Voces Intimae

In Voces Intimae, the Ragazze Quartet interweaves three musical voices from the north: the timeless power of Scandinavian folk music, the abstract, almost physical poetry of the recently deceased Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, and the introspective lyricism of Jean Sibelius. Folk melodies, passed down through memory and tradition, form the roots of the programme.

Jean Sibelius’ string quartet Voces Intimae is an intimate conversation between voices from the past and present. The title refers both to the intimacy of the string quartet and to the inner voice of Sibelius. A work full of melancholy, reflection and inner peace, with many references to the folk music tradition.

Where Sibelius’ Voces Intimae refers to an intimate conversation between voices from the past and present, Saariaho’s string quartet Terra Memoria explores how memory lives on in sound: changeable, tangible, sometimes painfully clear. She describes how we continue to hear the voices of those who are no longer with us: their lives are complete, but they live on in our memories and our feelings about them continue to change.

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Nathalie’s selection

Cellist Nathalie Flintrop brought her love of Scandinavian music to the Ragazze Quartet and put together the programme for Voces Intimae.

It was during her time at the conservatoire that her fascination with Sibelius began, leading to the reconstruction and composition of a missing movement from Sibelius’s unfinished string trio (not included in this programme). Sibelius’s string quartet Voces Intimae forms the basis of this programme.

Northern European Folk Melodies

Scandinavia has a rich folk music tradition, as evidenced by the enormous number of beautiful, often melancholic pieces that have been passed down through oral traditions and collective memories. They tell stories about nature, the sea, and human emotions. It is no coincidence that Scandinavia is, in terms of its musical tradition. referred to as “the Ireland of the North”.

On the left you find the Spotify album by the Danish String Quartet Last Leaf, featuring various arrangements of Danish folk music for string quartet. Some of these pieces are on the programme of Voces Intimae.