A refreshing setting of Sibelius' “Finlandia,” with a newly written text about home. An imaginative take on a familiar melody.
Takach has taken “Finlandia” and reinvented it here. No longer a hymn setting, this arrangement takes it’s lead with a newly written text and doesn’t look back. Intriguing harmonic shifts, a 3-part treble texture that mimics birdsong, and part writing that keeps your singers engaged, this piece holds tremendous value as a cousin to Sibelius’ original and it also holds it’s own place in the choral repertoire.
Opened the earth, and planted your life there.
Heard in the wind, the tall grass whisper your name.
Somewhere the hills now bloom, and rivers flow free.
Each song of home, is sung by trav’ling birds.
You’ve seen the stars at dusk, watched wishes burn bright.
Given your heart, in hope, despite the dark.
Is the path the moon takes, the sun keeps.
We hear the song the stars sing, and we join in.
We sing of home, we sing of love, of peace.
When Philip Brown asked me to arrange “Finlandia” for his choir, I was doubtful. There are many arrangements out there in the choral market, and I had sung the piece for at least three years during my time with Cantus. What more could I say musically about the piece? Then our thoughts turned to creating a new text, and not only offering something new to choirs, but also tailoring the piece to his specific thematic program. I asked my friend and long-time collaborator Julia Klatt Singer to write a new poem that scans perfectly with the meter and stress of the existing music (not an easy task). She thankfully agreed, and wrote this text. The moments when her stresses didn’t agree with how I knew the piece (both in Finnish and English) I took as opportunities to deviate from the commonly sung tune.