Barokkikuopio 2024
electricity / glamour
All concerts last about an hour with no intermission, unless mentioned otherwise in the concert description.
Tickets, programs, program books and support memberships can be purchased from the BarokkiKuopio online store and ticket salespoints (open 30 minutes before the concerts at concert venues). You can collect your online tickets at any ticket salespoint by showing your electronic receipt.
Tickets, programs, program books and support memberships can be purchased from the BarokkiKuopio online store and ticket salespoints (open 30 minutes before the concerts at concert venues). You can collect your online tickets at any ticket salespoint by showing your electronic receipt.
How did we do? Give feedback and valuable information to BarokkiKuopio and the city of Kuopio! The questionnaire takes a few minutes, and participants c have a possibility to win a beautiful BarokkiKuopio canvas bag (12 €) and a festival pass (40 €) for next year's festival in July 2025, when our theme is celebration / announcement!
Bach in Finland – brilliant virtuosopianism
Thu, July 11th, 8:00 PM
Kuopio Cathedral, Vuorikatu 15
Risto-Matti Marin, one of Finland's leading pianists, kicks off BarokkiKuopio with Finnish concert arrangements of J. S. Bach's music. His program offers a fascinating multi-layered view of baroque music, virtuoso piano playing, and Finland's music life in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The 19th century was the golden age of both Romantic virtuoso pianism and the Bach renaissance. These two phenomena beautifully merged in numerous brilliant piano arrangements of Bach's music. In Finland, too, many fine Bach arrangements were made, although they have rarely been heard in concerts since the post-war era.
The initial impetus for Bach arrangements in Finland was given by the greatest of arrangers, the Italian pianist, composer, and aesthete Ferruccio Busoni, who worked in Helsinki in the late 19th century. Alongside Busoni and the Alexander Siloti, Finnish musicians also created numerous impressive and touching piano arrangements of Bach's music. These arrangements were made by composers and early 20th-century Finnish pianists and composers, such as Ilmari Hannikainen, Karl Ekman, Erkki Melartin and Taneli Kuusisto.
The concert is part of the Summer Evening Music series by the Cathedral Parish.
Program booklets 15/10 €, available only at the door 45 minutes before the concert begins.
The 19th century was the golden age of both Romantic virtuoso pianism and the Bach renaissance. These two phenomena beautifully merged in numerous brilliant piano arrangements of Bach's music. In Finland, too, many fine Bach arrangements were made, although they have rarely been heard in concerts since the post-war era.
The initial impetus for Bach arrangements in Finland was given by the greatest of arrangers, the Italian pianist, composer, and aesthete Ferruccio Busoni, who worked in Helsinki in the late 19th century. Alongside Busoni and the Alexander Siloti, Finnish musicians also created numerous impressive and touching piano arrangements of Bach's music. These arrangements were made by composers and early 20th-century Finnish pianists and composers, such as Ilmari Hannikainen, Karl Ekman, Erkki Melartin and Taneli Kuusisto.
The concert is part of the Summer Evening Music series by the Cathedral Parish.
Program booklets 15/10 €, available only at the door 45 minutes before the concert begins.
Solar Energy – Kuopio Style Coffee Concert
Wed, July 17th, 2:00 PM
Ramin konditoria, Puijonkatu 23
The traditional coffee concert by the Kuopio Chamber Music Society KuKaMus ry opens the festival week with a bright and radiant summer program, including pieces by G. F. Händel, L. van Beethoven, G. Ligeti and J. S. Bach.
Lotta Harju, violin
Heidi Miettunen, cello
Laura Pulkka, piano
Program 10 €
Lotta Harju, violin
Heidi Miettunen, cello
Laura Pulkka, piano
Program 10 €
Evening Club
Wed, July 17th, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Pannuhuone Gust. Ranin, Kauppakatu 25
Juho Eerola. Photograph by Kari Kohvakka.
Buzzing with electric energy and covered in glitter, the rock band Tavallinen Peili brings us the greatest hits from the 1300’s to the 2010’s with period instruments! This year they are joined by the rap duo Jumiset Muijat ry, complementing all the glamour with a healthy dose of gritty, no-nonsense attitude straight from Tampere.
7:00 PM Jumiset Muijat ry
8:30 PM Tavallinen Peili
Tavallinen Peili: Juho Eerola, vocals, Matias Häkkinen, electric harpsichord, Petri Arvo, electric recorder, Tatu Ahola, baroque cello, Antti Salovaara, baroque bassoon
Jumiset Muijat ry: Katri Antikainen, vocals & Paula Nääppä, double bass
Voluntary support fee of 5 € at the door
******************************
Jumiset Muijat ry is a complete breakaway from the classical music scene by two musicians who met each other during their string instrument studies. MC Lettuoraakkeli lays down text and beats so tightly that only Pianissimo-Paula's double bass can support it without collapsing. A cheerful fusion of any and all styles from French impressionism to old-school Finnish rap music is guaranteed to leave the audience's head spinning. The lyrics offer various Tampere-based perspectives on beer drinking, and, well, mostly beer drinking. Membership applications for the Jumiset Muijat association are being accepted, but may be used for making paper aeroplanes.
7:00 PM Jumiset Muijat ry
8:30 PM Tavallinen Peili
Tavallinen Peili: Juho Eerola, vocals, Matias Häkkinen, electric harpsichord, Petri Arvo, electric recorder, Tatu Ahola, baroque cello, Antti Salovaara, baroque bassoon
Jumiset Muijat ry: Katri Antikainen, vocals & Paula Nääppä, double bass
Voluntary support fee of 5 € at the door
******************************
Jumiset Muijat ry is a complete breakaway from the classical music scene by two musicians who met each other during their string instrument studies. MC Lettuoraakkeli lays down text and beats so tightly that only Pianissimo-Paula's double bass can support it without collapsing. A cheerful fusion of any and all styles from French impressionism to old-school Finnish rap music is guaranteed to leave the audience's head spinning. The lyrics offer various Tampere-based perspectives on beer drinking, and, well, mostly beer drinking. Membership applications for the Jumiset Muijat association are being accepted, but may be used for making paper aeroplanes.
Children's Concert: Of Cats and Gold
Thu, July 18th, 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Postitalo, Museokatu 4
A charming performance featuring Finnish writer Kirsi Kunnas' most beloved children's poems and baroque music, marvelling at the world and pondering whether everything that glitters is really gold. The poems are recited by Juha Antikainen, a singer and master storyteller from Kuopio.
Juha Antikainen, narrator
Noora Karjalainen, traverso
Anna Pulakka, baroque cello
Sanni Antikainen, harpsichord
Free admission
The concerts last approximately half an hour.
Age recommendation 5 - 105 years. Concert spoken only in Finnish.
Juha Antikainen, narrator
Noora Karjalainen, traverso
Anna Pulakka, baroque cello
Sanni Antikainen, harpsichord
Free admission
The concerts last approximately half an hour.
Age recommendation 5 - 105 years. Concert spoken only in Finnish.
Carlo G: Pandora's Box
Thu, July 18th, 6:00 PM
Kuopio Museum, Museokatu 1
Ensemble Aspiratio explores a recently discovered collection of colorful and virtuosic Italian 17th-century music. The collection's mystery lies in the fact that the composer's name, Carlo G, is written only on the manuscript's title page, and a smudged stain ensures that the identity of Carlo, who composed much of the collection's brilliant music, remains an eternal mystery to us.
It is extremely rare in modern times to discover Baroque music collections that were forgotten 400 years ago. It is even rarer for a collection to be as significant as that of Carlo G. What makes this manuscript exceptional is that the normally improvised ornamental patterns are written out in the sheet music. Additionally, the collection specifies certain instruments such as violin, viola da gamba, chitarrone (archlute), and lira da gamba (lirone), which is also unusual for the period.
The pieces designated for these instruments also contain vocal texts, allowing for the choice of whether the piece is performed by a violinist or a singer. This versatile performance ideal reflects the period's typical aspiration to imitate singing and the human voice. Instruments were expected to emulate the flexibility, expressiveness, and rhetorical quality of the human voice in every way.
Ensemble Aspiratio:
Anna Oramo, mezzo-soprano
Aira Maria Lehtipuu, violin
Heidi Peltoniemi, gamba
Eero Palviainen, lute
Jouko Laivuori, organ
Tickets 10 €
It is extremely rare in modern times to discover Baroque music collections that were forgotten 400 years ago. It is even rarer for a collection to be as significant as that of Carlo G. What makes this manuscript exceptional is that the normally improvised ornamental patterns are written out in the sheet music. Additionally, the collection specifies certain instruments such as violin, viola da gamba, chitarrone (archlute), and lira da gamba (lirone), which is also unusual for the period.
The pieces designated for these instruments also contain vocal texts, allowing for the choice of whether the piece is performed by a violinist or a singer. This versatile performance ideal reflects the period's typical aspiration to imitate singing and the human voice. Instruments were expected to emulate the flexibility, expressiveness, and rhetorical quality of the human voice in every way.
Ensemble Aspiratio:
Anna Oramo, mezzo-soprano
Aira Maria Lehtipuu, violin
Heidi Peltoniemi, gamba
Eero Palviainen, lute
Jouko Laivuori, organ
Tickets 10 €
Stars
Fri, July 19th, 2:00 PM
Kuopio Museum, Museokatu 1
The night sky has fascinated and inspired artists throughout the centuries. The twinkling of stars can bring light to the darkness of night and comfort to a traveller far from home. In moments of sorrow, the distant glow of stars may feel eerily indifferent, but their radiance can also serve as a reminder of eternal, unchanging love. In mythology, stars were endowed with individual and even very human characteristics, and entire constellations were named after gods.
The concert will feature works from the Baroque era related to stars and the meanings humanity has attributed to them, interpreted by the musicians of Ensemble Nylandia.
Program 10 €
Sing Nature Alive
Fri, July 19th, 6:00 PM
St. John's Church, Ampujanpolku 2
Rachel Fenlon
Sing nature alive from my insides is a song cycle for self-accompanied soprano, piano, & live electronics, which expresses a deep love of nature in light of the tragedy and inevitability of climate change. The piece is performed by singer/pianist Rachel Fenlon. The poetry was co-created by Fenlon and Matthias McIntire, with musical composition by McIntire.
In “dream form” the voice and piano join with field recordings of water, nature, and breathing to form a continuous, dreamlike texture. “Songs” emerge fully formed or rise in wisps only to sink back into the blur, at turns serene, violent, or suffocating. “Dream form” innovates on traditional song cycle structure which features discrete songs with breaks between them.
As nature lovers it is painful to witness the destruction of our environment. We lend our voices to this pressing issue and hope to impact audiences by keeping climate change urgent in their minds.
- McIntire & Fenlon
Rachel Fenlon, voice, piano & live electronics
Program 10 €
In “dream form” the voice and piano join with field recordings of water, nature, and breathing to form a continuous, dreamlike texture. “Songs” emerge fully formed or rise in wisps only to sink back into the blur, at turns serene, violent, or suffocating. “Dream form” innovates on traditional song cycle structure which features discrete songs with breaks between them.
As nature lovers it is painful to witness the destruction of our environment. We lend our voices to this pressing issue and hope to impact audiences by keeping climate change urgent in their minds.
- McIntire & Fenlon
Rachel Fenlon, voice, piano & live electronics
Program 10 €
Electric Jubilee 1 & 2
Sat, July 20th, 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM
Kulttuuriareena 44, Kauppakatu 44
Tölöläb
The Electric Jubilees brings together some of Finland's most brilliant innovators of electronic art music and period musicians! During the afternoon, you will hear performances by acoustic wizard Jonte Knif on the electric clavichord, Petri Arvo's masterful electric recorder playing, and the stunning improvisations of the Tölöläb collective.
Tölöläb:
Turkka Inkilä, shakuhachi and live electronics
Saku Mattila, oboe and live electronics
Taavi Oramo, vocals and live electronics
Antti Salovaara, bassoon and live electronics
Tickets 10 € each concert
Tölöläb:
Turkka Inkilä, shakuhachi and live electronics
Saku Mattila, oboe and live electronics
Taavi Oramo, vocals and live electronics
Antti Salovaara, bassoon and live electronics
Tickets 10 € each concert
Something for Everyone
Sat, July 20th, 6:00 PM
Kuopio Cathedral, Vuorikatu 15
Ensemble Nylandia. Photograpgh by Kari Kohvakka.
Saturday's concert celebrates the warmhearted atmosphere, energetic spirit and the spectacular creativity of BarokkiKuopio and our artistic community! The program includes collaborative performances and shared improvisations based on Baroque ground bass, as well as the fruits of musical ideas born during the festival.
Program 10 €
Program 10 €
Sunday Mass with Baroque Music
Sun, July 21st, 10:00 AM
Kuopio Cathedral, Vuorikatu 15
BarokkiKuopio musicians will perform during the service at the Cathedral of Kuopio.
Free entrance
Free entrance
Rossignols amoureux – Sparkling nightingales
Sun, July 21st, 3:00 PM
Kuopio Cathedral, Vuorikatu 15
The closing concert of BarokkiKuopio dives into the magnificent world of Baroque opera, featuring music from the operas of Jean Philippe Rameau and Georg Friedrich Handel.
The program presents a rich gallery of characters ranging from historical superstars like Cleopatra to universal, philosophical personifications such as Beauty itself. Each character brings to the spotlight their own radiant or fading moments – Cleopatra's fiercely blazing rage, Télaïre's last pale flicker of desolate sorrow, Thoughtfulness's cheerfully shimmering singing contest with the birds, and the love-filled joy of Aricie surrounded by nightingales.
Rachel Fenlon, soprano
Ensemble Nylandia
Conductor: Matias Häkkinen
Program 10 €
The concert will be repeated at Helsinki Cathedral on Tuesday, July 23rd, at 7:00 PM.
Based in Berlin, Rachel Fenlon is an internationally renowned versatile soprano, pianist, and poet who actively works in the field of music with new innovations and bold experiments. She regularly performs opera roles around the world, and in recent years, she has toured performing Schubert's Winterreise song cycle as a soloist, both singing and playing the piano herself.
The program presents a rich gallery of characters ranging from historical superstars like Cleopatra to universal, philosophical personifications such as Beauty itself. Each character brings to the spotlight their own radiant or fading moments – Cleopatra's fiercely blazing rage, Télaïre's last pale flicker of desolate sorrow, Thoughtfulness's cheerfully shimmering singing contest with the birds, and the love-filled joy of Aricie surrounded by nightingales.
Rachel Fenlon, soprano
Ensemble Nylandia
Conductor: Matias Häkkinen
Program 10 €
The concert will be repeated at Helsinki Cathedral on Tuesday, July 23rd, at 7:00 PM.
Based in Berlin, Rachel Fenlon is an internationally renowned versatile soprano, pianist, and poet who actively works in the field of music with new innovations and bold experiments. She regularly performs opera roles around the world, and in recent years, she has toured performing Schubert's Winterreise song cycle as a soloist, both singing and playing the piano herself.
