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Although Saariaho was part of the high modernist scene during her studies in Helsinki, and she studied with the "new complexity" composer Brian Ferneyhough, her mature career really began with her arrival at IRCAM in the mid-1980s. The technology available at the famous French music research institute gave her a fascinating insight into sound itself and her writing eschewed atonal complexity for sensuous detail and slow processes of change. When there is dissonance, it is due to the transition between a pure tone and noise and used for colour. Thus the flute, whose sound is very pure, and the cello, with its great wealth of articulations, are prominent instruments. "Lichtbogen" (1986) is the foundation of this new style, something like Ligeti's "Atmospheres" but more lush and less spooky. "Nymphea Reflection", though dating from 2012, is an arrangement for orchestra of her string quartet "Nymphea" from this time. "Grammaire des rêves" for soprano, alto and chamber ensemble (1988) is a setting of Paul Eluard, but the two voices melt into a great musical cloud just as much as they recite the text.
Certainly the summit of Saariaho's early orchestral pieces, and in my opinion the best work in this set, is the diptych "Du cristal ...a la fumee" (1990). This is music that sounds just like what the title says. "Du cristal" is slow, cast in great blocks, with portentuous drumbeats. The last sound is a cello trill played sul ponticello, which becomes the first sound of "...a la fumee". In this second piece, everything is in flux and flute, cello and live electronics disrupt any attempt at uniformity. Years later, I still clearly remember the slack-jawed amazement I felt when I first heard this diptych. "Solar" (1993) and the short setting of Shakespeare for baritone and orchestra "Caliban's Dream" (1992) refine these concerns.
As the 1990s went by, Saariaho gradually became interested in melody. The violin concerto "Graal théatre" maintains the orchestral explorations of timbres, but adds a solo part with a very clear and memorable line. A further impetus to overt melody came as she was writing her first opera "L'Amour de Loin". Another brief Tempest setting "Miranda's Lament" (1997) presents some of the solo voice concerns that were to appear in the opera, while the large-scale "Oltra mar" (1998-99) displays a new approach to choral writing with material that appeared in the opera. These pieces are not up to the standard of the earlier works, but there are still many pleasures in them.
Unfortunately, Saariaho's drive and power declined around the turn of the millennium, and in many of her recent pieces the violence that shook up earlier music is gone. "Orion" (2002) retreads old ground with somewhat diminishing results, while the cello concerto "Notes on Light" (2006) is an overly pretty Debussyean work. Still, Saariaho can still delight on occasion, and it's good we have "Mirage" (2007) for soprano and orchestra here. This is a setting of Mexican folk healer Maria Sabina's poem about mushroom hallucinations (who expected Saariaho to write psychadelia?) and intended as a special kind of double concerto. The writing for all elements, cello, voice and orchestra alike, is among the strongest of Saariaho's entire career. The soprano is dramatic, with loud outbursts, while the cello line is subtle, silky and mysterious. The orchestra, meanwhile, varies between supporting one line and the other. Cool stuff.
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