Sibelius:
Scene with Cranes, Op. 44-2

Palmgren:
Aus Finnland, Op. 24

Madetoja:
Marian murhe, Op. 27-2
Suite pastorale, Op. 34

Raitio:
Idylli
Scherzo ‘Felis domestica’

Kajanus:
Adagietto
Finnish Rhapsody No. 2, Op. 8

Following their successful album Overtures from Finland (CHSA 5336), Rumon Gamba and Oulu Sinfonia present another programme of works from their native land. The album takes its title from Selim Palmgren’s four-movement suite, written in 1904, offering richly atmospheric character pieces celebrating the changing seasons. Several of the works here take inspiration from the natural world, not least Kurkikohtaus (Scene with Cranes) which Sibelius composed as incidental music for a play by his brother-in-law, Arvid Järnefelt. Robert Kajanus is often considered the father of Finnish music. As a young man, he was one of the standard bearers in the drive for Finnish independence, and he developed a keen artistic interest in Finnish folklore and vernacular traditions. His Second Finnish Rhapsody (Suomalainen rapsodia), Op. 8, dates from 1886 and is the oldest work here. The album also features works by two further key Finnish composers: Väinö Raitio and Leevi Madetoja – the latter a native of Oulu. Taken as a whole, the album presents its own fascinating picture of Finnish orchestral music.