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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | A Finnish Songbook (Elämäni Lauluja)Orchestral songs by Finnish composers
Kilpinen: | Kesäyö (Summer Night) Vanha kirkko Rannalta I (From the Shore I) | Kuula: | Tuijotin tulehen kauan, Op. 2 No. 2 Kesäyö kirkkomaala, Op. 6 No. 1 Yö - Night | Luolajan-Mikkola: | Häätanhu (Wedding Dance) | Madetoja: | Yrtit tummat Op. 9 No. 1 (Dark Herbs) (Text: L. Onerva) Itkisit joskus illoin (If you'd sometimes weep at evening), Op. 25/5 | Merikanto, O: | Soi vienosti murheeni soitto Merellä Vallinkorvan laulu | Sibelius: | Souda, souda, sinisorsa (Swim, duck, swim) (A.V. Forsman-Koskimies) Lastu lainehilla, Op. 17, No. 7 Laulu ristilukista Op. 27 No. 4 | trad.: | Tällaaselle poijalle Tuuli se taivutti koivun larvan Niin kauan minä tramppaan | Turunen: | Sunnuntai (Sunday) |
Matti Salminen is an acoustic phenomenon, according to many the finest and darkest bass voice of our time. In the 1970s and ‘80s he inherited mantle of the legendary Martti Talvela as the great Finnish Wagner bass in Bayreuth, until, to the regret of Wolfgang Wagner, he decided to devote his summers to the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. James Levine, for his part, considers Salminen so essential that the scheduling of Wagner operas at the Met is adjusted to suit Salminen's diary. Salminen's journey to his present status has been a long one.The son of a working-class family, he earned his living at first as a tango king on Finnish dance-floors. From the dance-floor, his career has taken him to all the important opera houses of the world to sing with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Nicolas Harnoncourt and Pierre Boulez. On this new recording, Matti Salminen performs rarities outside the standard repertoire and delivers a personal account of orchestral songs from Finnish composers.Accompanied by the Helsinki Philharmonic under its new chief conductor John Storgårds, Salminen is completely at home singing this music. Many of these songs about nature and love deserve greater attention or discovery, for which this exceptional disc forms a perfect vehicle. “One of the greatest operatic basses of his generation and beyond, Matti Salminen…is, in effect, simply a folksinger. As its cosy "Finnish Songbook" title suggests, his latest disc celebrates the naturalness of his art, and the predominantly slow and lugubrious sequence of songs here ranges from mini-masterpieces by Sibelius to traditional numbers.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2009 | | | (also available to download from $10.75) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Elamalle - Songs by Merikanto
Jorma Hynninen is one of the most celebrated Finnish singers. This new disc contains the legendary baritone's very personal account of songs by his compatriot Oskar Merikanto (1868- 1924), which are worthy of discovery. During his lifetime Oskar Merikanto was just as popular as Jean Sibelius. He was the co-founder of what would become the Finnish National Opera and composed major contributions to the song and opera repertoire: a real master of melody who incorporated elements of folk music into his songs, Merikanto rightly provokes comparison with such composers as Schubert and Mahler. Jorma Hynninen has contributed not only to a renewal in the art of interpreting solo songs but also to the creation of contemporary operas by Rautavaara and Sallinen, to name but two composers. His greatest musical love though has always been Lieder, a genre on which he successfully concentrates on this new recording. “Hie brings immense authority to this repertoire and a vocal quality that shows only a few signs of strain in the upper reaches. Ilkka Paananen supplies top-class accompaniments, setting moods and turning corners with unfailing intelligence. ” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008 “Take this disc uninterrupted and you could overdose on triple time, regular four-bar phrases and predictably fervent climaxes. But there are some memorable numbers here, including the swirling ballad Stormbird - a Nordic Sea Fever - the incantatory Evening Bells, and Annina, a gently insinuating Venetian barcarolle. Jorma Hynninen brings to his compatriot's songs a voice of craggy grandeur and an acute sensitivity to colour and atmosphere, whether in the romantic ardour of Apple Blossom or the bleak, blanched White Crosses.” The Telegraph, 19th April 2008 | | | (also available to download from $10.75) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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