Arctic Viol Book in Musica nova Helsinki
Finland’s largest contemporary music festival, Musica nova Helsinki, features a concert of Olli Virtaperko’s compositions for viols, 5 February 2019 in Kamppi chapel, Helsinki. Under the title Arctic Viol Book, the concert includes solo pieces for treble and bass viols, and duos with and without continuo.
Arctic Viol Book is the title of the evergrowing collection of solo and consort music I have composed during this decade. For the Musica nova concert I chose a diverse program, where some pieces are clearly in the frame of contemporary music, like the duo Songs of innocence, lust and sorrow (2011), but the majority of the pieces exist mainly for entertaining purposes without academic or intellectual aspirations – namely the pieces that I have written for myself to play in my own amusement. These pieces include the Renaissance-influenced Ground upon open strings (2012, for bass viol) and Puumala-sarja (the Puumala Suite, 2015/2018 for 2 bass viols and harpsichord) with refrences to both French Baroque and rustic folk music. (O.V. January 2019)
See also:
Olli Virtaperko on composing and playing viol consort music (News, 06/2015)
http://svamuli.fi/arctic-viol-book-saveltaja-rakastui-gambaan/ (suomeksi)