Track length1:11

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Vigilia: No. 12, Tropari I

Track length3:01

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Vigilia: No. 13, Juhlapäivän tropari

Track length2:54

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Vigilia: No. 14, Loppusiunaus

Track length1:39

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Vigilia: No. 15, Kunnia olkoon pyhälle

Track length0:39

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Vigilia: No. 16, Tropari II

Track length1:48

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Vigilia: No. 17, Tropari III

Track length1:30

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 18, Ylistysveisu

Track length0:34

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 19, Ylösnousemustropari

Track length5:19

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 20, Antifoni

Track length2:19

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 21, Prokimeni

Track length1:19

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 22, Ylösnousemusveisu

Track length3:35

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 23, Irmossi I

Track length1:03

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 24, Irmossi III

Track length0:45

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 25, Irmossi IV

Track length1:04

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Vigilia: No. 26, Irmossi V

Track length2:09

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 27, Irmossi VI

Track length1:06

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 28, Irmossi VII

Track length0:49

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 29, Irmossi VIII

Track length0:37

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 30, Jumalansynnyttäjän kiitosvirsi

Track length5:23

$1.00

$1.30

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Vigilia: No. 31, Irmossi IX

Track length1:31

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 32, Kiitosstikiira

Track length1:45

$1.00

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Vigilia: No. 33, Ylösnousemustropari

Track length2:30

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Vigilia: No. 34, Loppusiunaus

Track length2:05

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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About

In 1971, Einojuhani Rautavaara was asked to compose a Finnish Orthodox church service, an all-night vigil similar to that of Rachmaninov, comprising Vespers as well as Matins. Soon after the first performance he reshaped the music into what we now know as Vigilia, a concert version forming a musical whole. As his inspiration, Rautavaara has himself described a visit to the Valamo monastery in the middle of Lake Ladoga in 1939: ‘The bells began to ring, low-pitched booms and higher, shrill clinks: the world was filled with sounds and colors…’ The music is marked by dark colors, the heady smell of incense and the crepuscular church lit only by small candles. Divided into two parts, Vespers and Matins, the 70-minute work consists of 34 sections, and features prominent parts for a bass and a tenor soloist, as well as a number of solo voices emerging from the mixed choir. The work is enriched by the constantly changing combinations of choir and soloists, the perspective shifting from the personal to the universal. It is here performed by the 21-strong Helsinki Chamber Choir, under its artistic director Nils Schweckendiek – a team that has made several recordings for BIS in recent years. These include Riemuitkaamme!, a Christmas album (‘Schweckendiek’s immaculately blended singers make a glorious noise’, The Arts Desk), as well as a two-album survey of the choral works of Finnish modernist Erik Bergman (‘The Helsinki choir produces a radiant sound throughout’, Choir & Organ).

Reviews

December 2019

The quality is captured by the Helsinki Chamber Choir and soloists, who have to negotiate difficult glissandi, microtonal passages and whispers, and also by a superb recording made at Järvenpää, near Sibelius’s old home, and the spiritual centre of Finnish music.

March/April 2020

Rautavaara’s Vigilia is music of exquisite beauty and exalted spirituality, and this excellent recording of it is recommended to all those with an interest in a cappella choral music.

Awards Issue 2019

On its own terms, the piece is a wonder…There is constant interest in Rautavaara’s tweaking of the tradition’s harmonic language. The choir handle the low drones well…It’s atmospheric singing but in true Russian tradition it’s occasionally unclear.

January 2020

a compelling experience...Niall Chorell and Tuukka Haapaniemi, are commanding... A wonderful new recording of a composition of great sincerity and eloquence.

20th December 2019

The twenty-one singers of the Helsinki Chamber Choir produce a sound that belies their limited numbers, and sustain for seventy minutes the incredible intensity that Rautavaara’s rich, dark work demands. A choral tour de force so compelling that the language barrier is simply swept aside by the music’s power.

Rautavaara: Vigilia

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