BRAVADE
Bravade Recorder Quartet - Promotion Video »
BRAVADE is an actively performing and charismatic recorder quartet specializing in Renaissance recorders. The ensemble began its activities in 2004. The musicians of Bravade (Sunniva Fagerlund, Pauliina Fred, Hanna Haapamäki, Hanna Paatelma) have studied early music at the Sibelius Academy and Stadia, as well as at music conservatories in the Netherlands and Germany, and in numerous masterclasses. As a quartet, Bravade has studied under renowned mentors such as Han Tol, founding member of the world-famous Flanders Recorder Quartet, and Professor Peter Holtslag from the Hamburg University of Music.
Bravade has performed in Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway, as well as at numerous music festivals, churches, and concert halls throughout Finland. The quartet aims to showcase the broad spectrum of recorder music and highlight the rich tonal colors and possibilities of their exquisite instruments. Their diverse repertoire spans music from the Middle Ages to the present day, including captivating interdisciplinary productions and highly popular children’s concerts.
A significant aspect of Bravade’s work is collaboration with other musicians and artists. The quartet has performed with soprano Tuuli Lindeberg, sopranist Pasi Hyökki, alto Teppo Lampela, harpsichordist Petteri Pitko, organist Markku Mäkinen, the horn quartet The Golden Horns, and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra. In its multidisciplinary performances, Bravade has also collaborated with dancers such as Elina Häyrynen and Jukka Tarvainen.
Bravade has commissioned and premiered several works by Finnish contemporary composers, including Olli Virtaperko and Sebastian Fagerlund. In 2017, the Helsinki Festival featured the premiere of Air (Ayre), a multimedia work for recorder quartet and video by composer Antti Auvinen. In its 20th anniversary concert at the Helsinki Music Centre, Bravade premiered a composition by Riikka Talvitie.
Bravade is also highly active in the field of children’s culture: the quartet’s theatrical children’s concerts have been performed over two hundred times. Bravade has worked for several years with Concert Centre Finland, bringing the joy of recorder music to children and youth in schools across the country.
Bravade’s debut album Reflections of the Past and Present (Pilfink Records) was released in February 2014. The quartet also appears on the Oulainen Youth Choir's album Virsiä (Alba Records, 2012). In the children’s film Onneli and Anneli (2014), directed by Saara Cantell, Bravade performs music composed by Anna-Mari Kähärä.
Bravade’s artistic activities and work in the field of children’s culture have been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Svenska Kulturfonden, Kone Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.