Music Finland Core

* Title

Additional title

Description

This work came about as commission from my friend Tommi Hyytinen for a concertante-type piece. Initially apprehensive about both the concerto form, with its attendant expectations of virtuosic display, and about writing such a work for my former main instrument, I felt I wasn't ready, that I was still too close. The additional request for a piece with chamber string orchestra was another stumbling block, as I'd thought my first contribution to the horn concerto repertoire as an ex-player myself should be a rather grand statement. After some thought on the matter, though, I realized that Tommi had in fact saved me from myself, offering me the opportunity to write a subtler, more intimate piece. I began to think about his background and mine, and our shared love of the solo and chamber, rather than orchestral repertoire of the horn, and of the sound of the valveless natural horn. It also occurred to me that the clean, cool soundworld of horn and strings was highly evocative of the Nordic landscapes I find so inspiring, and therefore it seemed that what was called for was a contemporary take on the gentle "pastoral" concerto popular in the early 20th century, in which overt technical virtuosity takes a supportive role to the lyrical beauty of the solo instrument’s voice. The "album" of the title refers simply to a collection – of images, of songs, of writings – in keeping with the formal construction of the piece as a series of loosely interconnected episodes.When the première performance was arranged with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra in Tommi's hometown of Kokkola, the themes of North and nordicity took on a sudden prominence. I found myself drawn to my countryman Glenn Gould's thoughts on the subject in his radio composition The Idea of North, in which he saw geographical isolation and solitude as engendering a deep introspection. Gould also dealt with the romanticizing of an imagined North that takes place in the mind of the inexperienced versus the sometimes harsher reality of life in northern climes, a reality brought into sharper focus for me by a trip to Iceland in the fall of 2007. In fact, much of the structure and content of Northlands was influenced in one way or another by my brief experience with Iceland, its epic landscapes and otherworldly light, which had an immediate and powerful impact both on me and the concept for the piece, and whose rich vocal music tradition was a revelation. The world the string orchestra creates for the soloist in Northlands is at first a melancholic one of shadows and diffuse light, but also increasingly of sun and bright, clear skies as the piece gradually unfolds. Toward the end the music coalesces around a quotation on the natural horn of the Icelandic hymn Sjóferðabæn ("The Seafarer's Hymn") – a tune graciously passed on to me by folk singer and composer Bára Grímsdóttir, and which generates much of the material of Northlands – before giving way to a pulsing, joyous music that calls the horn home.Northlands was commissioned by Tommi Hyytinen with the assistance of the Sibelius Fund and LUSES, and is dedicated to him.

Year of composing

Arranger

Movements

Availability

Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin