Known for his symphonies and above all for his sui genesis Cantus Arcticus for taped bird songs and orchestra, Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara has also written a considerable body of vocal music. This disc unites five sets of songs for baritone and orchestra -- the "Three Sonnets" with texts by Shakespeare, the "Five Sonnets to Orpheus" and "The Lovers" with texts by
Rainer Maria Rilke, "God's Way" with a text by Swedish poet Bo Setterlind, and "Three Songs" with texts by Aleksis Kivi from the opera Aleksis Kivi. Most of the music is from early in Rautavaara's career, although much of it was subsequently revised. But all the music, earlier or later, melancholy or joyful, tender or assertive, is easily identifiable as Rautavaara's. The strong but supple melodies, the stark but effective forms, the hard but brilliant colors, the tonally influenced but thoroughly modernist harmonies all sound like no one else but the Finnish postwar master. Baritone
Gabriel Suovanen has a powerful voice with a nuanced delivery, and he seems to intuitively grasp the meaning of the texts. Conductor
Leif Segerstam, himself a composer of note, directs the
Helsinki Philharmonic in performances that glow with the fire of inspiration. Ondine does its standard standout job of presenting the music in amazingly vivid sound.