Saariaho, Kaija - True Fire; Ciel d'hiver; Trans - Lintu, Hannu
- Product Code: ODE13092
Kaija Saariaho (born 1952) is one of the most prominent names in contemporary music. The new album by the Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hannu Lintu, features world premiere recordings of three works by Saariaho, with bass-baritone Gerald Finley and harpist Xavier de Maistre as soloists. True Fire is a six-part song cycle written for baritone Gerald Finley on commission from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the NDR Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de France, with the original idea of exploring the range of the baritone voice. The texts ultimately determined the nature of the vocal expression and the details of the musical material. The various texts chosen by Saariaho actually have a common underlying theme: humanity's place in the natural world, our perception of it, and our belonging to it. Saariaho's orchestral triptych Orion (2002) is one of her most frequently performed works. Orion as a celestial phenomenon is presented in the middle section, Winter Sky. In 2013, Saariaho re-orchestrated this section for a smaller orchestra and, to distinguish it from the original, gave it the French title Ciel d'hiver, which has the same meaning.
