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Last month the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion day "Sibelius the Storyteller" ventured into the literary and cultural hinterland of one of the 20th century’s great symphonists. No genius creates in a vacuum, and while Sibelius’s seven symphonies are landmarks of 20th-century orchestral music, they have deep roots. Today, over four concerts, we venture into the forests (both real and legendary) that nourished Sibelius’s imagination: the words, the landscapes, the colleagues and the traditions that formed the bedrock on which he built his distinctive musical vision.

In this second concert, "Songs and Seasons: Spring Dreams, Summer Fires, Winter Nights", we explore Finland’s choral tradition, as Owain Park and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers present songs by Sibelius and his pupils - with readings of the poetry. No artist works in isolation, and Sibelius’s struggle to tell Finland’s stories opened a path for a generation of his compatriots. There are radiant, intensely romantic partsongs by two of Sibelius’s most gifted pupils, as well as Sibelius’s own Rakastava (The Lover). It’s a world of changing seasons, of glowing landscapes and – burning beneath the music’s lush textures and radiant harmonies – an unmistakable passion. Toivo Kuula died tragically young, just months after Finland won its independence; Madetoja went on to follow in Sibelius’s footsteps as a symphonist. But their choral music, like Sibelius’s own, finds them making music for (and with) their fellow-Finns: and speaking straight from the heart.

Jean Sibelius: 'Venematka', 'Saarella palaa', 'Sortunut' and 'Sydameni Laulu' from Part Songs, Op 18
Leevi Madetoja: No 6 'Metsän kuninkaalle', Op 13
No 2 'Erkki-paimen' from 3 Songs, Op 30a
No 3 'Kevätunta' and No 1 'Kehtolaulu', Op 50
Toivo Kuula: 'Tuuti lasta Tuonelahan', 'Hautalaulu', 'Keinutan kaikua' from Part Songs, Op 11
Jean Sibelius: Rakastava

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers
Owain Park conductor
Laura Lake Adebisi narrator
Hughie O'Donnell narrator

Recorded at Milton Court, Barbican Centre, on 9 October.