
The drama film ‘Moving On’ was directed by Tiina Lymi and was recently released in Finland. The movie is inspired by Anni Blomqvist’s novels that were written during the late 60s and 70s. The plot takes place during the 19th century in the Aaland Islands and follows the life of Maja, played by Amanda Jansson. The plot starts off with Maja being forced to marry a fisherman Janne. The couple’s marriage puts Maja in a situation where she has to go through long periods of separation from her husband. She then eventually begins adjusting to this behavior. The movie focuses on Maja’s evolution into a strong mother who is undeterred by life’s challenges. Maja’s story has a place where there is an abundance of struggle, perseverance, and resilience, all set in a picturesque yet harsh island that is surrounded by the Baltic Sea.
The musical materials for Stormskerry Maja were made by his great-grandson, Lauri, a well-known Finnish musician who not only provides scores for his film and television projects but also creates and performs music, as well as plays bass guitar for the power metal band Stratovarius. It’s my first Porra and I hope it’s not the last time because it’s quite remarkable. I would probably put this in my ‘under-the-radar’ series, but I wanted to find it a more suitable place as the music for Stormskerry Maja is quite different.
The recording was made in Finland with the Sinfonia Lahti orchestra and his wife, the conductor Dalia Stasevska. This is such a powerful moment in Maja’s life and her portrayal that it is almost unbelievable. Perhaps it is the romanticism embedded in most of the music that comes as a surprise, and which Andrew portrays in vivid detail through Maja’s homeland the ocean, her family, and the culture of the islands. As for me, I am not particularly well versed in present-day Åland, even less so in its historical intricacies, but the music by Porra resembles a gentle tribute to the region, its sturdy people, and majestic landscapes shaped by wild sea storms.
Amid the shining metallic pulsation of the percussion pieces, Inner Worlds accompany the tonal backdrop from a strong-sounding harp melody, and low woodwinds, and even turns crisp with Bonfire. The bonfire begins on a low musical note, with some disheartening strings as it progresses into a wonderful ending segment that is richer than most lullabies. Following the aforementioned phrase are other aspects that we have come across, for instance, Matthew’s instance of a softer blend of piano and violin is also there My Life Is Here has great execution. Contrarily, Show No Fear, showcases what seems to be usual towards the beginning of the theme, and then transitions into a less intense and peaceful narrative at the end which explains the darkened classical influences. The anticipating thrust of string notes aligned with Maja’s joyful emotions when she is heard signifying the attributes of a loving first-time mother set an ominous tone while still.
This is something that gives me confidence in the interior of a structure of the new compositions and is what would be saying with regards to the ideas that I have in a musical structure, It is something similar to what John Barry announced back in the 90’s, including the late in such movies as The Scarlet Letter or Swept from the Sea where he literally used one voice tone and rhythmic pattern to develop beautiful sounds.
Cellist Markus Hohti also got some nice solos in the three excerpts of the Cello Interlude, and in one of them, there is even a guitar. I think these are the most desolate and hopeless of all the tones that Maja has encountered living on the Åland Islands. They are however these gray tones, powerful but somewhat pale and almost funeralistic. The good thing is that the impression one gets from Hohti’s connections to such cues as “Building Life” or “We Are Married Now” is a lot stronger and absolutely more joyful as they seek to suggest yes-cuddles that emerge cumulative from the plurality of Maja and Janne’s family over the years. I was most of all pleased with the musical construction of ‘We Are Married Now’ in which Porri made a walking joyful outline incorporating violins against the swaying of low-toned Hohti’s celli work.
Though I do not agree with Ondrej’s preferences, I must admit that the most important thing in the score is the response, which for me is located in two cues entitled ‘Driftwood,’ a somewhat confusingly pleasant and at times somewhat unexpectedly carefree song. They do not seem to have any relation to the same song of a great-grandsire but perhaps just have been named for him. The first of these is set to gentle action from the pianist Antti Kujanpää and this ends with another string quartet version of the same theme. The second of these is probably the most rewarding of the whole score for it has the same deep theme rewritten for a far more intense and dramatic soundscape of just over two minutes only to be cut off after the entire sequence features very satisfying peaks. These imagine the brass as the counter theme. This Driftwood theme has a definite feel of beauty that has something appealing about it. It’s nice to say it’s classical and lush but some things which Porra did in the writing make it sound like an old endowed lock tune.
As the score advances, a string of naval battles in the Baltic Sea reach too close to Åland, the time hub of the Russian Empire which governed Finland at that time, battling the British and French forces in this animated tableau. In the following ‘Imperial Entanglement’ which is the first cue meant to address this theme instrumentally, the seemingly random thunder of blowing percussion collides with the rumbling low string motifs that foreshadow an impending conflict directed at Maja and the family’s aspirations of a peaceful existence. The tempered puck-silvered glass environment in “Ice” has a modicum of desolation in it while “Perilous Journey” serves the audience with some dissonant sounding piano chords, and the triumphant and agitated and mixed up “Drowning”.
The conclusion to ‘Way Home’ is inspiring, as it recasts the original themes to provide closure for the story. However, the final scene with ‘Myrskyluodon Maija’ is not a theme song made exclusively for this movie. It is actually the theme song from a Finland TV series called Myrskyluodon Maija that was made in 1975 even some of the original novels written by Anni Blomqvist. This tune was embedded into the title sequence of this series and has been performed by Lasse Martenson which in my assumption or most likely is one of the great TV sitcom theme songs in Finland. I’ve never seen it or even heard of it until this short clip. It is an ostensible stunning and heart-rending song since its bass has the most beautiful central theme with a combination of orchestras arranged by Porra and Vili Robert Ollila.
I can comfortably assert that Maja Stormskerry is among the best books I have read without dispute. Some readers are likely to assert that the book’s mood is too dark, but in a way, this was the integration of the latter parts of Maja’s life in “Driftwood II” that made the reality of the situation even more intensely experienced. It is quite vast, not a few times very good, very melodic, and it seems to me that, in addition to Tuomas Kantelinen, Panu Aaltio, and Pessi Levanto, I shall also append Lauri Porra to the list of outstanding Finnish film composers.
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