Search - Sauli Tiilikainen, Jean Sibelius, Astrid Riska :: Sibelius: Works for Mixed Choir

Excellent singing of fine, if minor, Sibelius works

G.D. | Norway | 03/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sibelius's works for mixed chorus don't belong among his most revolutionary works, and I am not going to claim that they are among his best works either. Yet they possess a certain atmospheric, yearning quality which is rather distinctive - another reviewer (I forget where) suggested his choral writing must have been inspired by the wind, and they generally do sound flowing, slightly mysterious and varying between the subtly chilling and the subtly warming (often within the same piece), like soft summer breezes or the flickering, fresh gusts of autumn cold with the smell of falling leaves (not surprisingly, most of the music texts are inspired by nature - others are derived from the Kalevala). Of course it is to the credit of the Jubilate Choir that they manage to create or convey impressions like these.



The most famous work here, Rakastava (existing in several arrangements, most famously for string orchestra), is beautifully wistful and gently sad. Apart from this, the best works are the op. 18 songs, a varied collection that displays Sibelius ability to write beautifully and interestingly for the chorus at its best, not the least in the beautiful "Fire on the Island". But there are, expectedly, several other fine pieces here, for instance the patriotic but finely colored "In the Morning mist". And while most of the music induces an impression of seeking and yearning, there are exceptions, such as the innocent "Play, Beautiful Girl" and the unbridled patriotism of the quite effective March of the Laborers. Some works are fine arrangements of solo songs, but the arrangements of more famous works - the Festive March and the Hymn from Finlandia - gain little in these a cappella versions.



Performances are impressively insightful and idiomatic and able to convey the somewhat subtly varying moods of the music. BIS's sound quality is superb. This, then, is a very welcome issue deserving a firm recommendation."