Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Short bio Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Birthday: 1963 in Turku, Finland

Active: 1980s - 2020s

Genre: Classical

Period: Contemporary

Full biography Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

Jaakko Mäntyjärvi is a celebrated Finnish composer, known for his choral works that have been performed around the world. Born in 1963 in Turku, Finland, Jaakko began his musical career as a chorister, singing at the Turku Cathedral and later at the Helsinki University Chorus. He went on to study music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he received his Master's degree in composition in 1991.

Mäntyjärvi's choral works are characterized by their combination of traditional choral techniques with more modern elements, such as jazz influences and electronic soundscapes. He is particularly known for his settings of English-language poetry, such as his "4 Shakespeare Songs" and "Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae," a powerful work that reflects on a tragic 1994 ferry disaster.

Mäntyjärvi has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the distinguished Finnish State Prize for Music in 2004. In addition to his work as a composer, he has worked as a choral conductor and arranger, and has written music for film and television.

Today, Mäntyjärvi is internationally recognized as one of the most important composers of choral music working today. His music continues to be performed and enjoyed by choirs and audiences around the world.

Compositions featuring Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

#	Name	Duration	Genre	Year
1	Trinity Service, for chorus	28:03 min	Choral	2019
2	Pulchra es, for chorus	2:58 min	Choral	2018
3	Staffan var en Stalledräng	4:10 min	Choral	2016
4	Alarum Bells, for chorus	5:37 min	Choral	2011
5	Nine Sunset Watercolours, for chorus	10:08 min	Choral	2010
6	Stuttgarter Psalmen, for chorus	28:05 min	Choral	2009
7	Smoking can kill, modern madrigal for chorus No. 3	3:39 min	Choral	2008
8	Profane and profaner, for chorus	9:19 min	Choral	2008
9	Announcement 4, for chorus	0:43 min	Choral	2007
10	Announcement 3, for chorus	0:25 min	Choral	2006
11	Den Hulken Sømand, for double chorus	2:55 min	Choral	2003
12	Where Corals Lie, for chorus	5:54 min	Choral	2003
13	The Lord's Prayer, for vocal ensemble	2:29 min	Choral	2002
14	Announcement 2, for chorus	0:20 min	Choral	2002
15	Death May Dissolve, fantasy for double chorus (after W. Billings)	4:00 min	Choral	2002
16	Oi Herra, armos mulle suo, for chorus	2:44 min	Choral	2002
17	Kosijat, for chorus	18:55 min	Choral	2001
18	Announcement 1, for chorus	0:54 min	Choral	2001
19	Canticum calamitatis maritimæ (Song of a maritime tragedy), for chorus	11:32 min	Choral	1997
20	El Hambo, for chorus	2:41 min	Choral	1996
21	Pseudo-Yoik, for chorus	2:13 min	Choral	1994
22	Benedic anima meo Domino, for 6 voices	3:45 min	Choral	1994
23	Shakespeare Songs (4), for chorus	11:40 min	Choral	1984
24	Come Away, Death, for chorus	3:02 min	Choral	-
25	Ach bittrer Winter, for chorus	2:54 min	Choral	-
26	Tórramat do nóebaengil	4:43 min	Choral	-
27	The Silver Swan, madrigal for chorus	1:48 min	Choral	-
28	Ave Maria d'Aosta, for chorus	2:41 min	Choral	-
29	Balestard, for women's chorus	3:21 min	Choral	-
30	I was glad, for chorus	5:54 min	Choral	-
31	Come Live With Me, madrigal for chorus	2:29 min	Choral	-
32	Die Stimme des Kindes, for 8 part men's chorus	5:00 min	Choral	-
33	O magnum mysterium, for double chorus	4:38 min	Choral	-
34	More Shakespeare Songs (5), for chorus	13:42 min	Choral	-
35	Käärmeen synty (The Origin of the Serpent), for chorus	9:37 min	Choral	-
36	A scurvy tune, for chorus	1:30 min	Choral	-

Albums featuring Jaakko Mäntyjärvi

#	Name album	Year	Music label
1	Cambridge Chorale, Julian Wilkins - Mäntyjärvi, Martin, Mealor, Shearing – Songs & Sonnets (The Wit And Wisdom Of Shakespeare Set To Music By Mäntyjärvi, Martin, Mealor, Shearing And Others)(CD, )	2014	Not On Label
2	Roxanna Panufnik, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sergey Rachmaninov, John Tavener, Henryk Górecki, Jaakko Mäntyjarvi, Pierre Villette, Knut Nystedt - Richard May (3) · Exultate Singers · David Ogden (3) – All Shall Be Well(CD, Album)	2012	Naxos
3	Sibelius, Kuula, Rautavaara, Mäntyjärvi, Chœur De Chambre Accentus, Eric Ericson – Suomi / Finland(CD, Album)	2002	Naïve
4	Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Hannu Norjanen – Eclectica(CD, Album, Stereo)	2001	Finlandia Records
5	Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Tapiola Chamber Choir, Hannu Norjanen – Salvat(CD, Album)	-	Alba Records