Kaija Saariaho
La Passion de Simone
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Tapiola Chamber Choir
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Track listing
15 tracks · 66:24Listen to samples on selected tracks.
Kaija Saariaho
- La Passion de Simone 66:32
- 1 Première Station | First Station 3:18
- 2 Deuxième Station | Second Station 3:10
- 3 Troisième Station | Third Station 4:44
- 4 Quatrième Station | Fourth Station 4:45
- 5 Cinquième Station | Fifth Station 1:46
- 6 Sixième Station | Sixth Station 4:53
- 7 Septième Station | Seventh Station 5:17
- 8 Huitième Station | Eighth Station 5:38
- 9 Neuvième Station | Ninth Station 4:32
- 10 Dixième Station | Tenth Station 4:15
- 11 Onzième Station | Eleventh Station 3:10
- 12 Douzième Station | Twelfth Station 4:53
- 13 Treizième Station | Thirteenth Station 5:06
- 14 Quatorzième Station | Fourteenth Station 3:41
- 15 Ultime Station | Final Station 7:16
About this recording
After its world première in 2006 Kaija Saariaho's La Passion de Simone, an oratorio about the life and thoughts of Simone Weil for soprano solo, choir, orchestra and electronics, is now released for the first time on CD (SACD).
Kaija Saariaho considers La Passion de Simone to be her most important work. For this SACD it is recorded by top performers, the soprano Dawn Upshaw and Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Tapiola Chamber Choir.
Dawn Upshaw has achieved worldwide celebrity as a singer of a broad opera and concert repertoire. She is a four-time Grammy Award winner featured on more than 50 recordings. Kaija Saariaho wrote her oratorio La Passion de Simone and the opera L'Amour de loin for her.
One of the most important artists in contemporary classical music, Esa-Pekka Salonen has become established both as a celebrated conductor and composer. He is a regular guest with many of the world's finest orchestras and a recipient of many major awards.
This release is also a tribute to Kaija Saariaho who turned 60 on 14th of October 2012. The live recorded concert performance was part of the birthday celebration in Helsinki.
"La Passion de Simone is a magical union of words, music and theatre: a creation of great beauty and drama..." - Anna Picard, The Independent on Sunday, July 2007
Features
Booklet with liner notes in English, French and Finnish and the lyrics in the original French and in English
Press
The first-class performance does justice to this masterpiece.
Juha Torvinen, Finnish Music Quarterly, 2/2013
The artists
Dawn Upshaw
In 1984, already a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Dawn Upshaw was invited by James Levine to join the studio of the Metropolitan Opera. From that time on, she has enjoyed a career focused equally on opera and concert repertoire. Her diverse musical tastes and versatility have enabled Dawn Upshaw to earn the respect and affection of an extraordinarily broad segment of music lovers throughout the world.
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture.
Tapiola Chamber Choir
The Tapiola Chamber Choir was founded in 1984 by former singers of the world-famous Tapiola Choir and consists of 35 members. It frequently appears with leading Finnish professional orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, among others, and conductors like Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sakari Oramo and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The Choir also regularly gives a cappella concerts.