Katedraali soi! for the last time in Turku Cathedral before renovation

The Turku Music Festival (TMF) will open Katedraali soi! church music week in February, as is customary. This time, the TMF concert will showcase Finnish music history with the premiere of Olli Kortekangas’ Requiem, performed by Sinfonietta Fortis and Suomalainen Kamarikuoro (the Finnish Chamber Choir) under the baton of Teemu Hämäläinen. The soloists in the concert will be soprano Minna-Leena Lahti and bass-baritone Nicholas Söderlund. The concert will be complemented by works by Elgar, Mozart, and Barber, creating a dialogue between classical string orchestra compositions and contemporary Finnish church music.

At the same time, the concert is also one of the last opportunities to visit Turku Cathedral before it undergoes nearly three years of renovation. The renovation of the cathedral will begin on Monday, February 9, 2026.

Kortekangas has composed his Requiem to the traditional Latin requiem text, but does so in his own unique way: he moves from semantic precision to a phonemic sound world in which words become part of the music. The ten parts of the work form a clear, forward-moving narrative, at the heart of which is a universal message of comfort, remembrance, and the presence of humanity. Requiem is Kortekangas’ personal tribute to the memory of loved ones who have passed away, but at the same time it opens up a space for the listener to share in a common experience: silence, sorrow, hope, and gentle comfort.

Ticket sales open on Friday, December 19, 2025, at tmj.fi. Regular-priced tickets are 10% off until Sunday, December 28.