(G)astronomia

Valli, Suvi Annukka (FIN, E)

“I came across the Finnish poet Suvi Valli (b. 1977) and her texts in 2014, while I was staying at the Künstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf in Brandenburg, Germany. I wasn't looking for a text to compose vocal music, but Suvi's poetry took me by surprise: it is vocal music. What made me instantly to think of setting her text into music, was the way she uses colours and rhythms. She weaves her stories and stream of consciousness into a fascinating polyphony, and behind every corner there is a surprise. The captivating, yet challenging layout of the text is not completely without importance either. Luckily, her poems are being translated into several languages right now. Then why on earth did I choose using a reciter instead of a singer in my first work that uses her poem? Because of the strong musicality of her poem, I wanted to let it set the tone for itself. And partly for the same reason, I chose the violin instead of the piano as the accompaniment, as I felt that the dialogue between a reciter and the violin would be a bit subtler.” (Osmo Tapio Räihälä)