Kansainvälisen tuulahduksen Vanhan musiikin teko 2024 -palkintoehdokkaiden joukkoon tuo brittiläis-amerikkalainen Michael Fields, joka on ehdolla tunnustuspalkinnon saajaksi ansioistaan Sastamala Gregorianan taiteellisena johtajana. Fields aloitti Sastamala Gregorianan taiteellisena johtajana vuonna 2006, mutta oli sitä ennen ehtinyt jo opettaa ja esiintyä festivaalilla kymmenisen vuotta. Sastamala Gregorianasta on muotoutunut Fieldsin kaudella korkeatasoinen, kansainvälinen, mutta samaan aikaan ainutlaatuisen intiimi tapahtuma. Fieldsille itselleen on ollut tärkeää yhteistyö ja vuorovaikutus suomalaismuusikoiden ja ulkomaisten esiintyjien sekä kurssilaisten ja ammattilaisten välillä – festivaalista versoneet ystävyys- ja yhteistyössuhteet Fields nimeääkin 30-vuotisen festivaalitaipaleensa yhdeksi kohokohdista.
Miten päädyit Sastamala Gregorianan taiteelliseksi johtajaksi ja Suomeen?
How did you end up becoming an artistic director in Finland and Sastamala Gregoriana?
Along with Evelyn Tubb, I was one of the early music teachers at Dartington International Music Summer School, teaching courses in lute songs and madrigals there from 1990 to 2010. In 1996 we had a madrigal ensemble come to us from Finland; we enjoyed working together and after they left, we received two invitations to come and do some work in Finland. One invitation was for a madrigal masterclass with the same ensemble, the other was to teach an early masterclass in Sastamala Gregoriana, which had started in 1996.
So I arrived in 1997 as a performer and teacher and have been back in those roles every year since. I grew the masterclass by bringing colleagues from England, Italy and Basel to join the tutorial team, giving concerts with Evelyn and the other tutors. Gradually, I got to know most of the early music performers in Finland. In the early years of the masterclass, the students were people like Tuuli Lindeberg, Titta Lampela, Teppo Lampela, Kari Turunen, Topi Lehtipuu and Jussi Lehtipuu, who have all become Finland’s leading performers, teachers and directors of early music and will attest to how very important and influential our work together has been to their own artistic and creative development. In the years that have followed, we have worked with others who since have taken their places in the upper echelons of Finnish early music, including Anna-Maaria Oramo, Aira-Maria Lehtipuu, Aino Peltomaa, David Hackston and Anthony Marini.
I became Musical Director of Sastamala Gregoriana in 2006, as I seemed the best person to take over after two earlier MDs had left. Combining our growing connections in the Finnish early music scene with my connections in the UK and Evelyn’s in Basel, we set about making SG a high-quality international festival – which we seem to have achieved, becoming widely acknowledged as Finland’s leading early music festival and “Festival of the Year” in 2016.
Millaiset periaatteet ovat ohjanneet sinua festivaalin ohjelmiston suunnittelussa?
What ideas have guided you when you have planned the festival programmes?
At the core of my planning and inspiration since the beginning has been building friendships and collaborations from the combination of a masterclass with a concert festival. I made a practice of including in each year’s concert programme a collaborative event, bringing together Finns and foreigners, and every summer finished with a performance by the students and teachers of the masterclass.
Millaisia kohokohtia vuosien varrelle on mahtunut?
Could you name some highlights over the years?
Some of these concerts were real career highlights for me, as a performer, organiser and director. The greatest highlight of my 30 years in Finland has been the friendships and collaborations I built into the festival and which have grown out of it. I have learned so much from my students and colleagues and their companionship each summer has been a real highpoint of my professional life. Choosing favourites from among the individual events is a hard one, as there are so many. I think this list include the ones I will always remember as being some of the best concerts I have either given or been privileged to hear:
- 1998 – Hildegard of Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum with an all-Finnish ‘student’ cast, led my me and Ansy Boothroyd.
- 2003 – Recording a CD with Evelyn and David Hatcher in St. Mary’s church, which continues to be in print and one of our proudest achievements.
- 2006 – an English theme, with two Finnish-English ensembles put together by me to perform Dowland and Purcell.
- 2008 – an Italian theme, with the arrival of Ensemble La Morra and a week of stunning performances whose legacy still lingers on YouTube (the video of my performance of Vivaldi’s lute concerto having reached over 300,000 views)
- 2010 – Handel’s Acis & Galatea with a Finnish-English ensemble, and a return of Hildegard of Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum with my own ensemble, Vox Animae
- 2012 – The first visit by Basel’s Profeti della Quinta
- 2017 – a Finnish-English-Italian Monteverdi Vespers
- 2018 – the concert by Concerto di Margherita in our “Venice” year – the first of our “Cities on the Water” themes
- 2022 – the concerts by Utopia choir and Capella Pratensis, as well as the masterclass concert being one of the best.
- 2023 – the concert in Villa Royal with Roberto Balconi, Timo Peedu and me, and the concert by Basel’s Ensemble Parlamento.
Michael Fields ja festivaalin johtaja Johannes Rantanen. Kuva: Markku Uusitalo.
Onko ympäröivissä olosuhteissa tapahtunut muutoksia, mitkä ovat vaikuttaneet festivaalin järjestämiseen?
Have there been any specific changes in circumstances or other matters related to organizing the festival?
The greatest challenge and change for me was the loss of the masterclass. Everyone involved in that – as either a tutor or student – will agree that it was an important part of early music life in Finland. I still hope that something similar can rise from its ashes, as it did so much good for the early music community – in Finland and
internationally.
Sastamalassa suomalaismuusikoiden kanssa. Kuva: Urpo Vuorenoja.
Millaisia terveisiä lähettäisit tulevalle taiteelliselle johtajalle?
What kind of greetings would you like to send to the next artistic director?
Be authentic by being true to yourself and your beliefs. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel: SG is good and strong based on what has worked for decades. Let the changes happen slowly and thoughtfully, respecting its traditions.
Michael Fields
Artikkelikuva: Markku Mäkinen
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Sastamala Gregorianan Vanhan musiikin päivän konsertissa 21.3. Tyrvään kirkossa esiintyy Bachcelona Consort. Michael Fields esittelee konsertissa kesän Lontoo-teemaisen festivaalin.
Vuoden 2025 Sastamala Gregoriana järjestetään 16.–20.7.