Nostalgia: Lyrical Finnish Music for Strings / Juha Kangas

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Nostalgia - Lyrical Finnish Music for Strings is an exceptionally beautiful new release from Alba Records performed by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra under Juha Kangas. Offering compositions by a mix of familiar names along with some that are little known, the music comes from about a dozen different composers. They are all representatives of the Finnish romantic era of the 19th and 20th-centuries, the better known being Sibelius, Merikanto and Klami.

The works' titles themselves help to give a sense of the music. A short list of select pieces includes Elegy by Leevi Madetoja, Romance by Väinö Raitio, Lullaby by Uuno Klami, I Cannot Forget You by Väinö Haapalainen and The Pauper Girl's Lullaby by Robert Kajanus. Lullabies, Elegies and Romances these gentle works are touching, expressive vignettes. The last work mentioned includes some charming solo violin passages performed by Reijo Tunkkari, and is the recorded sample we have provided for you to hear. It rather fairly represents the spectrum of music here - tonal, lyrical and melodic.

If you are reading this review on the ExpeditionAudio website and can therefore listen to the sample, there's really not too much more that needs to be said. If for some reason you cannot get to EA, then I'll have to ask you to trust me - this is lovely music, beautifully performed, and you will enjoy it.