Heikki Klemetti (1876–1953) was one of the most important figures in the Finnish music of his day: author, organiser, musicologist, editor, educator, folksong collector and, above all, choral composer. His work as an organist and composer for the organ has largely been forgotten, an omission this first-ever album of his organ music seeks to correct. The influence of Ostrobothnian folksong can readily be heard, and there are obvious points of contact with the musical language of Sibelius, not least in the unemphatic dignity and nobility of the style, with the modal harmonies occasionally calling to mind another of Klemetti’s contemporaries: Vaughan Williams.

International organ virtuoso Dr Jan Lehtola is one of the most successful and progressive Finnish organists of his generation. As well as a successful concert and academic career he has recorded for the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) and can be heard on more than 50 commercial recordings, many of them with Toccata Classics. Jan Lehtola studied the organ in Helsinki, Amsterdam, Stuttgart and with Naji Hakim in Paris. In 2000 he gave his Sibelius Academy debut recital and in 2005 he completed a Doctorate with his dissertation on Oskar Merikanto as a transmitter of European influences to Finland. He is also active as a lecturer, at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts, Helsinki, and a teacher of master-classes.

Organ of Tampere Cathedral, Finland