The plaint in minor mode sounding out in the first few moments of this album is a harbinger of the rewards composers Heikki Koskinen and Rent Romus have reaped on this exploration of their cultural heritage. What you’re hearing is itkuja, pronounced ‘eet-koo-ya’. The word stands for traditional lamentations in Finland, one of several delightful musical paradoxes in that culture. Up until the first part of the last century, itkuja singers were hired for both funerals and weddings, and they both mourn and celebrate. On this new recording, themed on the challenges of the living, Life’s Blood and Laitinen are splendidly supportive of the mission. The compositions by Romus and Koskinen summon the instrumentalists to shine in solos, pairings, and ensemble.

The result is an audible balance between sadness and joy, inherent to itkuja. “We’re expressing the feeling of lamentation in a way that’s universal”, says Romus, “and putting the life-affirming elements of jazz in with the lament structure.” The itkuja conventions of alliteration and parallel exposition are channeled in both lyrics and music.

The stories, sung by Laitinen in Finnish, are (with one exception) historical laments informed by The National Archives of Finland’s Ancient Poems of the Finnish People, with reference to the historic refugees of Finno-Ugric people across Northern Europe, and also to Romus and Koskinen’s longing for their heritage. With the benefit of translation, this offers listeners a dazzling discovery both musical and poetic, and a universal call to remembrance and healing.