Jussi Reijonen: sayr

Guitarist, Arabic ‘ud player and composer Jussi Reijonen’s new work sayr offers an intimate, meditative counterpoint to his acclaimed 2022 large-ensemble work Three Seconds | Kolme Toista.

Performed on vintage steel-string acoustic guitar and Arabic ‘ud, sayr is an improvised exploration of the small, the simple and the sparse; the rugged earthy; the gnarly unpretty; and most of all, of memories of roots and branches; of bare feet in soil; and of paths less – or differently – predetermined.

Rooted in a metaphorical reframing of the concept of “sayr” as found in Arabic music — a musical pathway or unfolding—, this solo performance becomes a spontaneous exploration through an memory palace of sound: a pathway of memory recalled and reimagined through music.

Using a set of pre-composed musical gestures as “loci” or touchstones—like rooms in a memory palace—Reijonen navigates freely between them, letting memories surface through the sounds themselves. Each gesture becomes a portal, triggering emotional and sensory echoes shaped by his life across Northern Finland, Jordan, Tanzania, Oman, Lebanon, and the United States.

Photo: Ville Tanttu

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