© Jenny Carboni
Tribute to the centenary of Finland’s Indepence
Il suono del nord
Cantores Minores of Helsinki Cathedral
organ Markus Malmgren
conductor Hannu Norjanen
music
Johann Sebastian Bach, Jean Sibelius, Joonas Kokkonen,
Einojuhani Rautavaara, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi
The strong echoes of the Bolshevik revolution were still in the air in December 1917, when Finland declared its independence from the troubled Russian Empire. The choir’s pride for the centenary and cultural identity of this far corner of Europe lies beneath tonight’s programme, featuring the classics of choral polyphony, especially Bach, alongside the work of Finnish composers from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Since its foundation in 1952, the Cantores Minores choir of Helsinki Cathedral has formed several generations of professional musicians, welcoming over 3000 boys and young men, who, with the rigour and spirit of Protestant pueri cantores, perform in liturgical services and tour worldwide.
