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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