Red Earth and Rain

Bombay Jayashri · Laura Leisma · Avanti! · Minna Pensola

2010 · ABCD 320

Credits

Performers: Bombay Jayashri — VocalsLaura Leisma — SopranoAvanti!Minna Pensola — ViolinHeikki Nikula — Bass clarinetPungkulam Subramaniam — MridangamS. Karthick — GathamJukka Rantamaki — Violin
Composers: Eero Hämeenniemi
Conductors and other contributors: John Storgårds — Conductor

About this release

Eero Hämeenniemi
Red Earth and Rain
Open! John Storgårds
Bombay Jayashree
Laura Leisma
Greetings from India: two great works from a composer turning 60 years old
On the new album Red Earth and Rain, two great sets of songs by Eero Hämeenniemi, who celebrates his 60th birthday on April 29th, will be heard as the world premieres: Sade ja punyan maa (2008) composed for a low Indian female voice by Bombay Jayashri, the leading female singer of classical Carnatic music in southern India, and Lintu ja tuuli (1994) composed for a western soprano voice, interpreted by Laura Leisma. In both works, the chamber orchestra Avanti! Led by John Storgårds.
Rain and Red Earth is based on short Tamil love poems from the collection Kuruntokai from more than two millennia ago. Through five poems, the song series tells the story of a young couple from a woman's point of view. Rain and red earth contains improvised solos for Bombay Jayashri and violin virtuoso Minna Pensola, who follows the singer like a shadow. Bass clarinet wizard Heikki Nikula and Indian percussion maestros Pungkulam Subramaniam and S. Karthick also have their own solos.
Indian influence is also heard in the song series Lintu ja tuuli, it combines Finnish folk poems with classical Indian texts. Between the songs, you can hear dance sequences and a big orchestral climax.

Tracks

Sade ja punainen maa (Red Earth and Pouring Rain) (2008)
1.Marai vilaiyaadum (Where the rain clouds play)comp. Eero Hämeenniemi (b.1951)ISRC FIABA10006985:27
2.Malaiyidaiyitta (He does not live beyond the hills)comp. Eero Hämeenniemi (b.1951)ISRC FIABA10006992:36
3.Sempulappeyalniir (Once the rain has poured on the red earth)comp. Eero Hämeenniemi (b.1951)ISRC FIABA100070014:13
4.Nilattinum peridee (Vast is the earth)comp. Eero Hämeenniemi (b.1951)ISRC FIABA10007013:15
5.Kaamam kaamam (Love, love)comp. Eero Hämeenniemi (b.1951)ISRC FIABA10007027:59
Lintu ja tuuli (The Bird and the Wind) (1994)
6.Pääskyläinen päivälintu (The creation of the world)comp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007035:31
7.Tuuli tuo äänen (The wind brings the sound of life) dancecomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007042:44
8.Tuuli tuo äänen (The wind brings the sound of life) songcomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007054:01
9.Jos olet tuska (If, pain, you were brought by the wind) songcomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007064:22
10.Jos olet tuska (If, pain, you were brought by the wind) dancecomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007074:01
11.Juokseeko lapsi (Does the child run to its mother?) songcomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007082:04
12.Juokseeko lapsi (Does the child run to its mother?) dancecomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007092:47
13.Orchestral climaxcomp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007113:49
14.Nuku, nuku (Lullaby)comp. Eero HämeenniemiISRC FIABA10007105:56

Reviews

Eero Hämeennemi (b. 1951) is from Finland. Alba offers very little personal information about him. He is probably involved in some way with the Sibelius Academy, as most Finnish composers are; soprano Leisma teaches there. The composer seems to have a special interest in the music and culture of India.
Bombay Jayashri is a leading singer of Indian classical Carnatic music.
Red Earth and
Pouring Rain
(2008) was written for her, and she sings it here. These five songs with texts by Indian…
American Record Guide · Allen Gimbel · December 1, 2015
”Bombay Jayashri is a leading singer of Indian classical Carnatic music. Red Earth and Pouring Rain (2008) was written for her, and she sings it here. These five songs with texts by Indian poets are about love, loss, and revelation. […] Anyone interested in sensational vocal acrobatics must hear this. Ms Jayashri has a truly beautiful voice to start with, and she deploys it with flawless musicality and staggering virtuosity. This is an amazing example of ethnic bel canto wedded to Western…
GIMBEL Guide March/April 2012 · American Record
In my review
of Alba’s CD (ABCD 214) of the Hämeenniemi’s
Symphony No. 3 and Viola Concerto I noted that the composer
had taken a special interest in Indian culture. It takes a more
obvious presence in the first work on this disc.
MusicWeb International
Read the review (opens in a new tab)