SIBELIUS: KULLERVO; OLLE KORTEGANGAS: MIGRATIONS

Migrations was written to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Finnish emigration to the United States, and commissioned with the condition that it should be performable alongside Silbelius’s great Kullervo, with its tragic hero’s life cast in melody of runic simplicity and directness. As a concert performance, this must have been overwhelming; as a CD experience, it is only a little less so. The YL Male Voice Choir performs magnificently behind mezzo Lilli Paasikivi on the Kortekangas piece, and the integration of choral parts with orchestral interludes gives the piece an almost symphonic solidity. Finlandia is included as an encore – what else? A lovely tribute to a nation’s music as both heritage and living tradition.

BRIAN MORTON Read the full review on Agora Classica