Josefiina Vannesluoma Mortal Lease

Josefiina Vannesluoma Mortal Lease

Mortal Lease, consisting of Finland’s leading jazz musicians, interprets Josefiina Vannesluoma’s compositions for Edith Wharton’s (1862 – 1937) poems. The name of the band derives from the sonnet series ‘Artemis to Actaeon and Other Verse ’, published in 1909, which depicts the passion that flared up at a mature age and the tensions it created in the search for meaningful life. The metaphors of the sonnet series, which has been interpreted as autobiographical, sparkle into symphonic scenes in the interpretation of the jazz ensemble. The band debuted at the Music Hall in December 2019.

Josefiina Vannesluoma: song
Mikael Myrskog: piano
Antti Ahoniemi: double bass
Ville Luukkonen: drums

Josefiina Vannesluoma is a Turku-born singer, flautist and composer. Vannesluoma, who is praised for her famous upper register and improvisation, is inspired by fine arts, languages and café life. Vannesluoma is also familiar from the bands Nossa Bossa and the vocal band Signe, whose praised debut album To Sappho was as a 2019 Emma jazz candidate.

Edith Wharton (1862 – 1937) was born into a high-class and civilized New York family. Defying the strict social norms of the time, she reaped both fame and her own earnings in her publications with her early writings. Marrying at the age of 23 didn’t bring much love, but she was able to realize her ambitions in peace. In her forties, Wharton experienced a passionate and quick romance with revitalizing journalist Morton Fullerton. The Mortal Lease is an eight-part sonnet series derived from Wharton’s own love turbulence, which conveys on the one hand gratitude for experiencing passion, on the other hand disappointment (to make the relationship impossible) and finally refusal to enjoy. Just a few years after the summer romance, Wharton made the boldest decisions of her life – she moved to France, divorced her husband, and focused on writing and charity for the rest of her life.

Josefina´s home page

Kuva: Sakari Puhakka

After the concert, Music Archive Finland will distribute the Erik Lindströms grant and the grantee will play a solo performance after this. More information about the grant.

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.

Seats are reserved for those who have purchased an advance ticket.

Visiting Villa Hakasalmi safely