Pekka Kostiainen: Requiem Musica Choir, Mikkelin kaupunginorkesteri, Jyväskylä Sinfonia & Ville Matvejeff

• Pekka Kostiainen (1944 - ): Requiem:
• 1 I. Requiem aeternam 06:35
• 2 II. Te decet hymnus 03:35
• 3 III. Kyrie 04:07
• 4 IV. Lacrimosa 04:35
• 5 V. Domine Jesu Christe 06:05
• 6 VI. Hostias 05:58
• 7 VII. Sanctus 05:33
• 8 VIII. Pie Jesu 03:54
• 9 IX. Agnus Dei 04:28
• 10 X. Lux aeterna 07:07
• 11 XI. In paradisum 06:16
• Total Runtime 58:13

Info for Pekka Kostiainen: Requiem

Pekka Kostiainen founder and leader of the Musica Choir, graduated from the Sibelius Academy in 1968 specializing in church music, and got his composition diploma in 1973. Pekka has worked as cantor-organist for Finnish congregation of Pohja and as a musicology teacher in the University of Jyväskylä. In 2000 he renounced his lectureship in order to concentrate on composing and choral conducting. Best known as a composer of choral music, Pekka Kostiainen has also had a distinguished conducting career both with Musica and from 1994 to 2009 with the Vox Aurea children’s choir; he thus has a profound understanding of the choir’s potential as an instrument. A large portion of his production consists of over 100 works for various types of choir. His output also includes large-scale orchestral, chamber and solo works. On this release, his Requiem is featured in its world premiere recording, presented by Jyvaskyla Sinfonia and the St. Michel Strings along with Musica Choir and soloists Sovi Vayrynen, Ena Pongrae, Simo Makinen, and Tapani Plathan.

Suvi Väyrynen, soprano
Ena Pongrac, mezzo-soprano
Simo Mäkinen, tenor
Tapani Plathan, bass
Musica Choir
Jyväskylä Sinfonia & St. Michel Strings
Ville Matvejeff, conductor

Suvi Väyrynen
has quickly emerged as one of Finland's most exciting young singers, making her debut at the Finnish National in 2016 in the role of Adele in Johann Strauss' operetta, Die Fledermaus. She is the winner of the 2016 Lappeenranta singing competition Female Grand Prize and has gained recognition through various other national and international singing competitions. She has delighted critics with her vocal courage and bright personality as well as entertained audiences with her uncompromising attention to detail in contemporary music. She is not only a coveted and expressive artist of Lied, concert and stage works, but also performs a wealth of modern music with assorted ensembles in which she has had the pleasure of premiering several new works. Ms. Väyrynen made her operatic debut in 2015 singing the role of Anna in Tampere Opera's production of Verdi's Nabucco.

Ms. Väyrynen studied at Tampere University of Applied Sciences under the tutelage of Satu Sippola, graduating with honours as a Music Pedagogue in 2013. During her studies, she appeared on stage as Maria (West Side Story), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) and Anne Truelove (The Rake's Progress). She then began her Masters studies in Vienna in 2014 at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien with Uta Schwabe as her voice teacher. There, she also studied Lied with Birgid Steinberger and Carolyn Hague

The Musica choir
was founded in 1977 at the University of Jyväskylä, Department of Music by Mr Pekka Kostiainen, who has conducted it ever since. There are about 30 singers in the choir. Many of them are studying music and because of the choir they have had an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and experience about choir music.

The purpose of Musica choir has always been to entertain both the audience and also the singers themselves. During the almost 40-year history of the choir it has performed vast scale of music: folklore, music from Renaissance and Baroque, sacred music and music from present-day composers. The choir has always had an open-minded attitude towards new things and therefore progress both in technique and interpretation has been gained.

Sound formation and warming up the voices are crucial. Minja Niiranen is leading the choir towards homogeneous and bright sound at the moment. The Musica choir has often gained recognition from not only the sound but the holistic interpretation of the music and the lyrics.

Contemporary music has always been part of the repertoire of the Musica choir. The idea has been to act as an instrument for the present-day composers. Naturally the choir has performed many compositions from its conductor, composer Mr Pekka Kostiainen. The choir also works together with the orchestra Sinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, normally once a year performing one masterpiece, for example Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B-minor and St. John Passion.

The Musica choir has also travelled abroad and recorded several albums. They took part in Festival of Songs, an international choir festival in Olomouc, Czech Republic in the beginning of June 2012 and returned home as the absolute winner of the whole festival.

Ville Einar Matvejeff
Born 1986 in Finland, Ville Einar Matvejeff has already established himself as an exceptionally wide-ranging musician enjoying success as conductor, composer and pianist. He trained at the Sibelius Academy (M.Mus.) and Espoo Music Institute and has performed throughout Europe as well as the USA, China, Japan and Mexico.

Matvejeff's conducting career is progressing rapidly. In January 2014 he assumed the position of Chief Conductor of Jyväskylä Sinfonia, renewed last year until the end of 2019. Since September 2014 he has worked as the Principal Guest Conductor and Music Advisor of Croatian National Theatre HNK Zajc in Rijeka, and this year includes re-invitations from the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and Oulu Sinfonia amongst others, as well as debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Lahti, Sonderjylland Symphony Orchestra and Tapiola Sinfonietta. Previous symphonic conducting appearances include Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Malmö Opera Orchestra and the Pori Sinfonietta. He has developed a broad repertoire extending from the classical through to the 20th century and contemporary; a bass-baritone with solo performances on both concert and opera stages to his credit, he is equally conversant with choral repertoire.

Matvejeff was recently appointed Artistic Director of Turku Music Festival from 2016 on, the oldest continuously run classical music festival in Finland, and is Founder and Artistic Director of New Generation Opera; presenting ambitious and technologically innovative performances, the company recently appeared at the Helsinki Festival with its cutting edge production of Don Giovanni. He made his opera debut in September 2011 at Pori Opera with critically acclaimed performances of Purcell’s Fairy Queen and has held positions at the Malmö Opera and the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm as well as working as assistant with conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Leif Segerstam. He has conducted a diversity of repertoire ranging from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila and Aribert Reimann’s Lear, as well as contemporary works such as Kimmo Hakola’s Akseli with Jorma Hynninen in the title role and Mikko Heiniö’s Eerik XIV.

A musical polymath, Matvejeff is also a pianist and composer. He made his concert debut as pianist at the age of 18 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under conductor Susanna Mälkki and has since toured the world in duo recital partnership with soprano Karita Mattila with appearances at the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Salle Pleyel and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London and Zürich Opera. As a composer, he has recently received commissions from the Finnish Chamber Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, for whom he wrote his Violin Concerto to celebrate the inauguration of the Helsinki Music Centre in September 2011; the recording of his orchestral works Ad Astra and Cello Concerto Crossroads released on the Alba label was named "Q2 Music Album of the Week" in March 2015 by WQXR Radio Station in New York City. His passion for the human voice has also led him to write a substantial amount of choral music.

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