大象传媒

This week Aled Jones talks to Jaakko M盲ntyj盲rvi, a leading figure on the Finnish choral scene. He's probably best known in the UK as a choral composer, in particular for his humorous take on Finnish folk music "Pseudo-Joik". In addition he's a choral singer, translator and expert on the history of Finnish choral music. He joins Aled to introduce a selection of the best from the Finnish romantics who took up Sibelius' mantle. The late nineteenth century was a rich period in Finland's choral development. The growth of nationalism not only saw Jean Sibelius produce choral music using Finnish texts but it also fostered the desire in succeeding generations to follow in his footsteps. Outside Finland, the domination of Sibelius' reputation has meant the work of these later Finnish romantics, among them Toivo Kuula, Leevi Madetoja and Selim Palmgren, has been rather unfairly neglected. Palmgren who was given the title the "Chopin of Scandinavia", is credited with bringing impressionism to Finland, while Kuula's original talent, cut short tragically by an early death, has been likened to that of Sibelius.