Sunday, November 18, 2012

Film Concert Pohjalaisia (1925) with music composed and performed by the organist Kalevi Kiviniemi

Live Cinema Concert Pohjalaisia (1925) (KAVA 2K DCP from the 2012 restoration, colour based on the tinting concept) with music composed and performed with two organs by organist Kalevi Kiviniemi. Sound mixer: Mika Koivusalo. 106 min. Matin-Tupa, Ylistaro (Filmiä ja valoa), 18 Nov 2012.

I have already blogged on the movie Pohjalaisia (1925), on the advance information on our 2012 Cinema Orion cinema concert Pohjalaisia, on the actual concert, and on advance information on Kalevi Kiviniemi.

The cinema was quite full with the ideal audience of the "national play" of the people of Pohjanmaa, and Kalevi Kiviniemi achieved magnificent effects with his double organs, flexibly switching from the violent braggadocio of the proud men to the religious sensibility of The Awakening meetings. There was a lively dynamic approach in the music, from gentle moods to dramatic and tragic sounds, from polka rhythms to soulful hymns. The musical build-up to the terrible, bloody climax was forceful. Kalevi Kiviniemi displayed a rich range of the many characteristics of the organ keyboards. A strong foundation for the melodies were perhaps the Toivo Kuula cycle of arrangements of Pohjanmaa folk songs; a favourite interpretation of mine is by the bass singer Martti Talvela. I believed to recognize the following tunes and elements in his score:

♪ "Tuuli se taivutti koivun larvan"
♪ Hymns of The Awakening movement
♪ The Swedish national hymn: "Du gamla, du fria, du fjällhöga Nord"
♪ "Siniset silmät ja punaiset posket kun Ketolan Jukalla oli"
♪ "Nyt mua viedähän linnasta linnaan"
♪ Toivo Kuula: "Häämarssi" (Wedding March)
♪ Frédéric Chopin: "Marche funèbre" (Funeral March)
♪ Hymns of The Awakening movement
♪ "Taivas on sininen ja valkoinen ja tähtösiä täynnä"
♪ "Enkä minä hurjan luontoni tähden päätäni alaha paina"
♪ "Karjalan poikia" polka
♪ "Eikä sitä sanaa sanoa saisi"
♪ "Niin kauan minä tramppaan tämän kylän raittia kuin kenkäni pohjat kestää"
♪ a Giuseppe Verdi overture theme

Mr. Kiviniemi's arrangement could be a foundation for a strong recorded score for Pohjalaisia.

There were relatives of the director Jalmari Lahdensuo and others involved in the making of the film in the screening. The play Pohjalaisia was constantly being staged for decades, and its dialogue became a part of the local folklore, but in this screening I realized that young and middle-aged audiences no longer know the dialogue and maybe experienced the famous lines for the first time in this screening.

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