13 SEPTEMBER FRIDAY SERIES 1 Helsinki Music Centre at 19.00
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13 SEPTEMBER FRIDAY SERIES 1 Helsinki Music Centre at 19.00 Hannu Lintu, conductor Soile Isokoski, soprano Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano Sergei Semishkur, tenor Matti Salminen, bass The Helsinki Music Centre Choir, coach Tapani Länsiö Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem 85 min I Requiem aeternam – Kyrie eleison II Dies irae Dies Irae Tuba mirum Liber scriptus Quid sum miser Rex tremendae Recordare Ingemisco Confutatis Lacrimosa III Offertorio IV Sanctus V Agnus Dei VI Lux aeterna VII Libera me No interval. The concert ends at about 20.35. 1 GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813– ras, and many of the details sound fa- miliar. Verdi did, however, make a clear 1901): REQUIEM distinction between opera and the Requiem, noting that phrasing that was Verdi completed his Requiem in April fine in a theatre would not be fitting in 1874 and conducted the premiere at a religious context. St. Mark’s Church, Milan on May 22. Three days later it was performed at the city’s opera house, La Scala, where, A multi-mood masterpiece unlike at the premiere, the audience was able to show its appreciation. The The Verdi Requiem is a work cast on Requiem was not, however, heard in its a grand scale. Divided into seven sec- final form until the following year, by tions, it lasts one-and-a-half hours in which time Verdi had exchanged the performance. Verdi immersed himself original choral fugue in the Liber scrip- more deeply in the details of the text tur movement for a moving mezzo-so- than other Requiem composers, and prano solo. with greater descriptive force. He drew on the whole range of expressive devic- es, revealing seldom-heard aspects of “An opera clothed in himself as a composer. Only rarely do ecclesiastical garb” his operas find a use for imitative coun- terpoint, but the Sanctus and Libera me On the whole, the Requiem got a jubi- movements of the Requiem prove that lant reception and was soon being per- he was also a master of the fugue. formed abroad. Some, however, were The opening movement, breathing not so enamoured with it, and oth- calmly, is a prayer that the dead may ers questioned the right of Verdi, a find eternal peace and serves as a gen- known agnostic, to compose a religious tle introduction to the Requiem world. mass. The Church further disapproved The choir’s picturesque Requiem leads of the use of female voices, as this to a Kyrie sung by the four soloists and went against the practice of contem- choir. porary Italian church music. Although The biggest section, and the musi- the Requiem was first performed in a cal-dramatic focus of the whole work, church, Verdi did not really intend it for is the Dies irae sequence that begins liturgical use, and it is nowadays heard with a shattering outburst. The open- mainly in concert halls. ing theme, evoking the day of wrath, The mood of the music – dramatic will be heard again later, not only in and often genuinely sentimental – also the Dies irae sequence itself but also made people sceptical. Some claimed in the Liber scriptus, the Confutatis and that it was too “operatic”. This claim the closing Libera me. Mighty effects is understandable in that the music are also called up in the Tuba mirum, does have affinities with Verdi’s ope- with extra off-stage trumpets, and in 2 the massive vocal climaxes of the Rex Well yes, actually, I hope so. I want to tremendae. The Dies irae sequence is perform some major choral work in the not, however, one of blood and thun- standard repertoire at the beginning of der only, for it also has some moments each season. Not many have been per- of contemplation, such as the trio Quid formed by the Helsinki orchestras in sum miser for soprano, mezzo and recent years. It’s ages since the FRSO tenor, the Recordare for soprano and last did Verdi’s Requiem. Now, with the mezzo, and the stunningly beautiful forming of the Helsinki Music Centre Lacrimosa. The last of these is one of Choir, we will I hope have a first-class the most moving sections of the whole instrument for performing works like work, and one adapted by Verdi from a this. duet once intended for his opera Don Quite a lot of conductors, myself in- Carlos but later rejected. cluded, have a sort of mania – we love From the serene Offertorio onwards these great, noisy choral works, big the mood becomes more hopeful. The crowds and costly set-ups. And what’s Sanctus erupts with a dazzling eight- more, we managed to get an unusual- part fugue scored for a double cho- ly fine band of soloists for this perfor- rus, the Agnus Dei is a meditative mo- mance of the Requiem. ment of calm for soprano, mezzo and choir beginning with music evocative What is it that appeals to you in Verdi’s of Gregorian chant, and the Lux aeter- Requiem? na is a peaceful trio for soprano, mezzo and bass. Shadows of doubt still flicker I’ve always been fascinated by the very in the closing Libera me, and especially special link between piety and music its Dies irae reminder, but after an im- in this work. Could the fact that Verdi pressive build-up the animated fugue was Italian partly explain the lack of se- reaches a state of equilibrium in the fi- riousness and grovelling so typical of nal bars. Protestant church music? We may, on the other hand, ask whether Catholics Kimmo Korhonen (abridged) need to approach their god with trum- pets and trombones and opera singers if they want to be sure their voice will HANNU LINTU reach up to heaven. This work has a lot in common with a Roman Catholic cat- Hannu Lintu, you began the season and hedral – decorativeness, massiveness your term as Chief Conductor last week and theatricality are somehow intrinsic with the premiere performance of a work qualities. commissioned by the FRSO, saying that Verdi’s Requiem has been called an you intend to make this a regular prac- opera clothed in ecclesiastical garb. tice. Is this week, too, the start of a more This may seem true if you compare lasting practice? it with the Requiems of, say, Mozart or Fauré. Verdi’s does of course have 3 more dramatic gestures and is more comes over best in the balanced acous- episodic, but if you regard this as op- tics of a concert hall, without detract- eratic, you end up on the wrong track. ing from the piety of the work. The fact that Verdi’s Requiem speaks to Due to its hybrid nature, Verdi’s people – those who are not religious as Requiem was undoubtedly a new and well – springs precisely from the dra- strange experience in its day. By that matic and expressive nature of the mu- time, of course, Berlioz had already sic. produced his baffling Requiem and Te Aïda had been completed only three Deum, but the golden age of the gi- years earlier, and all the soloists in the ant battery of performers was only just first performance of the Requiem had coming in. sung in the premiere of Aïda. Mezzo- soprano Maria Waldmann, who had Lotta Emanuelsson sung Amneris, made such a great im- pression on Verdi that he later made www.hannulintu.fi the mezzo part in the Requiem even bigger. And in other respects, too, he would appear to have had in mind dra- SOILE ISOKOSKI matic voice types such as those re- quired for Aïda, Amneris, Radamès and A regular guest at the most illustrio- Ramfis. us opera and concert venues, Soile For me, it’s wonderful to bring the Isokoski is one of the most sought-af- Requiem into a concert hall. In Italy in ter sopranos in the world today. Verdi’s day, performing it in a church At the Finnish National Opera Soile – the domain of boy sopranos, castrati Isokoski made her debut as Mimi in La and countertenors – was difficult be- bohème and has since sung to great cause it needs female singers. It was acclaim at the Vienna, Hamburg, Berlin first performed in St Mark’s Church, and Bavarian State Operas, La Scala, Milan in May 1874, but only with a the Opéra Bastille, Covent Garden and special dispensation. The next perfor- the New York Metropolitan. She is also mance a few days later was at La Scala, a regular guest at many international and from then onwards it remained festivals and has worked with a host of rooted for a long time in concert halls. celebrated conductors. This may be another reason why it Soile Isokoski has a large concert rep- gained more of a reputation as an op- ertoire and has held numerous Lied re- era than as a mass. To my mind the citals all over the world. With Marita Requiem is well suited to a concert hall, Viitasalo she has recorded works by because logistically it’s so demanding. many Finnish and Scandinavian com- We now have a big platform at our dis- posers, by Schubert, Schumann and posal and don’t need to squash the per- Richard Strauss. She has been the re- formers somewhere between the pulpit cipient of a Gramophone Editor’s Choice and the altar. And the musical texture Award, a MIDEM Classical Award and a 4 BBC Music Magazine Disc of the Year among others, the Los Angeles and Award. Berlin Philharmonics and the London For her merits as an artist and her ser- and Sydney Symphonies.