The Ostrobothnian folk songs collected by Toivo Kuula offer an interesting look at the Finnish folk music, especially in regard what the themes tell about music and folk life in yesteryears. The songs collected are most often tonal, length of the melody varying between 4 and 8 bars. The topics are universal: love, death, money, revenged - often in this very order. Oskari Juliinin legenda (The Legend of Oskari Juliini) is a lied suite made up of five separate and independent folk songs: an unemployed character looking for a new bride ends up in a bar brawl, then to the prison and finally six feet under. To say it shortly. The songs are intended to be performed as a suite, but the independent songs can be performed as well. Oskari Juliinin legenda was commissioned by bassbaritone Juha Uusitalo and pianist Pami Karvonen. They wanted to pay homage to Toivo Kuula in 2018, which was a Centenary year of Kuula's death. Yrjö Hjelt was awarded with a similar commission.
- ISMN: 9790550115484 (M550115484)
