Suilamo, Harri

(*1954)

Harri Suilamo (born on 22 March 1954) studied musicology at the University of Turku and from 1982 to 1987 composition with Paavo Heininen at the Sibelius Academy.

Suilamo has composed short pieces for one or a few instruments in a condensed post-serial style. In some works there is an extraordinary integration of the instrument and the player. His chamber music for diverse instrumental ensembles feasts upon a kaleidoscopic variety of colour within a carefully balanced dramaturgy that never exceeds the tolerance of the material, the average duration of his pieces being less than seven minutes. The form of his works evolves in one of two ways: from minute details toward larger units, or from filtering a figure from a shapeless body of matter. In the orchestral piece AIVA (1991) both methods are in operation. The musical gesture in the first three bars contains the seeds of the subsequent material, while the harmonies are derived from a 24-tone microtonal macro chord.

Fennica Gehrman has published several works by Suilamo, including the ensemble works Kotva and Naala. In the latter Suilamo skillfully exploits the rich expressive potential of the accordion. His Eidola – Weiland Gitarrenspieler is an inward-looking, virtuosic work for solo guitar in which the extensive use of brittle, highly sensitive flageolet notes leads the listener to the brink of silence. Harri Suilamo has also composed a collection of accordion pieces designed for children and young musicians entitled Palkeenkieli – Bellowspeak.

Kotva - A Tone Horde

(1992)

for instrumental ensemble

fl, bcl, hn, perc (1 player), vl, vla, vc Percussion: Vibraphone, Marimba, Sand papers

Duration: 5

Naala - A Text Pro Motion

(1993)

for instrumental ensemble

cl/bcl, vc, acc, pf, perc (1 player)

Duration: 7