One of today’s foremost champions of a cappella singing–and one who has influenced countless conductors and composers–Eric Ericson here brings to life music from one of the world’s more underappreciated choral territories. Finland, and indeed Scandinavia in general, has produced some of the most accomplished composers of choral music, to say nothing of the world-class choirs that equal or surpass any ensembles from the European continent or the U.S. On this recording, which features a varied program of works from the 19th-century “romantics” Sibelius and Toivo Kuula to the late-20th century’s Einojuhani Rautavaara and Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, the French choir Choeur de Chambre Accentus vividly portrays the rich-textured sounds and passionately recreates the deeply felt emotional character of these rarely heard, stylistically divergent pieces. One of the highlights is Sibelius’ Rakastava, heard here in its arrangement for mixed choir. It’s a compelling tour de force that this ensemble gives requisite energy and full virtuosic expression.
If the Sibelius is challenging, Rautavaara’s 1993 Die erste elegie (to a poem by Rilke) is not for the faint of heart. It demands the fullest technical skill from the singers and requires a conductor who can elicit a cohesive ensemble that doesn’t lose focus during the work’s nine minutes. The piece ranges from solidly tonal sections to craggy, prickly, harmonically distorted, highly dramatic outbursts. Mäntyjärvi’s Pseudo-Yoik (1994), an encore piece for the outstanding Tapiola Chamber Choir, uses its “meaningless” text to give form to its ethnically oriented (Lappish) references. Wisely, the program is framed with the more traditional works, and it concludes with five pieces by Kuula that leave us with a satisfying, familiar sound in our ears–of late-romantic harmonies and warmly expressive singing. The only drawback to this important release is its sound, which grows quite harsh in the louder sections and neglects ideal ensemble balance in favor of what seems like random spotlighting of individual voices and sections. These concerns shouldn’t scare away anyone who loves choral music–especially those who want to explore some of the more intriguing and worthy yet unheralded repertoire, performed by an excellent choir and led by a legend.
