The Waves of the Baltic Sea

The waves of the Baltic Sea is a programme built upon dialogue between a string ensemble from the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the instrument jouhikko.

The Waves of the Baltic Sea
Jouhikko improvisation and Nordic string music from the 17th century

Albrici–Capricornus–Farina–Heinonen–Jarzebski–Tunder

Ilkka Heinonen, jouhikko and violone
Marianna Henriksson, keyboard and leading
Finnish Baroque Orchestra

Marianna Henriksson, programme planning

The waves of the Baltic Sea is a programme built upon dialogue between a string ensemble from the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the instrument jouhikko (bowed lyre). The concert programme consists of music from the 17th century by composers living in countries by the shores of the Baltic Sea as well as music published in the area, especially works found in the Düben collection in Uppsala. Among the rarities of the collection, there are rich sounding works for strings by Samuel Capricornus, Franz Tunder and Vincenzo Albrici. The Italian composer Carlo Farina also walked on the shores of the Baltic Sea during his stay in Gdansk (Danzig) during the 1630’s.

Juxtaposed with the music for string orchestra we have Ilkka Heinonen’s improvisations, partly based on traditional melodies for the jouhikko. The jouhikko is an instrument of the lyre type, played with a bow. It’s history in the region around the Baltic Sea dates back to the middle ages, having its pinnacle probably during the same time as the string ensemble works of the concert. The jouhikko lived on in Karelia and on the west coast of Estonia until the beginning of the 20th century, when new instruments replaced it and it was forgotten. Starting in the end of the 20th century, the jouhikko has had a renaissance, and it has been possible to resuscitate the instrumental tradition thanks to transcriptions and archival recordings from the early 20th century.

Heinonen has studied connecting the late renaissance performance practice and the Karelian jouhikko music. In this concert, the sounds of the Baltic Sea are placed in a bigger context, created through the dialogue between the period musicians of our own time and the folk musicians. The programme is like a big wave, summoning us to calm and immerse ourselves.

House of Nobility

13.3.2024

19.00-20.00

Tickets 10-52€ from Ticketmaster

FiBO's artistic planner Marianna Henriksson and jouhikko specialist Ilkka Heinonen introduce the concert at the House of Nobility on 15 March from 6 pm to 6.30 pm.