Premières and choral music

The festival continued on Thursday and Friday following its themes. Especially defunensemble2 –concert served electronic elements, among others Maija Hynninen’s piece “Orlando-fragments”, commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, had its première. Alongside with defunensemble appeared mezzo-soprano Jutta Seppinen, who also had a concert later that day with Paavali Jumppanen.

The Ears Open society of young composers is a regular visitor at the festival. The society’s composition “ Kaikki Pelissä (All In the Game)”, which was put together as a team work, had its first première on Thursday evening, being interactive and fun.

After the lunch cruise on Friday the audience got to enjoy a new concert venue, Tervamäki chapel, where an intimate alliance of music, words and movement was seen and heard. Different atmospheres were created by e.g. flutist Hanna Kinnunen and actor Jussi Lehtonen, as they performed Kaija Saariaho’s piece ”l'aconisme  de l'aile” with poems by Anna Ahmatova.

In the evening concert, Helsinki Chamber Choir had a première with Sampo Haapamäki’s “Maailmamaa”, commissioned byt the choir itself. Haapamäki’s piece moved in different kinds of levels, which were brought together by seven movements, so that the result was a masterpiece for mixed choir and a tape. The choir was conducted by Nils Schweckendiek.