Lauantaisauna

by Matthew Whittall

Saturday Sauna

for mixed choir

Description

Asked to provide a short piece in Finnish for a concert whose themes
were warmth, togetherness, home and the soul, I thought immediately of
the binding ritual that encompasses those words in the spirit of
Finnishness: the sauna. It is a holy place of peace, meditation and
closeness, best experienced in the cathedral of nature on a summer
evening. Niilo Rauhala’s brief poem had been on my mind for some time
after I found it in his collection Sana koskettaa sanaa (Word Touches
Word), which I received as a gift. In a handful of words, Rauhala
manages to encapsulate the essence of the sauna and its mystical effect.
The music is an unhurried, floating cloud of D flat major, only ever
veering away briefly before returning to gentle contemplation.

– Matthew Whittall

Instrumentation

chx

Category

Vocal and Choral Works

Language

Fi

Lyricist

Niilo Rauhala

Commisioned by / dedications

Commissioned by the Sibelius Academy choral committee for its “Finnish Songbook” project.

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