.

Tarja Turunen & Harus - In Concert: Live at Sibelius Hall

.
Turunen is best known for her work with Finnish prog-metal band Nightwish but here she steps about as far away from that genre as you can get.

Filmed around Christmastime in Lahti, Finland, this show finds Turunen in diva mode, turning in operatic covers of traditional Finnish tunes, a couple Christmas songs and three different arrangements of "Ave Maria."

Turunen only sings a few songs here in English, the quiet "You Would Have Loved This" among them, but all songs reveal the true beauty of her voice and she absolutely shines singing in Finnish on "Heinilla Harkien."

Harus is only a three piece backing band but the Sibelius Hall has a giant pipe organ that Kalevi Kiviniemi has a blast with, especially on Liszt's "Concert Etude" and the trippy avant-garde jazz of "Astral Bells," a Harus original that will thrill the prog rockers who take a chance with this film.

The show closes with "Jouluyo, Juhlayo," the Finnish version of "Silent Night." The Blu-ray package also includes the show on CD with a slightly different song selection.

Album

Blu-Ray

Share this article

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it Share on Reddit email this article

tell a friend about this review

.