Such power, yet such silkiness for a BIG voice! Then, as if that weren't enough, there's her apropos yet not over-the-top sincere, connective acting ability! Very near to sine qua non, peerless. SUCH a pleasure to listen to, and to SEE!
An extraordinary interpretation of an amazing piece of music. This song made me change my opinion of Sibelius! Karita Mattila is a true diva in a sense of all-around perfection - the divine voice, her technique, her interpretive powers. And that the piece is in Finnish adds to the peculiar quality of the music. The orchestra with the conductor Hannu Lintu also sounds exquisitely. Bravissimi tutti!
Quelle force dans le chant de Karita Mattila ! une force cosmique. Elle est la seule à pouvoir donner cette impression de puissance. Tellement expressive, tellement engagée… Extraordinaire vraiment… Bravo et merci…
Few sopranos have ever even agreed to attempt this demanding score. Once again, Sibelius demonstrates perfection in composition and arrangement. I have relished this opus for years on vinyl LP. Now, in this video, I view the full orchestra, including the two tympani, that added appreciably to my lifelong embrace of Luonnotar. It's worthwhile to search for the English translation of this piece, and even more to find the English translation to the first poem of the Kalevala, Finland's epic, upon which it is based.. I'll provide the links if anyone wants them.
"Luonnotar" by Sibelius should be better known. It is exquisite! But for me, it IS and always will be Galadriel singing farewell to the Fellowship of the Ring as they depart from Lorien. I have loved it since I discovered a recording at our public library as a teenager (I am now 69). It is sung in Finnish and describes the creation myth from The Kalevala, similar to that in The Silmarillion. And Elvish has Finnish roots. This is a good version, but in my opinion, Dame Gwyneth Jones' interpretation is the best.
Simply Superb. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf also does a great job of this extraordinary work as well. I only wish I could have alerted Dame Joan Sutherland to do this work . She would have excelled .
Very interesting performance and she’s in great voice. I do, however,prefer Isokoski in this and think she and Jarvi recorded a better performance, more appropriate to this piece.
Elle en fait un peu trop tout de même et cela perd une partie de son charme. Cette pièce n'est pas du théâtre et davantage de sobriété mettrait mieux en valeur l'interprète et la musique. Pour la version de référence, écouter Elisabeth Söderström
What a deeply felt performance and her acknowledgment of everyone is very moving. What a wonderful artist!
Famtastic! Absolutely astonishing!
Simply sublime - one of the finest renditions
What Sibelius compresses into these ten minutes is astounding.
Such power, yet such silkiness for a BIG voice! Then, as if that weren't enough, there's her apropos yet not over-the-top sincere, connective acting ability! Very near to sine qua non, peerless. SUCH a pleasure to listen to, and to SEE!
ABSOLUTELY THE BEST INTERPRETATION !!!!!
An extraordinary interpretation of an amazing piece of music. This song made me change my opinion of Sibelius! Karita Mattila is a true diva in a sense of all-around perfection - the divine voice, her technique, her interpretive powers. And that the piece is in Finnish adds to the peculiar quality of the music. The orchestra with the conductor Hannu Lintu also sounds exquisitely. Bravissimi tutti!
Sibelius is extraordinary.
what a great voice and lady!
Thank you for unloading this sublime piece. What an extraordinarily lovely voice. Brava.
She still has all the gleam that she had when she won the first ever Cardiff Singer of the World. Her technique, openness and support are phenomenal.
not to mention her commitment
che meraviglia.....non conoscevo questo capolavoro! grande sibelius....grande lei!!!
Lovely to watch the expression of her deep emotion at the end of it.
Thank you for this rare joy. One sees this too seldom performed. Beautiful and haunting.
Quelle force dans le chant de Karita Mattila ! une force cosmique. Elle est la seule à pouvoir donner cette impression de puissance. Tellement expressive, tellement engagée… Extraordinaire vraiment… Bravo et merci…
Stunning performance. I love Mattila -- she turns this wonderful composition into a sort of mini-opera. I think the words justify the interpretation, so here's some help:
Luonnotar
There was a maiden, a girl of the air
a slender Nature-Spirit, beautiful.
She sensed the strangeness of her life
of always being alone
in the vast voids.
She descended, down to the waves.
A wave drove the maiden; for seven hundred years
the maiden, mother of the water,
turned round and round.
She swam to the northwest, to the south,
she swam around all the airy horizons.
There came a great gust of wind,
it raised the sea to a surge.
“Oh, miserable, my days!
It would have been better
to live as the maiden of the air.
Oh, Ukko, highest god!
Come here when I summon you!”
There came a duck, a plain bird.
It flew around all the shores of the air.
It flew to the northwest, to the south.
It did not find places for its nest.
No! No! No!
“Shall I make my home on the wind,
my dwelling on the waves?
The wind will upset it, the wind will upset it,
a wave will ruin my dwelling!”
So then, the mother of the water
raised her knee out of the waves.
There the duck made her nest.
She began to brood.
The maiden felt the growing heat.
She jerked her limb:
the nest tumbled into the water.
It broke into pieces.
The eggs began to change, to grow beautiful.
The egg’s upper half
became the sky, up above.
The upper half of the egg-white
became the gleaming moon;
that which was in the mottled part
became the stars in heaven.
They became the stars in heaven.
[Translation © 1996 James Hepokoski,
published w/ Ondine CD 0761195108055]
Thanks a million for translation!
Thank you so much. Very important.
Magnificent artist
What an enchanting piece.
Few sopranos have ever even agreed to attempt this demanding score. Once again, Sibelius demonstrates perfection in composition and arrangement. I have relished this opus for years on vinyl LP. Now, in this video, I view the full orchestra, including the two tympani, that added appreciably to my lifelong embrace of Luonnotar. It's worthwhile to search for the English translation of this piece, and even more to find the English translation to the first poem of the Kalevala, Finland's epic, upon which it is based.. I'll provide the links if anyone wants them.
Just fantastic !!!
Still in magnificent voice.
BRAVISSIMA!!!
She's a giantess! And what a voice!
Phaedra Ovid n
"Luonnotar" by Sibelius should be better known. It is exquisite! But for me, it IS and always will be Galadriel singing farewell to the Fellowship of the Ring as they depart from Lorien. I have loved it since I discovered a recording at our public library as a teenager (I am now 69). It is sung in Finnish and describes the creation myth from The Kalevala, similar to that in The Silmarillion. And Elvish has Finnish roots. This is a good version, but in my opinion, Dame Gwyneth Jones' interpretation is the best.
Wonderful!
Maravilhosa. Adorei a voz dela, não conhecia.
Wow, you did not know her? She has been a leading prima Donna in the world of opera for the last 30 plus years
Amazing!
Magnificent! BRAVA.
Shame the ad in the middlle of such a mystical song !
Simply Superb. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf also does a great job of this extraordinary work as well. I only wish I could have alerted Dame Joan Sutherland to do this work . She would have excelled .
Karita is my heroine !
genial voice
I love that the Finnish audience does not hoot.
Must add, the best version on LP records is that of Gwyneth Jones. Has this ever been bettered?
I agree. Gwyneth Jones is the best version.
SUBLIME
A little too operatic for my tastes but a magnicently powerful voice and Sibelius masterpiece
It’s classical music
😮😮😮
I think her voice is too dramatic for this piece, because it's supposed to be sung in an instrumental way. This version is interesting though.
Very interesting performance and she’s in great voice. I do, however,prefer Isokoski in this and think she and Jarvi recorded a better performance, more appropriate to this piece.
My
14
Elle en fait un peu trop tout de même et cela perd une partie de son charme. Cette pièce n'est pas du théâtre et davantage de sobriété mettrait mieux en valeur l'interprète et la musique. Pour la version de référence, écouter Elisabeth Söderström