Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi (born 1963 in Turku, Finland) is a Finnish composer of classical music, and a professional translator.

Education

Mäntyjärvi studied English and Linguistics at the University of Helsinki, graduating with an FK (master's) degree in 1991. In 1987, he was accredited as an Authorized Translator from Finnish to English and English to Finnish, and since then he has been employed as a professional translator. He has also studied theory of music and choir conducting at the Sibelius Academy.

Compositions

As a composer, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi describes himself as an eclectic traditionalist: eclectic in that he adopts influences from a number of styles and periods, fusing them into his own idiom; traditionalist in that his musical language is based on a traditional approach and uses the resources of modern music only sparingly. Because he is himself active in making music, his music is very practically oriented; he is a choral singer, and thus most of his works are for choir.

His major choral works include Four Shakespeare Songs (1984), Dagen svalnar... (Day is cooling; 1991/93), Ave Maria (1991), Pseudo-Yoik (1994), El Hambo (1997), and More Shakespeare Songs (1997); his work Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae received third prize in the European composition competition for cathedral choirs in 1997. His major commissions include a work for mixed choir for the contemporary choral music seminar at the Cork International Choral Festival in spring 1999, a choral work for the 700th anniversary of the consecration of Turku Cathedral in summer 2000, and commissions from Chanticleer (2001) and the King’s Singers (2002). He was composer-in-residence of the Tapiola Chamber Choir from 2000 to 2005. In 2006 he was commissioned to write a new 40-part work for choir, Tentatio, for the Tallis Festival.

Mäntyjärvi has been active as an amateur and semi-professional musician, mainly as a choral singer with a number of Finnish choirs, including the Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir, the professional Sibelius Academy Vocal Ensemble and the Tapiola Chamber Choir. He conducted the Savolaisen Osakunnan Laulajat student choir from 1988 to 1993 and was deputy conductor of the Tapiola Chamber Choir from 1998 to 2004.

In 2011 Mäntyjärvi composed a choral work Cornish Lullaby for Helsinki Academic Male Choir KYL (Kauppakorkeakoulun Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat), which was one of the pieces of the winning performance in the V Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival.

Works

• "Four Shakespeare Songs" (1984)
• "Dagen svalnar..." (Day is cooling, 1991/93)
• "Ave Maria" (1991)
• "Pseudo-Yoik" (1994)
• "Kouta" (1996)
• "El Hambo" (1997)
• "Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae", a memorial to the victims of the sinking of the car ferry Estonia in 1994, (1997)
• "More Shakespeare Songs" (1997)
• "Deux ballades de Francois Villon" (2001)
• "SALVAT 1701" (2001)
• "Tentatio" (2006)

Recordings

• Jaakko Mäntyjärvi: Choral works Pseudo-Yoik & El Hambo, Shakespeare Songs ('Come away, death'; 'Lullaby'; 'Double, double, toil and trouble'; 'Full fathom five'; 'Fear no more'; 'Over hill, over dale'; 'Time'; 'Who is Sylvia'; 'A scurvy tune'), Psalm 150", Canticum Calamatatis Maritimae, Kouta, Sibelius Academy Chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Chamber Choir, Emmiliiana Tikkala (piccolo), Hannu Norjanen Finlandia 0927 41563

References

• Guardian notice about Mäntyjärvi being performed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in 2003, accessed 8 February 2010
• Music Pointers review of Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Choral works CD Finlandia 0927 41563, accessed 8 February 2010

External links

• Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's web site, accessed 8 February 2010
• Oclassical list of concerts in Britain that include works by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, accessed 8 February 2010
• Finnish Music Centre biographical page, accessed 8 February 2010
• List of composer's recordings (36), accessed 8 February 2010

Persondata
Name	Mantyjarvi, Jaakko
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Date of birth	1963
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