Saarikoski-laulut (orchestra version) (2020)
(Saarikoski Songs)

Kaija Saariaho has expanded her range to a greater inclusion of lyrical movement, while retaining her sharp ear for sound quality and color.
In “Luonnon kasvot” (The face of nature) Saariaho adds avian ululations to the text and much pitch bending to the orchestrated accompaniment to suggest the sounds of the vanished forest. 
In “Kaikki tämä” (All of this) brings a stillness, the voice is often unaccompanied, its rejoicing over the few things of nature that remain seeming small and isolated. “Minussa lintu ja käärme” (The bird and the snake) is pacier and menacing, featuring a primal repeated-note ostinato growling in the lower strings, and the brief finale, “Sumun läpi” (Through the mist), also relies on basses and cellos to create a foreboding sense of “petrified time” amid wisps of melody and the overwhelming gray colors. It’s not the cheeriest of landscapes, but its motivic unity and resourceful scoring, and Komsi’s stellar execution, make one want to become better acquainted with it.