The Vicentino Singers: Flame and Shadow – New Vocal Works from Finland and Estonia

Event Introduction

The Vicentino Singers present a fascinating selection of new vocal chamber works from both sides of the Gulf of Finland. The concert features Galina Grigorjeva’s timeless Greenlandic hymn and explores different tuning systems through Juhani Nuorvala’s Three Madrigals and Sebastian Dumitrescu’s new madrigal collection Flame and Shadow, a setting of poems by Isabella Shaw and that employs Nicolà Vicentino’s ‘enharmonic’ extended meantone tuning system with 31 divisions of the octave. The delicate, sensuous tone of Shaw’s poetry recalls the texts of the Sufi mystic Rumi, here presented in a pensive, lingering setting by Helena Tulve. Based on a novel by Linda Gabrielsen, Tze Yeung Ho’s Intermezzi follows a nameless mother figure as she spirals ever deeper into despair.

Programme:

Helena Tulve (*1972): You and I (2017)
Sebastian Dumitrescu (*1989): Flame and Shadow: Madrigals Fragments (world premiere)
Galina Grigorjeva (*1962): Siuaama amiakkui (2023)
Tze Yeung Ho (*1992): Intermezzi (world premiere)
Juhani Nuorvala (*1961): Three madrigals (2007; now world premiere for version with six voices)

Performers:

The Vicentino Singers:
Linnéa Sundfær Casserly, Sirkku Rintamäki, Iris Oja, David Hackston, Martti Anttila, Riku Laurikka

Supporters and partners:

Sibelius Fund, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation

Map