BIS-CD-1193/1194 STEREO D D D Total playing time: 106'10 MELARTIN, Erkki (1875-1937) Aino (1907-09) (Warner/Chappell Music Finland OY) 105'01 Opera in Two Acts. Libretto: Jalmari Finne BIS-CD-1193 Playing time: 45'29 BIS-CD-1194 Playing time: 60'41 Act I 44'58 Act II 60'03 1 Prelude 5'18 1 Scene 1 (Aino: A – a – a – …) 6'02 2 Scene 1 (Aino: Heloita, heleä päivä…) 7'29 2 Scene 2 (Ainikki: Aino! Aino!…) 4'32 3 Scene 2 (Väinö: Jatka!…) 7'17 3 Scene 3 (Taina: Lapset, lapset…) 3'36 4 Scene 3 (Väinö: Vaikka Tuonelan ovelta…) 4'12 4 Scene 4 (Taina: Sinne poikani katosi…) 3'51 5 Scene 4 (Taina: Missä lienee Aino tytti…) 2'13 5 Scene 5 (Piiat: Mikä on laulu?…) 2'32 6 Scene 5 (Jouko: Miksi huudat siskoani?…) 7'11 6 Scene 6 (Naiset: Heleijaa!…) 16'20 7 Scene 6 (Jouko: Tästä tie on Joukolahan…) 1'43 7 Scene 7 (Väinö: Miksi soitto on samea…) 1'09 8 Scene 7 (Väinö: Tästä tie on Joukolahan…) 9'30 8 Interlude 8'55 9 Epilogue (Aino: Aava meri!…) 12'58 Aino: Ritva-Liisa Korhonen, soprano Väinö: Sauli Tiilikainen, baritone Taina, Aino’s mother: Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano Ainikki, Aino’s sister: Pia Freund, soprano Jouko, Aino’s brother: Aki Alamikkotervo, tenor Vedenneito (A Water Nymph): Sari Nordqvist, mezzo-soprano Eräs kalevalainen (One of the Kalevala People): Jussi Järvenpää, baritone Dominante Choir, chorus-master: Seppo Murto Lahti Symphony Orchestra (Sinfonia Lahti) (Leader: Jyrki Lasonpalo) conducted by Ulf Söderblom Recorded at public concerts in the Sibelius Hall, Lahti, in March 2000 2 Erkki Melartin'sAino: performances in 1876 and who had also been Sibelius's leacher. After his studies in Helsinki, Melartin chose the first significantopera in Finnish Vienna as the base for his studies abrcad; here too, in the Erkki Melartin (1875-1937) may well be the most produc- years 1899-1901, he had the same teacher as Sibelius prartet tive of all Finnish composes with a total of 1,331 works. of before him - Robefr Fuchs. The Strirg No.2, which which the majority, admittedly, are pieces on a very small Melartin wrote in Vienna, was perfomed not only in that scale: piano music and songs. Nevertheless, this is a remark- city and in Finland but also in Berlin, London, Copenhagen, able achievement for a man who suffered all his life from Riga, St. Petenburg and Moscow In Vienna Melartin en- hem disease and who, despite this, found the time to seNe countercd a large amount of orchestral music and orchestral as director of the Helsinki Music Institute. predecessor of composition. He must also have heard the music of Mahler, the Sibelius Academy, for a qumer of a century ( 19 I I -36), as otheNise it would be inexplicable that in his cycle of six to app€ar as a pianist md orchesral conductor, to work as a symphonies ( 1903-24) Melartin, in the spirit of Mahler, teacher of composition and to undertake long joumeys. not uses Finnish song and chorale motifs, rcmantic progrm- just to Central and Southern Europe but also to North maticism and skilful counterpoint; he also extends the mu- Africa, Egypt and India. W}len we combine all of this with sical material by using dissonant hamonies, even going as his work as a painter of almost professional standrd (two far as the use of clusters. It was a sign of considerable public exhibitions; he also designed the cover pages of daring that Melanin produced his own symphonic output numerous pieces of sheet music), a photographer, a grower alongside that of Sibelius (whose seven numbered sym- of exotic flowers, a devotee of anthroposophy and literature phonies date from 1899-1'924). Apafr ftom the symphonies' (in which capacity his most endudng work is the collection Melartin's extensive output includes a series of other orch- yioli, of aphorisms Minti uskon ll Believef, Op.150), Melartin estal works, among them three lyric suites, a notable can be said to have accomplished the life's work of many Concerto (1913130), two ballets and music fbr some ten mortals in a single liletime. plays. His chamber works include quartets, sonatas and Melartin was bom in Kiikisalmi in Kaelia, and Kare- sonatinas for various combinations ol instruments. lian music, folk-songs and dances were the primary and On his way back from Vienna to Finland in 1901, essential source of inspiration for his music - although. as a Melmin stopped in Bayreuth, as he wanted to find out for result of painstaking studies, he acquired a rcck-solid pro- himself what lay behind Wegelius's enthusiastic advocacy fessional craftsmanship and compositional technique, with of Wagner He saw Pdlst/a/ and remarked in contradictory 'The the aid of which he was eventually able to leave behind the tems: text of Parsifal is (in my opinion) the sickest stylistic ideal of national romanficism. Melartin had an un- thing that he has written; if he attained the zenith of being a ' quenchable interest in music representing new trends. Thus Gesamtkiinstler in this way, then The thought breaks he his musical language did not remain static; rathet it devel- off, but this statement does not prove, however, that oped into an individual synthesis of late-romantic vocab- might not have reacted more positively to Wagner's earlier ulary and the discoveries of impressionism and expression- operas; at any rate, he had access to Wagner's scores. The ism. For instance the Fantasia (Sonata) Apocaliptica aclual performance of Parsilal made a deep impre'sion (1922?) for piano is one of the most important and earliest upon him; the most important evidence of this is, of course, Finnish piano works to show the influence of Debussy, his own opera Airo, which is the most remarkable achieve- Ravel and Scriabin. ment of (post-) wagnerian thinking in Finnish music. Melmin initially studied at the Helsinki Music lnsti- The direct impulse to compose the opera cme to Meld- one of tute from 1892 until 1899 as a pupil of Mmin wegelius, an iin not from Wagner, but rather from Jalmtri Finne, rdent Wagnerian who had taken part in the first Bayreuth the most influential llgures in Finnish theatre of the time Finne distinguished himself not only as a theatre director, that mystic feeling of universality for which it [the opera] is playwright and librettist but also as the translator of Wag- aiming in its totality'. In the opinion of the tenor Wiiinii 'stands ner's opems into Finnish. For his part, Finne was inspired Sola, who directed the perfomance, the opera the to write the libretto for /iro by a verse play of the same test of time, gains status with each hearing, and never name dating from 1893 by J.H. Efkko. He himself said of descends to the level of the banal.' 'From his work: the heroic operas of Wagner the idea came Th€ plot of the opera, which is divided into two acts to me of making V?iinamatnen a demi-god, indeed the son and an epilogue, is based on the attempt by Vaiinit (=Veind- of Luonnorar [the spirir of narure], who tries to lind happi- mdinen, the most important hero in the Finnish national ness of the kind enjoyed by mortals. If Vaindmiiinen were a eplc, the Kaleyala) to win the favours of the young maiden demi-god, then what would Aino represent? Nature itself, I Aino, who would rather die than enter into maniage with thought. The plot of the piece was fomed from this idea.' an old man. There now follows a brief synopsis of the The collaboration between Melartin and Finne on .4izo events of the opera: began in 1902, md as late as 1907 they were still working The first scetre of the opera is Aino's monologue to zealously on the libreilo. Melartin was satisfied with the spring, to the day, to light and to naturc. In the second scene 'The final result: disposition and the ideological aspects are Vaind appears and meets Aino, touching upon the opera's very good. I couldn't have hoped for a better text.' The central theme of etemal longing in a poetic and philosoph- yers 1907-08 were a period of intensive work on the music ical manner The third scene is Vaind's monologue - his of the opera; the work in its entirety was not completed seli-examination, in praise of the happiness that spring until 1909, the yetr of its premidre. produces and the awakening of his amorous feelings. The The completion of Aino ard its first perfomance on fourth scene contains reminiscences of youth and love from 5th December 1909 were widely regarded as events of Taina, Aino's mother In the nfth scene the acrion begins, national importance. The title r61e was written for and sung when Jouko (Aino's brother) adves; there follows a family by Aino Ackt€, the great diva of the Paris opera; other r6les discussion of the new siruation brought about by Vain6's were played by Eino Rautavaara (Veinij), Taneli Huili proposal of maniage; Jouko stirs up ill feeling against (Jouko), Alexandra Ahnger (Taina) and Erna Griisbeck Viiinii while a choir of Kalevala people sing in the back- (Ainikki); Finne himself naturally directed the work. ln rhe ground. The brief sixth scene tells of Jouko's thoughts 'in opinion of the lfiT5,adstadsblader cntic,'Bis' Wasenius, while he was en route to meet with Viiind. The seventh and this opera, starting from Wagnerian traditions, Melanin has last scene of the lirst act depicts, to the accompaniment of raised up our young, delicate music for drama to a high choirs of Kalevala and Joukolainen people, a singing com- level and, at the same time he has, in this art music, empha- petition between VAind and Jouko, in which Jouko is sized the underlying Finnish tone that has made the work so defeated; the scene ends with a great climax sung by the impofrant and dear to us.' victorious Veinit and the choir Melanin's Airo is indeed rhe llrst great Finnishlan- The second act begins with Aino's meditation, the so- 'birch guage opera to have maintained a place in the repertoire.