Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra & Juha Kangas - Wiljami Niittykoski: Works for String Orchestra (2022) [Hi-Res]

Composer, poet and folk fiddler, Wiljami Niittykoski (1895–1985) came from the Kaustinen village of Salonkyla in Western Finland, a region renowned for its lively folk music tradition. With the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival first held in the 1960s and the new folk music era he came to be an artist famous and popular the length and breadth of Finland. As a young man, he initially made a living as a joiner, then by tending the farm hacked out of the wilds by his parents where he spent his whole long life. The soundscape of the farm and village was rich and varied. Wiljami’s first instrument was a mouth organ, and his second a home-made harmonium obtained in exchange for an old overcoat and a sum of money. In his youth, he also heard the choir shared with the neighbouring village. For their rehearsals, the choir travelled down the river past the farm and back, singing in four parts – the sound that in time made Niittykoski a choir leader, choral composer and arranger.