PIÆ CANTIONES & MEMORIA SANCTA HENRICI (2 CD)

Medieval Chant and Early Vocal Music from Finland

Re-Release of ODE 918-2 (Piae Cantiones) and ODE 874-2 (Memoria Sancti Henrici)

English sleeve notes. Original sung text with translations in English

This re-issue of early Medieval vocal music from Finland includes a unique reconstruction of 14th and 15th century Gregorian music that was performed in Finland in the memory of St. Henry, Finland’s Patron Saint. Liturgical literature dealing with St. Henry is abundant and the music in this collection consists of extracts from masses and offices to St. Henry. Liturgical legend and oral tradition provide a colourful account of English clergyman’s mission to Finland where he was killed on January 20th, 1156. This day became the day for commemoration of the saint. He has been held to be the principal founder of the Church of Finland since the 1290s, when his relics were translated to the national shrine, the Church of Our Lady in Turku.

Music collection Piae Cantiones was first published in 1582 by Jacobus Finno, the headmaster of the Turku Cathedral School. This collection of songs in Latin are not directly religious, but the texts have a strong Christian undercurrent. Apart from the liturgical material, almost the only music from the Middle Ages and the early modern era preserved in the Nordic countries consists of cantios. The cantios were mostly cultivated in schools and vary in construction and subject. Large number of the melodies in this collection can be traced back to the Middle Ages. However, about half the melodies have not been found in any other source. This collection of songs became very popular, and their first edition in Finnish language was published in 1616.