Organ Night & Aria: Echoes of Cathedrals

Musiikkitalo Choir

Nils Schweckendiek, conductor

Susanne Kujala, organ

Tuuli Takala, soprano

n.n, boy soprano

When the grand Musiikkitalo Choir takes the stage together with organist Susanne Kujala, soprano Tuuli Takala and a boy soprano, the audience can expect a magnificent evening. The programme features three fine solo organ works and three widely beloved choral masterpieces – works that are rarely heard in Finnish concert halls, and even more rarely presented within the same concert.

Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb was composed in 1943 for the 50th anniversary of St. Matthew’s Church in Northampton. Its text is drawn from a larger poetic work by Christopher Smart (1722–1771), a poet considered mentally ill. The theme of the text – the individual versus the collective – is one Britten returned to frequently. The influence of Purcell, a composer close to Britten’s heart, can be heard especially in the Hallelujah movement.

Hör mein Bitten is the most popular of Mendelssohn’s smaller-scale choral works. It was composed during the composer’s eighth visit to England in 1844. Mendelssohn described the schedules of his trip as utterly insane: the days were long and sleep was scarce. Yet there is not a trace of exhaustion in this magnificent piece.

In December 1963, Leonard Bernstein received a letter from Walter Hussey, Dean of Chichester Cathedral. Together with the cathedral’s organist and choirmaster John Birch, he wished to commission a choral work from Bernstein for the Chichester Festival in 1965. The texts were to be taken from the Biblical Psalms. Despite the context, the commissioner emphasized that Bernstein was free to adopt a more popular approach: “Many of us would be delighted if we could detect a hint of West Side Story.” Chichester Psalms is a portrayal of the composer’s longing for peace and brotherhood.

PROGRAM:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Prelude in D major, BWV 532/1

Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)

Hear My Prayer, WoO 15

Ville Kujala (b. 1976)

Aurora Borealis

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)

Rejoice in the Lamb, Op. 30

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Prelude and Fugue on the Name B-A-C-H

Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)

Chichester Psalms

CONCERT DURATION:

Approx. 80 minutes, no intermission.