Aurora: Ensemble MMXX

The Aurora series continues in spring 2026!

Since its founding in 2020, Ensemble MMXX has found its spiritual home in Turku Cathedral, and its repertoire has naturally evolved to suit the space. At the heart of its work lies the golden age of vocal music, the Renaissance, whose rich musical heritage the ensemble has explored in its regular lunchtime concerts for five years.

One of the regular guests at these lunchtime concerts has been composer Lauri Mäntysaari. This collaboration led to the idea of commissioning a new work for the ensemble. The text for the new piece was drawn from Latin material in Germania by the ancient Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus. The work describes the peoples of Northern Europe and includes a brief passage about the Finns (fennis), now heard in a new musical setting.

The programme, performed at the Art House Turku and centred around Mäntysaari’s De fennis, combines the ensemble’s core repertoire with Renaissance compositions whose texts draw from classical Roman literature. Jacques Arcadelt composed his madrigal Vitam quae faciunt based on an epigram by the poet Marcus Valerius Martialis. Adrian Willaert, in turn, used Queen Dido’s farewell words from Virgil’s epic Aeneid. Josquin des Prez also turned to the same source in his work Fama malum, depicting the fateful rumours in the story of Dido and Aeneas.

Later repertoire reflecting classical Latin influences is represented by the introduction Carmina chromatico from Orlando di Lasso’s Prophetiae Sibyllarum and the motet Christe Dei soboles, both of which reveal the composer’s interest in expanding the harmonic language of his time.

The concert concludes with a prayer for peace, which has been a regular ending to the ensemble’s performances since February 2022. Here it is heard in a setting by Costanzo Festa.

Please note the following:

The location of the concert hall has changed. The new location is on the 5th floor of the Factory building at Art House Turku. All concerts will now begin at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.

The capacity of the new hall is significantly smaller. Therefore, we ask all participants to register for the concert in advance so that we can ensure that there is enough room for everyone who wants to attend. You can register via the link above or at heli.koskinen@tmj.fi.