Metsän poika - On The Fields Of Tapiola

Jorma Hynninen · Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra · Toivo Kuula · Kimmo Hakola

2012 · ABCD 348

Credits

Performers: Jorma Hynninen — BaritoneOstrobothnian Chamber Orchestra
Composers: Toivo KuulaKimmo Hakola
Conductors and other contributors: Juha Kangas — Conductor

About this release

Son of the forest
On The Fields Of Tapiola
Hakola - Kuula
Southern Pohja folk songs
Kivi songs
Jorma Hynninen, baritone
Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Orchestra
Juha Kangas, conductor
On the new album Metsä poika, the iron baritone Jorma Hynninen interprets Toivo Kuula's Eteläpohjalaiset folk songs orchestrated by Kimmo Hakola and Kivi songs composed by Hakola.
Aleksis Kive's poems are our most central national asset, the core of Finnishness, from which subsequent generations have diligently drawn, starting with Eino Leino, not to mention other writers, let alone composers. Kimmo Hakola has succeeded in creating captivating melodies for Kive's lyrics, which can be predicted to give birth to lasting favorites comparable to our best folk songs.
In his introductory text, Juhani Koivisto writes about the album's works:
As Finnish as the content of this album is with its folk songs and Aleksis Kive's poems, the factor that unites the works is Paris. Longing for his homeland, Toivo Kuula created his most inspired folk song adaptations while studying in Paris, and a hundred years later in the same city, Kimmo Hakola got a new touch with Finnishness and immersed himself in the poems of Aleksis Kive. "I'm pretty sure I would have done them differently in Helsinki," Kimmo Hakola has said. The foreign culture caused the Finnish soul landscape to open up in a new way. "You have to admit that everything in those songs has come completely from the heart".
The Central Ostrobothnia Chamber Orchestra led by Juha Kankaa excels as an orchestra on the album. In addition, instrumental versions of Toivo Kuula's productions include Prelude and Intermezzo arranged for Sulho Ranna's string orchestra, Meren virsi arranged by Pekka Helasvuo and Kuula's Wedding March arranged by Juho Näyk.

Tracks

Twelve South Ostrobothnian Folk Songs Op. 17b (1908-09/2012)
1.So Long Will I Trampcomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004381:34
2.I Shouldn’t Say The Wordcomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004392:07
3.Cry From The Bottom Of Your Gravecomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004401:10
4.O Those Thousand Hourscomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004411:06
5.My Father’s House Is Humblecomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004421:24
6.The Boys They Roamcomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004431:45
7.I Spy The Little Red Housecomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004441:23
8.Hautalan Heikki Must Spend All Summercomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004452:06
9.The Wind It Swayedcomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004462:17
10.Ketolan Jukkacomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004472:11
11.Come Fetch Your Ringcomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004481:24
12.Some Think I Must Be Enjoying Lifecomp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004491:51
Eteläpohjalaisia kansanlauluja op. 17b (1908-09/2012)
13.Prelude Op. 16b/1 (1909/1930?)comp. Toivo KuulaISRC FIABA12004502:19
14.Intermezzo Op. 16b/2 (1909/1930?)comp. Toivo KuulaISRC FIABA12004512:58
Kivi Songs (2007, arr. for strings 2011) Seven songs to texts by Aleksis Kivi
15.1 The Hunter’s Songcomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004523:52
16.2 The Happy Onescomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004533:20
17.3 Sundaycomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004544:24
18.4 The Squirrelcomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004552:35
19.5 The Dreamcomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004562:34
20.6 I Had A Sweetheart Faircomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004573:11
21.The Song Of My Heartcomp. Kimmo Hakola (b. 1958)ISRC FIABA12004582:37
Kivi-laulut (2007, jousiorkesterisov. 2011)
22.The Song Of The Sea Op. 11/2 (1909/2003)comp. Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)ISRC FIABA12004598:40
Wedding March Op. 3b/2 (1908/2011)
23.Häämarssi op. 3b/2 (1908/2011)comp. Toivo KuulaISRC FIABA12004604:52

Reviews

Nuori mies käy kahdeksattakymmentä
”Niin kauan minä tramppaan kajahtaa niin uljaasti, että on mahdotonta uskoa laulajan olevan 71-vuotias. […] Toivo Kuulan Eteläpohjalaiset kansanlaulut saavat Kimmo Hakolan orkesterisovituksista hennon kultareunuksen. Hakolan omat Kivi-laulut ovat monta astetta hempeämpiä, konstailemattoman romanttisia ja suorasti puhuttelevia. Jousiorkesterisovitukset Kuulan neljästä kappaleesta, muun muassa Häämarssista ja Meren virrestä, täydentävät kokonaisuuden.”
Jukka
Helsingin Sanomat · Jukka Isopuro
Hynnisen kunto pysyy
”Mikäpä on Hynnisen laulaessa, kun ääni on ja pysyy teräkunnossa ja tarjolla on mielin määrin mittatilauksena tehtyä laulettavaa, sellaista kuin Kimmo Hakolan Kivi-laulut ja sovitukset Toivo Kuulan Eteläpohjalaisista kansanlauluista. […] Iän myötä Hynnisen baritoniin on kertynyt savuisuutta, mutta kauniilla tavalla kuin riihen seinään. Sointi on edelleen avoin ja teräisä, puhtaus rikkeetöntä ja sanojen ääntämys selkeintä mitä Suomesta löytyy. […] Kaikkiaan levy on silti…
Yle uudet levyt · Kare Eskola
One of my favourite baritones has for many years been Jorma
Hynninen. I have had the good luck to hear him in the flesh
on a number of occasions. He was a wonderful Posa in Don
Carlos at the Finnish National Opera when he was well over
sixty.
Göran Forsling · MusicWeb International
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Hynninen sings wonderfully throughout, be it in Kuula’s folk settings or in the Hakola.
MusicWeb International · Hubert Culot · July 12, 2013
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Nevertheless, musicality is high and the surround sound is excellent, so if an hour of this appeals then by all means give it a try.
Audiophile Audition · Steven Ritter · September 18, 2013
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The 20 member Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra plays beautifully and the SACD sound is excellent.
American Record Guide · David W Moore · November 21, 2013
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