Songs and Dances of the Night
Night has inspired artists throughout history. This time of darkness, contemplation, introspection, dreams, and fantasies was especially appealing to Romantic composers. In particular, Fryderyk Chopin transformed the nocturne—the “night piece”—into a fully developed genre of piano music.
The popular nickname “Moonlight Sonata” for Ludwig van Beethoven’s work was not given by the composer himself, but the original title Sonata quasi una fantasia (“sonata in the manner of a fantasy”) was. The unusually intense opening movement is indeed fantastical in the true sense of the word.
A similarly free flight of imagination can be heard in Tapani Länsiö’s Songs of the Night, which will receive its world premiere at this concert. In these short pieces, glimpses of dream worlds and more restless nocturnal moods can be heard.
Chopin’s mazurkas echo the rhythms and folk music of Poland, which he longed for after fleeing his homeland to France during wartime. Much later, in the 1920s, his compatriot Karol Szymanowski settled in the Tatra Mountains and was deeply inspired by local folk music. His mazurkas reach toward a hazy beauty of unusual melodies and harmonies. The concert concludes magnificently with the heroic strains of Chopin’s Polonaise.
The concert takes place at the historic Joroisniemi Manor in Joroinen. Parking attendants will be on site. Doors open at 5:00 PM. Intermission refreshments will be served in the Väentupa hall by Myrskylyhty ry. Proceeds from the café service will be donated to support Ukrainians.
The event is supported by Antti Mäki-Patola tmi, Arokivi Oy, Joroisten apteekki, and Maanrakennus Viljakainen Oy.
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