Revontulet | Making History 2026

Ancora opens their set with a mesmerizing work composed by Vox Aurea’s former director, Pekka Kostiainen. Revontulet (“Northern Lights”) is Pekka’s breathtaking depiction of the aurora borealis: the shimmering lights, visible in polar regions, created by the interaction of solar particles with the earth’s magnetic fields. A tour-de-force for treble choir, Revontulet depicts the elusive drama of the northern lights in four main sections. At the beginning you’ll hear the aurora blaze and flicker, shimmering through the mysterious chords of the octatonic scale and the startling shrieks of the singers. A whispered martial rhythm then begins, evoking the aurora as a set of horses who “spit and snarl”. The voices chase after each other in swift canons during the third section as the lights “creep, climb, and race along”. A final dramatic outburst flames up before the aurora fades into the night, leaving the skies dark and silent.