Startling and strangely beautiful choral music

The sources of the texts in Perttu Haapanen's choral works vary from literature to a search engine (Readymade Alice, 2011) or a medical report (Report, 2012/2016). The subjects can be startling, like violence and incest in Kullervo Clusters (2010/2016).

Haapanen typically deconstructs the text by rearranging its constituents, thus creating mixed feelings of alienation and vulnerable immediacy. He also likes to play with the human voice and different ways of producing sound, like creaking or smacking. In this regard, the melancholy Strophes (2006/2010) and Strophes II (2007/2009) are particularly impressive. The latter, the result of a "process of decay and disintegration," is a strangely beautiful avant-garde work where the sounds are quiet and bodily.

On the BIS recording, the singers in the Helsinki Chamber Choir create intriguing sound collages. In Taxidermic Peter (2014/2016), they play objects such as squeaky toys, scissors, and spoons, but Haapanen also knows how to write luminous choral harmonies. 

HAAPANEN: Reports
Helsinki Chamber Choir, cond. Nils Schweckendiek
BIS-2452