In this concert, Hanna Hohti will perform two recent works for viola and electronics: Ginnungagap by the Norwegian composer Tine Surel Lange and Seidr by Josefine Opsahl from Denmark. Both are powerful, ritualistic works inspired by nature and by the invisible world.
The concert begins with Ginnungagap (2022), composed for viola and electronics by Tine Surel Lange, who lives in Lofoten. The composer was inspired for the work by Norse mythology, according to which life was created in the primordial void Ginnungagap, where the freezing winds of Niflheim meet the intense heat of Muspelheim. In the imaginary ritual of the composition, the viola awakens these forces of nature.
Josefine Opsahl’s Seidr (2022) is based on the Old Norse magic practice of seiðr, which was used to tell and shape the future. In the composition, the viola is the conjurer, which with its musical tongue summons powers from other worlds and dimensions. As the piece progresses, the barriers between the real world and the world of timelessness – represented here by the electronics – melt away as a consequence of the rituals conducted by the violist.
Josefine Opsahl is a cellist and composer whose career is on a meteoric rise. In 2022 she received the Danish Crown Prince Couple’s Stardust Award. Both pieces performed in the concert were commissioned by Hanna Hohti.
In Hanna Hohti’s artistic work, viola-playing is ineluctably intertwined with artistic design. At the heart of all her operations is the creation of diverse and interesting performances for the free performing arts field. Hanna’s current major projects are the electroacoustic solo concert Seidr, which premièred in August 2022 at the Helsinki Festival; bringing to light early-twentieth-century British chamber music and recording it together with pianist Anna Kuvaja; setting up Kino Soi! concerts in a Functionalist-style cinema in Espoo, Finland; and organising Kotilo concerts, which combine chamber music with social discourse, together with violinist Terhi Paldanius. Hanna Hohti has received funding for her artistic work from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike), and the Kone Foundation.
Free entry. There are 40 seats available, which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not accept advance bookings but to reserve a seat, you may pick up a ticket at Kirpilä on the Sunday from 12 pm onwards.
We look forward to seeing you!
Photo by Teemu Mattsson