Matthew Whittall and Lotta Wennäkoski were awarded Composer of the Year titles in the classical music category at the Finnish Music Publishers’ gala on 5 September. The prize went to Whittall for his large-scale Joy for organ and orchestra that delighted audience and critics alike at its recent premiere by the Finnish RSO. Wennäkoski received her prize for her string…
Downloadable and printable PDF edition. The composer tells: “Waiting to hear was commissioned by my publisher, Fennica Gehrman, as part of a volume of new duos celebrating their 20th anniversary. I got the request shortly before the untimely death of my friend the violinist, composer and conductor Jaakko Kuusisto, and I wanted to write something…
Northlands (album for horn and string orchestra) is a concertante work for horn and strings. Whittall tells that it was influenced by his brief experience with Iceland, its epic landscapes and otherworldly light, which had had an immediate and powerful impact both on the composer and the concept for the piece. Duration 23 minutes. Solo…
Matthew Whittall’s (b. 1975) Love is Little (2009) is a modern motet which uses a Shaker hymn as cantus firmus. The original melody is gradually slowed down, looped and fragmented, forming a quiet, ambient soundscape in which each singer performs their own part freely. The piece is suitable for larger choirs but also works with…
The second string quartet by Matthew Whittall saw daylight only some 20 years after his first one. Bright Ferment was commissioned for the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. Duration 9 min. Score & parts 55011-510-1, € 39,90
The long-lasting admiration for the poetry of Octavio Paz inspired Matthew Whittall to compose this captivating choir piece. A constant ostinato motif is carried throughout the piece depicting the white noise of the rain. 55011-506-4, € 8,90
This charming work to a poem by Niilo Rauhala describes the holy place of peace, meditation and closeness, best experienced in the cathedral of nature on a summer evening.55011-530-9, € 3,90
for mixed choirText: Christina RossettiThis cycle of carols traces the long nights of watchfulness before Christmas, with the great event constantly deferred, only glimpsed periodically in different visions before the music turns inward again to contemplation. 55011-455-5, € 13,60
album for horn and stringsNorthlands is a concertante work for horn and strings, written for Tommi Hyytiäinen. The composer writes that Northlands was influenced by his brief experience with Iceland, its epic landscapes and otherworldly light, which had had an immediate and powerful impact both on the composer and the concept for the piece. Study…
