OrganOrgan

Ville Urponen · Armas Maasalo · Väinö Raitio · John Granlund

2010 · ABCD 298

Credits

Performers: Ville Urponen — Organ
Composers: Armas MaasaloVäinö RaitioJohn Granlund

About this release

Maasalo - Radio - Granlund
OrganOrgan
Ville Urponen's organ
History of Finnish organ music
The history of Finnish organ music can be heard on Ville Urponen's new album OrganOrgan. Few Finnish organ compositions of the 19th century were intended for church use, with the exception of Oskar Merikanton's Konserttifantasia (1890) and Fantasia ja koralia (1899). The actual moment of birth of Finnish organ music as art music does not take place until the beginning of the 1910s. The works on the album were created between 1910 and 1940.
Published in 1936, Armas Maasalon's Tema con variazioni op. 35 is one of the best Finnish organ works. Väinö Raitio composed the Canzonetta with the Rieger organ completed in 1935 in Helsinki's Mikael Agricola Church in mind. Canzonetta has all the features of Raition's 1930s style of organ composition: a folk song-like melody, a frame format and ending the piece with a coda. Radio's masterful Legenda op. 20 no. 1 differs from other Finnish organ music of its time due to its orchestral approach. Armas Maasalo's Sonata in C minor and John Granlund's Passacaglia and Orgelsonat in B minor play on this CD as world premieres.
Ville Urponen has played a lot of Finnish organ music in recent years. He has recorded for Yleisradio the entire organ production of Armas Maasalo, as well as music by John Granlund, Heikki Klemet, Ilmari Krohn, Taneli Kuusisto and Erkki Melartin. In addition, he is an active contemporary music performer who has premiered more than twenty works

Tracks

1.Tema con variazioni Op. 35 (1936)comp. Armas Maasalo (1885-1960)ISRC FIABA09006617:27
2.Canzonetta (1935)comp. Väinö Raitio (1891-1945)ISRC FIABA09006622:32
Sonat c-moll (Sonata in C minor) Op. 5 (1913)
3.Adagio melancoliquecomp. Armas Maasalo (1885-1960)ISRC FIABA09006635:28
4.Allegretto (Pastorale)comp. Armas Maasalo (1885-1960)ISRC FIABA09006645:37
5.Fuga. Andante maestosocomp. Armas Maasalo (1885-1960)ISRC FIABA09006655:35
Sonat c-moll (Sonaatti c-molli) Op. 5 (1913)
6.Passacaglia (1915)comp. John Granlund (1888-1962)ISRC FIABA09006669:42
7.Legenda Op. 20 No. 1 (c. 1922–1923)comp. Väinö Raitio (1891-1945)ISRC FIABA09006676:00
Orgelsonat i b-moll (Organ Sonata in B fl at minor) (1917/1920?)
8.Grave – Allegro energicocomp. John Granlund (1888-1962)ISRC FIABA09006688:23
9.Molto adagiocomp. John Granlund (1888-1962)ISRC FIABA09006695:59
10.Allegro assai – Sostenuto – Tempo primo – Sostenuto – Tempo primo – Maestosocomp. John Granlund (1888-1962)ISRC FIABA09006709:38

Reviews

In my recent review
of Santeri Siimes’ CD I commented that some of the best organ
recordings now come from Finland. Regular readers will know
how taken I am with the hybrid SACDs from the Finnish label
Fuga, engineered by Mika Koivusalo. Alba, based in Tampere,
is new to me, but paging through the booklet I was delighted
to see this is a Koivusalo production as well.
MusicWeb International
Read the review (opens in a new tab)