Rautavaara is perhaps still best known
for his orchestral works – especially
his Symphony no. 7 (Angel of Light)
and the Cantus Arcticus. But
he has also had a lengthy career as
a composer of opera. Kaivos (The
Mine) was written in 1963; later
operas have included Thomas (1984),
Vincent (1987), Aleksis Kivi
(1996) and Rasputin (2003). The
Gift of the Magi is relatively slight
compared to some of these. It has –
as usual for Rautavaara – a libretto
by the composer himself. It is based
on O. Henry’s well-known short story
of the same title, first published in
1906.
O. Henry’s story is
of a pair of impoverished newlyweds,
Jim and Della. As Christmas approaches,
Della wants to buy her husband a Christmas
present, but has no money. She decides
that she will sell her long hair (which
her husband adores) to a wig-maker,
and use the proceeds to buy a chain
fit for her husband’s gold watch, a
family heirloom and the only thing of
value that they possess. She does so.
But she then discovers, when she comes
to give him the chain, that he has sold
the watch – so as to buy her fine combs
for the long hair she no longer has!
Henry concludes thus: "Here I have
lamely related to you the uneventful
chronicle of two foolish children in
a flat who most unwisely sacrificed
for each other the greatest treasures
of their house. But in a last word to
the wise of these days let it be said
that of all who give gifts these two
were the wisest. Of all who give and
receive gifts these two were the wisest.
Of all who give and receive gifts, such
as they are wisest. Everywhere they
are wisest. They are the magi."
Rautavaara transposes
the action to a run-down area of Helsinki
in the 1920s; Jim and Della become Joel
and Minna. Where O. Henry’s story concentrates
on the wife’s thoughts and actions,
leaving until the end the revelation
of what her husband has done, Rautavaara
shows us the pair acting in parallel,
but each in ignorance of the other’s
actions. What are mere allusions in
Henry’s text – mentions of King Solomon
and the Queen of Sheba – are turned
into actual characters in the opera:
Mr. Salomon, the landlord and the Queen
of Sheba, "a woman of easy virtue".
This TV production
is atmospherically directed, with snow-bound
exteriors and spare interiors. Spoken
dialogue is well used, always with an
orchestral background. The ambiguities
of love and the nature of sacrifice
are both themes with a predictable appeal
for Rautavaara. Words which the wigmaker
sings – I am quoting from the onscreen
subtitles – go to the heart of the opera:
"Is there anything more noble and
destructive than love, the extravagance
of love". The ending is beautifully
realised – dismay turning to the mutual
realisation and renewal of love and
to that love’s effects on the pair’s
neighbours. Pia Freund is a particularly
tender Minna, Jaako Kortegangas a powerful
and undemonstrative Joel. Lassi Virtanen
sings his one set-piece particularly
well. This is a chamber opera well-conceived
and well-performed.
It is accompanied on
this DVD by a documentary on Rautavaara.
We have footage of the composer at the
piano; the composer - who mostly speaks
in English throughout - talking of childhood
memories of a visit to an island monastery;
of the inspiration of icons and of his
reading of Rilke. It is full of interesting
observations by Rautavaara, such as
"serialism taught me the necessity
of structure" and "when composing,
I use the piano, because you often accidentally
press a wrong key. These slips are important,
because you can follow them and they
can lead to new phenomenon, a new path
in the music you are composing".
There are contributions from, amongst
others, Olli Mustonen and Markus Lehtinen.
A particularly interesting sequence
presents Rautavaara and Vladimir Ashkenazy
in conversation about the piano concerto
Ashkenazy commissioned from Rautavaara.
"All good music is romantic"
says Rautavaara. "Poetic",
replies Ashkenazy.
All in all The Gift
of Dreams - the title comes, as
Rautavaara himself explains, from Baudelaire
- is an interesting, if not especially
revelatory introduction to Rautavaara.
There is relatively little music to
be heard, and it is hard to imagine
anyone watching it very often. The
Gift of the Magi would be a much
better reason for purchase – in a more
civilised world it would be part of
our Christmas TV schedules.
Glyn Pursglove
Veräjäpelto Choir 
ARTHAUS
MUSIK 100 419 [98:07] 
