The Temppeliaukio Church / The Rock Church, Helsinki is located on a rocky hill and has been excavated inside the rock. The church is round in shape and its dome is surrounded by a strip of narrow skylights. Inside the dome is copper and excavated granite is left visible on the walls. The church is one of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions and, due to its good acoustics, a popular concert venue. Last Friday I attended the 15th year anniversary concert of Chamber Choir Addictio where my son Harri sings bass.
I lived for a while in that red building seen at the background.
HERE you can find stunning photos of the church and text in English.
The page is really worth a visit!
Addictio is a Helsinki-based chamber choir founded by its singers in the autumn of 2005.
The choir was born out of the enthusiasm of its singers to form their own choir, where they could make as much music as possible, experimenting and to a high standard - not forgetting the fun.
Their basic repertoire includes traditional and new Finnish and European mixed choir music.
The present director is this handsome guy, Riku Laurikka (b. 1994) who graduated
from the Sibelius Academy’s choir conducting classas a master of music in the spring of 2021.
In 2017-2018, he studied at the University of the Arts in Graz, Austria.
These are the well-known stone steps that lead from Oksasenkatu up to
Today I have a lot of choral music for you. There are a few Youtube links,
I hope you find some of them interesting.
Yesterday I attended the Christmas concert of Addictio Chamber Choir where my son sings bass. They presented many old choral songs as well newer Christmas carols where the public could sing along. Their new director is handsome & very young Riku Laurikka, astonishingly only 25 years old! He has studied at Sibelius Academy and also in Austria. The church was a bit shadowy, unfortunately it shows on the photos... But I wanted to transmit you a glimpse of the wonderful atmosphere I experienced. I searched on Youtube choral adaptations that sounded similar to Addictio’s voice.
Away In A Manger
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus! look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven to live with thee there.
Away in a Manger is a Christmas carol first published in the late nineteenth century and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain, it is one of the most popular carols. Although it was long claimed to be the work of German religious reformer Martin Luther, the carol is now thought to be wholly American in origin. The popularity of the carol has led to many variants in the words. Those above are by Kirkpatrick (1895).⭐️
O frondens virga / Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is one of the best-known composers of sacred monophony, as well as the most-recorded in modern history. She has been considered by many in Europe to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. ⭐️
Walking in the Air / Howard Blake
Walking in the Air is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman. The song forms the centrepiece of The Snowman, which has become a seasonal favourite on British and Finnish television. ⭐️
The church was one of our modern churches, not exactly to my taste.
It was designed by architect Heikki Castrén and built in 1972.
On hanget korkeat nietokset / Jean Sibelius
Many of our beloved Christmas carols state that there is a lot of snow, it’s freezing cold outside but in the homes it is warm and pleasant. The words of this carol were first published in Santa Claus magazine in 1901. The carol had a special place at Sibelius's home in Ainola: the family's Christmas party began when the composer played the song on the grand piano.
This year white Christmas is only wisful thinking: the southern Finland
shall have a ’black’ Christmas, meaning no snow. The temperatures continue
As you know my son is in Ireland, going to Cork Choral Festival with Addictio Chamber Choir.
He sent me a few photos from Dublin that I wish to share with you.
All the information found online.
The Famine statues, in Custom House Quay in the Dublin Docklands, were presented to the City of Dublin in 1997. These statues commemorate the Great Famine of the mid 19th century. During the famine approximately 1 million people died and a million more emigrated from Ireland, causing the island's population to fall by between 20% and 25%.
No event in history has had a more profound effect on Ireland and the worldwide Irish Community than that of the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). The cause of Famine is blamed on a potato disease commonly known as potato blight. Although blight ravaged potato crops throughout Europe during the 1840s, the impact and human cost in Ireland, where one third of the population was entirely dependent on the potato for food, was exacerbated by a host of political, social and economic factors which remain the subject of historical debate. The statues were designed and crafted by Dublin sculptor Rowan Gillespie
The Library of Trinity College Dublin (Irish: Leabharlann Choláiste na Tríonóide) serves Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", which means that publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there, free of charge. The Library is the permanent home to the Brian Boru harp which is a national symbol of Ireland, a copy of 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic, and the Book of Kells.
In my art group we had to make a self portrait as an animal.
Here is mine: Trinity College Library at the background and me, an eager reader!
The Brian Boru's harpis a medieval musical instrument on display in the long room at Trinity College Dublin. It is an early Irish harp or wire strung cláirseach. It is dated to the 14th or 15th century and, along with the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp, is one of the three oldest surviving Gaelic harps. The harp was used as a model for the coat of arms of Ireland.
Then he of course had his Guinnes in a Dublin pub! I don’t have the faintest idea what the dish is called... Cheers! - Skål! - Sláinte!
I think I don’t have any Irish blogfriends, but from Germany, Poland & Slovenia I do. This choral festival in Cork, Ireland might interest you. Cork is Ireland’s second largest city after Dublin.
Addictio Chamber Choir, where my son is singing, is participating in Cork International Choral Festival that takes place 1st - 5th May. There are three choirs from Finland and two from Sweden plus one choir from these countries: Germany, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia & Ukraine. My son Harri was at my home overnight and my husband took him very early to the airport. He’s going to have two holiday days in Dublin before the competition in Cork starts. Of course I’ll keep my thumbs up and wish Addictio a good performance!
Photo: Addictio’s FB site, my son Harri in the middle having notes in his hand
A couple of old photos of the choir...
"The Addictio Chamber Choir was founded in 2005 and aims to combine high artistic standards with innovative and joyful performances. The choir has an extensive repertoire ranging from contemporary music to renaissance masterpieces and musical theatre.
In 2016, Addictio won first prize in the sacred music category at the Cracovia Cantans International Choir Competition and in 2013, they were awarded golden diplomas at both Tampere Vocal Music Festival and Canto sul Garda International Choir Competition.
Since 2013, the choir’s artistic director has been Elisa Huovinen (b. 1989), a graduate of the Sibelius Academy and the current chairperson of the Finnish Choral Conductors’ Association. In 2018, Elisa won the Gheorghe Dima International Music Competition for choral conductors in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and was also the winner of the inaugural Finnish Choral Conductors’ Competition in Tampere; other awards include the Conductor’s Prize at the Cracovia Cantans International Choir Competition in Kraków in 2016.”
Pieni muistutus pääkaupunkiseutulaisille! Kaikilla on kalenterit varmaankin täynnä tekemistä ja menoja, mutta ehkä huomiselle illalle voi tehdä tilaa Kamarikuoro Addiction joulukonsertille Pyhän Sydämen tunnelmallisessa kappelissa.
Addictio tuo joulun tuttujen suomalaisten joululaulujen sekä perinteisen ja uudemman joulumusiikin kera. Samalla kuoro palaa esiintymään alkuaikojensa rakkaaseen harjoitus- ja konserttipaikkaan, Pyhän Sydämen kappeliin. Ohjelmassa mm. Sibelius, Kuula, Madetoja, Rahmaninov, Pärt, Palestrina ja Poulenc.
18. joulukuuta 2015 klo 18:00, Pyhän Sydämen kappeli, Kirstinkatu 1, Helsinki
En nyt puhu niistä, joita yleensä addictiolla tarkoitetaan. En tupakasta enkä alkoholista, vaan Kamarikuoro Addictiosta, joka esiintyi tänään 10-vuotisjuhlakonsertissaan Helsingissä. Kerrassaan riemastuttava oli tämä Addictio ja jäsenistään voi sanoa, että koukussa ovat!
Kuoron taipaletta olen seurannut alusta asti, koska poikani laulaa siinä. Itse en ole kamarimusiikin kuuntelija noin yleensä, mutta erilainen musiikki on ok-elämys silloin tällöin. Ja on hienoa nähdä harrastukseensa paneutuneita lahjakkaita kuorolaisia ja kuoron upeita johtajia.
Tämäniltaisen esityksen ohjelmisto oli mielestäni monipuolinen ja hauska. Se otti minutkin - kamarimusiikkiin perehtymättömän - täysin valtaansa. Ohjelmassa oli monta virolaista säveltäjää ja oli mukava kuunnella pehmeää vironkieltä. Mainitsen tässä yhden niistä: Veljo Tormiksen Pärismaalasen laulukeen - Tabu. Sanoituksena siis vain tämä yksi sana - tabu! Kuoronjohtaja, nuori ElisaHuovinen säesti tamburiinilla. Yllättävä, kerrassaan mainio!
Näin maallikkokuuntelijaan iski myös ranskalainen Clément Janequinin Le chant des oiseaux. Pitkän pitkä sävel lintujen ääniä. Ihanaa kuunneltavaa! Ohjelmassa oli myös vakavampaa, ortodoksista kirkkomusiikkia, Sibeliusta tietenkin, Edward Elgaria ja Suomessa asuvan Yui Katadan kantaesitys Chie no Izumi... Frank Tichelin Earth Songin kuoro omisti Pariisin iskujen uhreille ja heidän omaisilleen. Pariisin tapahtumien aiheuttama ahdistus hävisi mielestäni vasta konsertissa, osittain.
Yleisön iloisista kasvoista ja aploodeista päätellen konsertti oli sen mieleen. Onneksi Addictiota voi kuunnella vielä joulukuussa, vinkkinä pääkaupunkiseudulla asuville tai tänne tuleville:
Kamarikuoro Addiction joulukonsertti perjantaina 18.12. kello 18.00 Pyhän Sydämen Kappelissa, Kirstinkatu 1
Itselleni se on aina tuonut joulutunnelman. Suosittelen!
