Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Osmo Vänskä, with YL Male Voice Choir, "Sibelius 'Kullervo' and 'Finlandia' and Kortekangas 'Migrations' " (BIS)
Incest, murder, rape and suicide: These are the dark materials of which Jean Sibelius' symphonic poem "Kullervo" — drawn from the Finnish epic poem "The Kalevala" — are made.
Minnesota Orchestra music director Osmo Vänskä has recorded the work before, but his new version with the orchestra eclipses the earlier interpretation in almost every detail.
Taped over three concert performances at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis in February, Vänskä's "Kullervo" is dark and baleful from the outset, as befits the grim subject matter.
The rippling string figurations of the introduction carry an intimation of tragic destiny. And although the more restrained episodes for brass instruments have plenty of room to register, a sense of jagged edginess is evident throughout the movement.
But Vänskä really shows his mettle in the whiplash rhythms and incendiary passions of "Kullervo and His Sister." He draws playing of bracing precision from the orchestra. And both soloists — baritone Tommi Hakala and mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi — play their part in stoking the emotional atmosphere to heady levels.
The YL Male Voice Choir, imported from Helsinki for the occasion, also makes a major contribution, especially in the grave declamations of "Kullervo's Death," where the guilt-racked hero drives his own sword into his bosom.
A second CD adds Sibelius' "Finlandia" and contemporary composer Olli Kortekangas' "Migrations" as bonuses. Vänskä's intense, compelling take on "Kullervo" is, however, the major point of interest here. It has few rivals among currently available versions.
