Opening with the broad Festive March Op. 13, Ondine’s latest release of music by Finnish composer Toivo Kuula presents orchestral works from a composer better known for his vocal writing. Though more solemn than ‘festive’, the expansive March places Kuula in the tradition of Sibelius, with whom he studied composition. Kuula’s orchestral offerings are unfortunately limited: the composer died young, killed in a fight during celebrations for the end of Finland’s Civil War.

The first South Ostrobothnian Suite opens with chorale-like brass and winds underscored by motoring pizzicato strings. The cor anglais is the star of this movement, Landscape, Satu Ala’s tone liquid and tenebrous. The second movement, Folk Song, drips with Finnish melancholy while Ostrobothnian Dance is elegant and convivial. The third movement, Devil’s Dance, is bright and cheery and Song of Dusk is full of rich melody, once again featuring the cor anglais.

South Ostrobothnian Suite No. 2 is the work of a more mature composer, but is very much a suite of convenience raher than musical unity – Kuula himself often performed the movements separately at concerts he conducted. The final movement, Will-o’-the-Wisp, opens with a treacley...