arranged for symphony orchestra
The third and final volume in this anthology from the Finnish hymn-book includes internationally known and loved religious tunes such as Holy, holy, holy!, Felix Mendelssohn's Praise the Lord and the hugely popular How great thou art (recorded by, among others, Elvis Presley!).
Alongside these multi-national expressions of faith, there are also examples spanning the past 150 years of a purely Finnish hymn tradition. In all, 19 different religious songs have furnished 7 different arrangers (including conductor Osmo Vänskä himself) with the material for elaborate and often luscious orchestral versions. Interpreted with great dedication by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra (from whose ranks a couple of the arrangers come) under Osmo Vänskä, they provide, in the words of a reviewer of the first volume: 'rewarding listening experience for anyone interested in the art of the arranger - or indeed anyone who simply loves good tunes dressed up imaginatively'.
