INSTRUMENTATION
2(II=picc.).2.2.2(II=cbsn). / 2.2.0.0. / 1 timp. / 8.6.5.4.2.
DURATION
ca. 7′
COMMISSIONER
Jyväskylä Sinfonia
PUBLISHER
PROGRAMME NOTE
Naava was inspired by the forest view of the ground floor window of my first office in Finland. This thick wall of trees, only meters away from the window, blocked much of any sunlight that the north-facing room would ever get, rendering the office dark for most of the year. What I attempted to capture musically in this piece was some of this darkness, but also the mystery, shades and wildlife of this thick forest so present in my daily composing. The music is fast and unsettled. There is a constant pulsation and fluttering, evoking a living ecosystem. Towards the end of the work the music calms down and a trumpet melody emerges. In a moment of clarity, this melody makes brief reference to Gregorio Allegri’s famous, and beautiful, choir work ‘Miserere’ – perhaps representing the rare streaks of light shining through the forest roof – before descending again into more tumultuous moments, which finish the work. Naava is the Finnish word for beard lichens, the green and grey hanging moss that makes forests appear ancient and alive.
PERFORMANCES
01 OCTOBER 2025
Jyväskylä Sinfonia, conducted by Ville Matvejeff
Paviljonki, Jyväskylä, Finland
06 DECEMBER 2023
Tampere Filharmonia, conducted by Ruut Kiiski
Tampere-talo, Finland
14 DECEMBER 2022 (✦ World premiere)
Jyväskylä Sinfonia, conducted by Elena Schwarz
Jyväskylän teatteritalo, Finland
RECORDING
REVIEWS
Few contemporary works have spoken to me as much as Joel Järventausta’s (b. 1995) Naava…. The orchestra glows with the history of both Finnish and Central European music, but it is clearly a 21st-century composer who holds the pen.
– Marja Mustakallio – Kulttuuritoimitus (2025)
The composer is on the rise in the world, and no wonder… You can hear that Järventausta has his own personal and uninfluenced way of combining sounds and rhythms.
– Harri Hautala –Aamulehti (2023)
Naava is a rewarding piece of contemporary music. The piece immediately draws you in with its interesting harmonic tensions, its structural contrasts and rhythmic changes creating drama and space.
– Jari Hoffrén – Keskisuomalainen (2022)
JOEL JÄRVENTAUSTA 