New music in the church

Kirkko soikoon (Klang i kyrkan, 3-11 March) is a church music festival in Helsinki, taking several religious works and some non-religious music to the churches of the city.

This year, the festival will have a record number of premieres and rarely heard works in the programme. On 3 March, Uusinta chamber ensemble will premiere Osmo Tapio Räihälä's work Zenith in the Kallio Church. The concert will also feature other rarely heard music, works for two sopranos by Castiglioni and Couperin, performed by Anu and Piia Komsi.

The next Saturday will present new organ works by Perttu Haapanen and Olli Koskelin in the Helsinki Cathedral, as well as two choir premieres by Harri Kerko in the Temppeliaukio Church. Petri Komulainen (horn) and Jan Lehtola (organ) will play new works by Kalevi Aho and the French composer Thierry Escaich in the Temppeliaukio Church on Sunday.

The festival involves 23 venues, mainly churches, in Helsinki, and many esteemed performers and ensembles. A special emphasis is on choirs and period music ensembles, and the two combine for example in the performance of C. Ph. E. Bach's Resurrection Oratorio by Helsinki Chamber Choir and Helsinki Baroque Orchestra on Sunday. Also Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra will have a concert at Johannes Church on Thursday, with two first performances in Finland by Vasks and Ustvolskaja, as well as Joonas Kokkonen's Requiem.

Merja Hottinen / Fimic
2 March, 2012