gemischter Chor (Scintillation)

REVIEW OF THE WORLD PREMIERE ON AUGUST THE 3RD, 2024, AT 8 PM IN MARTTI TALVELA HALL, MIKKELI MIKAELI, PERFORMED BY HELSINKI PHILHARMONIC CHOIR, ORKESTER NORDEN AND SAIMAA SINFONIETTA UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ALIISA NEIGE BARRIÈRE:

"We were also introduced to a young composer, Luukas Hiltunen (b. 1996), whom we heard the world premiere of an orchestral and choral work based on the poem Hope is a thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson (1830–1886). The work was titled Scintillation. In his presentation, Mr. Hiltunen declared himself a proponent of the traditional style, preferring to compose for orchestra. He has also been commissioned by [symphony] orchestras and his works are published by Universal Edition – a very interesting case. From the outset, the orchestra's palette immediately made one think of the symphonic poems Sea and Forest by the great Lithuanian composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875–1911). But when the choir made its entrance, we found ourselves in the realm of a Sibelian cantata. Also Edward Elgar's (1857–1934) oratorio The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 (1900) sprung to one's mind. The work was intended as an introduction to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in D minor, Op. 125 (1824) and was allowed to flow into its opening measures without detection, which resulted in the audience not instantly being able to determine whether they were still listening to Hiltunen or Beethoven". –Eero Tarasti (b. 1948), Finnish musicologist, semiotician, pianist and writer, Professor of Musicology at the University of Helsinki (1984–2016)

The underlying concept of Scintillation is an imaginary work for mixed choir and symphony orchestra, which Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) never composed to precede the main work of the opening concert of the 33rd Mikkeli Music Festival on 3rd August 2024, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (1824), for which the festival commissioned the work by Mr. Hiltunen.

Like Beethoven's symphony, Scintillation begins in silence. However, since it is an introductory work, there are no real long-term climaxes into which the growing intensity would be unleashed, both dynamically and musically – those will occur in the Beethoven symphony. Instead, the music progresses like a breath, always towards the next whole. Dickinson's poem, which in its content anticipates Schiller's Ode to Joy in describing the unquenchable joy and desire for life, proved to be central to the structure during the compositional process. The main theme of the poem's words 'Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul', which appears three times in the work, is a reference to the symphony's hymn theme. Lightness is supported by the material surrounding the theme, which gently envelops the melodic whole. The second verse of the poem, 'And sweetest in the gale is heard', contains, true to the text, stormy climaxes, ending in a startling fortissimo dissonance in F–F-sharp before a halting, melancholy transition towards the atmosphere of the work's opening. However, there is no more powerful climax, and after the main theme's concluding statement, the music merges without pause into the opening measures of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.