Description

Ikävyys [Longevity], a song for baritone and piano, was commissioned from Mr. Luukas Hiltunen by the Hämeenlinna Sibelius Society to mark the 190th Anniversary of the birth of the writer Aleksis Kivi (1834-1872). The commission was part of a series of commissioned solo songs by the Sibelius Society of Hämeenlinna: 'Inspired by Sibelius' series features songs to poems that Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) never composed, but which might have been of interest to him. The series is based on a thought experiment: what if the ageing master, during the silence of Ainola, had still been inspired to compose a song? In what direction would his musical language have evolved? The Hämeenlinna Sibelius Society has posed the question to today's composers, and the outcome is a series of songs to poems that might have intrigued Sibelius. The series of commissioned compositions continues annually.

Aleksis Kivi's poem Ikävyys [Longevity] is an evocative, sinister whole that delves deeply into the heart of an individual's feelings, intertextually interweaving Shakespeare's Otello, the playwright's poem Come away, death, and Gehenna, a biblical eponym referring to the abyss of the inferno. Peace from anguish can only be attained in the nothingness that the first-person storyteller in the poem acquires upon death and the grave [abridged from the analysis of the poem by Juhani Koivisto]. Like Kivi's poem, the overall expression of the song is lugubrious, outright nihilistic, except for a few momentary glimpses of light.

The song was written in just two days, as if by dictation. The world première took place at Wanha Kutomo [Old Weaving House] in Hämeenlinna on October the 6th, 2024, performed by baritone Jussi Vänttinen and pianist Kristian Attila.

Instrumentation

baryt, pno

Category

Vocal and Choral Works

Language

Fi

Lyricist

Aleksis Kivi (1834-1872)

Premiere

October the 6th, 2024, Old Weaving Mill, Hämeenlinna; Jussi Vänttinen, bar & Kristian Attila, pno

Commisioned by / dedications

Commissioned by Hämeenlinna Sibelius Society to mark Aleksis Kivi's 190th Anniversary

More

• Ikävyys on Universal Edition's website

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