(Opera) Pylkkanen - Mare ja hanen poikansa [Mare and her son] (Tiihonen, Sirkia, Ruuttunen, Uusitalo - Lintu 2004) - 2005, APE (image+.cue) lossless

01 Act I: Overture
02 Act I: Sinun terveydeksesi, minun kurkkuuni, Mare, Valdekon leski (Mango, Mare)
03 Act I: Paiva on jo korkealla vaan lmantia ei viela metsalta tulevaksi kuulu (Mare, Mango)
04 Act I: Onhan sulla poikasi Imant! (Mango, Mare)
05 Act I: Imant on tulossa. Olkoon Luojalle kunnia! (Mare, Imant, Mango)
06 Act I: Sata rekea on lahdossa Sakalasta linnaan veroviljoja viemaan (Iman, Mare)
07 Act I: Tama on elaman ka kuoleman paikka (Mare, Imant)
08 Act I: Niin, tahdotko siis kysyttavaksi julki: Missa on Imant? (Imant, Mare)
09 Act I: Aiti! Miksi minut synnytit, aiti, jos sina unhoitat omat opetuksesi (Imant, Mare)
10 Act II Scene 1: Bibit hera, bibit herus (Male Chorus)
11 Act II Scene 1: Olkaat vahvassa turvassa sanon mina, kalliit vieraat ka aseveljet (Goswin von Herike)
12 Act II Scene 1: Niin kuin kirkas paivankilo entaa aamuhun niin mun lempein leikki, ilo, tuntijakses sun ... (Minstrel)
13 Act II Scene 1: Sword Dance
14 Act II Scene 1: Fantastic Dance
15 Act II Scene 2: Bibit hera, bibit, herus (Male Chorus, Man-at-arms, Goswin von Herike, Mare)
16 Act II Scene 2: Se on minun ja Jumalan asia! (Mare, Men, Goswin von Herike)
17 Act II Scene 2: Finis festo! Miksis tulit vaimo? (Goswin von Herike, Mare)
18 Act II Scene 2: Tahdon ensin poikani, herra! (Mare, Goswin von Herike)
19 Act II Scene 2: Kalparitarit! (Goswin von Herike, Male Chorus)
20 Act II Scene 2: Herra ... (Mare, Goswin von Herike, Male Chorus)

01 Act III Scene 1: Orchestral Introduction
02 Act III Scene 1: Seisa veri, seisa veri, joed jooksu, seisa veri (Mare)
03 Act III Scene 1: Mina pidin komtuurinsanani, vaimo (Goswin von Herike, Mare)
04 Act III Scene 1: Emo vei heijan heinnamaalle (Mare, Imant)
05 Act III Scene 1: Jata lastenlorut, aiti! (Imant, Mare)
06 Act III Scene 1: He ovat tapetut! (Mare, Imant)
07 Act III Scene 1: Ala sekoita, aiti! (Imant, Mare)
08 Act III Scene 1: Kuule minua, poikani Imant, silla nain on (Mare, Imant)
09 Act III Scene 1: Mene tykoani, aiti, etta jaisin yksin! (Imant, Mare)
10 Act III Scene 1: Interlude
11 Act III Scene 2: Viekaa hautaan, viekaa hautaan (Female Chorus)
12 Act III Scene 2: Imant, Valdekon poika on kuollut (Mango, Mare, Female Chorus)
13 Act III Scene 2: Nyt saatte vieda hautaan poikani Imantin (Mare, Mango, Female Chorus)
14 Act III Scene 2: Nyt sanosta minulle, Sakalan vanhin, ja kerro kuinka tuho tuli (Mare, Mango)
15 Act III Scene 2: Nyt han on kuollut, minun poikani Imant on kuollut (Mare, Female Chorus)
16 Act III Scene 2: Taas tuo laulu! (Mare, Mango)
17 Act III Scene 2: Lyokaa hanet maahan! (Chorus, Sopranos, Altos, Women, Men)
18 Act III Scene 2: Suvioina joutsenet lahdeltasi joikui (Mare)
19 Act III Scene 2: Tuolla ylhaalla pilvien palteilla poikani Imant minua vartoo (Mare, Female Chorus)

Tauno Pylkkänen (1918-1980)
Mare ja hänen poikansa Op. 22
Kirsi Tiihonen (Soprano), Mare
Raimo Sirkiä (Tenor), Imant
Esa Ruuttunen (Baritone), Mango
Juha Uusitalo (Baritone), Goswin von Herike
Juha Riihimaki (Tenor), Minstrel
Kai Valtonen (Bass), Man-at-arms
Estonian National Opera Chorus
Estonian National Opera Orchestra
Hannu Lintu
Written: 1943; Helsinki, Finland
Date of Recording: 09/2004
Venue: Live Concert Hall, Tallinn, Estonia
Language: Finnish

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Tauno Pylkkänen (1918–1980) wrote his first opera before he turned 20, and continued writing them, along with song cycles and the occasional orchestral work, until shortly before his 50th birthday.
He was also active at the time as a lecturer, critic, and administrator, before a lengthy physical decline took its toll; but his name and reputation were already made on a national level. International renown was, of course, out of the question.
Opera companies around the world aren’t jumping at the chance to teach their casts Finnish—despite the fact that there are easily a dozen works written in this language.
Pylkkännen’s Mare and her Son (“Mare ja hänen poikansa”) was written in 1942, and premiered in 1945.
The libretto by novelist Aino Kallas is set in the 14th century, and concerns an Estonian widow who has lost her husband and six of her sons to a peasant’s rebellion against the Livonian Order of the Knights of the Sword.
Mare betrays a new plot against the nobility, led by her remaining son, Imant, her only condition being his safety.
Imant finds out the truth after a massacre, and commits suicide.
Mare tells her story to the entire village, then follows Imant into death.
The opera was extremely well received by critics and public alike, but faded from view after 1953.
Though heard in excerpts over the years, it was only performed again in 2004, in a complete concert version.
It’s never stated in the liner notes, but I would presume this live recording derives from that source, at the Estonia Concert Hall in Tallinn.
The style of the work, and that of Pylkkänen in general throughout his career, was based on Italian verismo .
The composer was repeatedly called “the Puccini of the North” and “the Finnish Menotti” during his lifetime; and it was meant as a compliment.
Someone who delights in hearing Madama Butterfly is bound to inquire, “But why listen to imitation Puccini when you can hear the real thing?”
That misses the mark.
Pylkkänen doesn’t imitate Puccini, or Menotti for that matter.
Instead, he draws upon the same basic theatrical and musical tradition as both those composers, with a broader emotional response in his music than the former, and a richer technique than the latter would permit himself to use.
His themes in Mare and her Son are more numerous and treated with more sophistication than either typically supplied in their works, but he is not above offering an aria that stays in the memory, such as Imant’s complex but dazzling “Sata rekeä on lähdössä Sakalasta,” or Mare’s invocation to the sea (“Suviöinä joutsenet lahdeltasi joikui”) before she walks into it, embracing suicide with a calmness and ritual cadence that recalls Aeschylus.
He is closer in some respects to Mascagni (Imant is a distant musical cousin to Folco, in Isabeau ), and especially Giordano, in the way he easily manipulates the musical content of a number to reflect quicksilver changes of mood.
Finally, Puccini is chary of thematic abundance; he sows lightly, tends carefully, and harvests as formidable a crop as only he can.
Pylkkänen is melodically profligate.
Much is lost to the ear and mind in a first hearing of a work that runs over two hours, but the listener leaves with a feeling of having feasted well.
The performance is, in general, quite good.
Kirsi Tiihonen is a bit squally at times and careful at the top of her voice, but performs with energy, commitment, and strength.
Raimo Sirkiä’s dark tenor is powerfully expressed, and Esa Ruuttunen (as the sympathetic villager, Mango) phrases with distinction.
As the Livonian Order’s Castellan, Juha Uusitalo is a little too inclined to abandon the line for a generalized pitch at moments of emotional intensity, but he otherwise possesses the focus and vigor to score his points.
The chorus and orchestra of the Estonian National Opera are first rate, as is the taut but atmospheric conducting of Hannu Liintu.
Engineering is excellent, with good balance between all singers and the orchestra.