YL Male Voice Choir

Leevi and Leevi

    “This is also part of Finland, whether we want it or not,” says the YL Male Voice Choir in its unusual and unique concert. At first glance, classical composer Leevi Madetoja and the iconic Finnish band Leevi and the Leavings have nothing but their name in common. They represent very different styles and musical periods. Still, both embody something of the deepest core of Finnishness.

    The concert in Olavinlinna by Finland’s most famous male voice choir, the YL Male Voice Choir, brings two quintessentially Finnish musical artists together in a completely new way. It will be an evening when overwhelming happiness meets the depths of despair. The choir sings about feeling nostalgia for youth, the bliss of falling in love and the agony of heartbreak, painting a poetic picture of the Finnish national landscape with rough, realistic edges.

    The programme, detailed below, features classical pieces by the composer, Leevi Madetoja, and songs written by the lead singer of Leevi and the Leavings, one of the most famous Finnish bands of all time.

     

    The concert of the YL Male Voice Choir will take place at Kerimäki Church instead of Olavinlinna. The visit has also been rescheduled to 16 July 2021. We will limit audience numbers and ensure safe distancing at the concert according to any restrictions that are in place.   

    If you have tickets for this concert, your reservation remains valid, but you can also make changes to it. We have reached out to all ticket holders via email or text message. Read more about tickets

    Concerts and a singing competition will bring joy to summer 2021, even though we’ve had to postpone our opera performances until summer 2022. Information about the concerts 

    • Artistic Director

      Pasi Hyökki

    • Duration

      app. 1 hour (no interval)

    Programme

    • Leevi Madetoja

      Speak, Wind, to My Sail
      In His Coffin Lies My Love
      Play, Pretty Maid

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Tuomas Meurman)

      Pohjois-Karjala (North Karelia)

    • Leevi Madetoja

      In the Grove
      By the Midsummer Fire
      Dusk

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Tuukka Haapaniemi)

      Pohjoisen taivaan alla (Under the Northern Sky)

    • Leevi Madetoja

      On a Clear Day in Spring
      On the Shore
      White Cities

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Jussi Chydenius)

      Jos Helsinki on kaunis (If Helsinki Is Beautiful)

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Tomas Takolander)
      Onnelliset (The Happy Ones)
    • Leevi Madetoja

      The Gentle Summer Breeze
      Play, Gravel, Sing, Sand

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Jorma S. Kola)

      Koko talvi kesämökillä (All Winter at the Summer Cottage)

    • Leevi Madetoja

      The Tiber in Winter
      Elli Dunbar
      Elegy

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Kare Ollinen)

      Pimeä tie, mukavaa matkaa (Dark Road, Travel Well)

    • Leevi Madetoja

      Up There in the Mansions
      Evening Mood

    • Gösta Sundqvist (arr. Juuso Vanonen)

      Elämä ikkunan takana (Life Behind the Window)

    “The picture of Finnishness painted by the YL Male Voice Choir gives poetic experiences the rough edges of everyday life. Those are part of Finland, whether we want them or not.”

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