I Cannot Forget You

One of the evergreen (a popular melancholic song), Finnish folk songs, En Voi Sua Unhottaa Poies, serves as the focal point for I Cannot Forget You, the third movement from Breath of the Mountains: A Folk Suite. Commissioned by the American Composers Forum through its Continental Harmony Project, Breath of the Mountain: A Folk Suite was composed for the McCall, ID Chamber Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, and premiered on July 4, 2000 in a beautiful mountain valley, in the midst of a historic Finnish settlement. The early Finnish settlers in America would have most likely known this song, first published in 1876.

Set to a beautiful yet simple tune, the text describes how the author cannot forget someone he once loved, and rationalizes his lack of wealth as the reason for his disappointment. Following the first choral statement of the text is a lively instrumental interlude for two violins incorporating a Scandinavian fiddle tune, Finn Jenta (Finnish Girl), also likely written around the turn of the twentieth century. The choir returns with another statement of En Voi Sua Unhottaa Poies in a modified canon to the end.

As part of the Continental Harmony Project, this music was recorded in the Library of Congress, as a record of what occurred during the Bi-Centennial Anniversary of the United States of America.

– Linda Tutas Haugen