Description

The poems of Hafez talk about passion and longing for beloved, yet they mirror longing for eternal life and paradise as well. Hafez, in his text written in the 14th century Persia, shows how mundane, erotic love is a reflection of divine, perfect love of God.

For my composition Rakkaus oli aluksi helppoa (2011) I have picked poems from several works by Hafez, translated in Finnish by professor Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila who kindly helped me with the texts and also gave advice for the pronunciation. In Rakkaus oli aluksi helppoa I wanted to combine two different musical languages: the Oriental tradition and the contemporary European style. The baritone sings his atonal, rhythmic part in Finnish. The mezzo-soprano’s freely reciting part follows Oriental makam in ancient Persian. The instruments of the ensemble support either European or Oriental musical language in turn.

It is not surprising that a cultural chiasm provokes some inconveniences. If the cultural elements have been treated as equal, valuable and interacting components, the creative process can turn into finding connections and similarities instead of holding on the cultural differences.

- Inkeri Jaakkola -

Percussion = Darbuga

Instrumentation

fl, ob, perc, cemb, vlc, mezzo, baryt

Category

Vocal and Choral Works

Lyricist

Hafez, translated by Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila

Movements

1. Rakkaus oli aluksi helppoa, 2. Jos tuo Shirazin turkkilainen, 3. Kunpa nuoruus olisi ikuinen, 4. Nousen nuorena jälleen

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Archive number

MF31912

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