Alphorn & Nordic Winds

Starting in the summer of 1999, my personal luck in returning every summer to Jakobstad, Finland, became musical fortune as well. The invitation to guest direct the city orchestra, Jakobstads Orkester, the following season, expanded my interest in Finnish music. Jenny Wilhelms, singer and band-leader of the group peppered the performances with kulning, the Swedish form of cow-calling using natural intervals in her highest coloratura voice. This reminded me of Swiss Alpine blessings, melodies, and the Alpine horn. The same year I also heard Hedningarna, whose singer was Sanna Kurki-Suonio, a Rune singing specialist. In 2013 Karoliina Kantelinen joined us with her multi-facetted expressive art, and her own songs to be adapted. In Eliana Burki I found a young adventuresome alphorn player, ready to perform classical scores as well as jazz, with that beautiful authentic sound. In <> string virtuosos with harp and percussion build a musical bridge from Switzerland to Finland. The composers and performers run a gamut of emotions and movements, a veritable fusion of classical, folk and jazz styles. Paul Taylor