Varjoista laulujen vanhain (version for quintet) (2024)
(From the shadows of old songs)

I originally wrote Varjoista laulujen vanhain for a quintet of flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. It is a rhapsodic work based on four of my compositions from the 1950s–1970s: Kansanlaulun tapaan (1978) and Vintern var hård (1969), two songs that appeared in school songbooks; a piano piece written in my teens and Simppeli Simme ja Hamppari Hammea (1977), a song composed in memory of my dog. The orchestral version of Varjoista laulujen vanhain follows bar for bar the quintet composition. Therefore, when both works are played one after the other, the striking influence of the performing ensemble on the sound world can be experienced.