“Play a note for life.” These were the words Hilja Aaltonen wrote in a poem she gave me as a wedding gift, unknowingly foretelling a life’s work that would bear fruit for decades to come. Now, in the concluding album of my solo recording trilogy, that calling finds an even clearer expression.

Like my previous albums, Sellon laulu (The Song of the Cello) features music that I feel a deep personal connection to. The works I have chosen carry profound meaning for me, resonating with emotion, prayer and sincerity.

At the heart of Sellon laulu lies the music of Sibelius, which I feel is as essential to us Finnish musicians as the very air we breathe. The Finnish landscape, particularly the vast expanses of Lapland, unfolds before me in Laetare anima mea. In this piece, I imagine a golden eagle soaring higher and higher, carried effortlessly towards the heavens by the piano’s arpeggios (played by the harp in the orchestral version), like rising currents of air beneath its wings.

Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei (meaning “All Vows”) is based on the Jewish prayer of the same name, recited on the eve of Yom Kippur. In this prayer, a person expresses remorse for vows made to God during the year that have remained unfulfilled. As the second half of the piece begins and D minor gives way to D major, I see the Promised Land beginning to emerge on the horizon.

Beethoven’s The Glory of God in Nature is a hymn of praise to life, while Sibelius’s Elegia offers comfort in moments of sorrow. John Rutter’s Gaelic Blessing brings the album to a close like a gentle benediction, evoking the image of a pair of swans flying together in the evening sunlight.

Every work on this album touches me deeply, and I believe that this is what gives the music the power to touch its listeners as well. Sellon laulu is music for people seeking connection and understanding through the many circumstances of life.

My cello sings of what it means to be human.

Hannu Kiiski
June 2025