Three evenings of early music in a Häme summer – Janakkala Baroque June 26-28
After the Midsummer celebrations wind down, the Church of St. Lawrence in Janakkala comes alive with the sound of early music for three summer evenings. The Janakkala Baroque festival, held June 26-28, once again brings together top European artists and the local audience in a historic setting to enjoy early music.
This year’s festival program ranges from 17th-century English baroque to the mystical violin sonatas of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber.
The 2026 festival performers represent the pinnacle of European early music: the program features Slovenian soprano Helena Bregar, Swiss–Chilean organist Catalina Vicens and the Polish Fantastica Ensemble. At Janakkala’s Family Baroque harpist Hilda Kunnola performs and cellist Seeli Toivio gives a lecture.
As part of the festival, the Janakkala Family Baroque event offers a free and experiential program in which music, art and creative activities come together.
The festival is produced in collaboration by the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra (HeBo), Janakkala municipal cultural services and the Janakkala parish. The artistic director is HeBo’s founder and artistic director Aapo Häkkinen.
Program 2026
Mad Songs
Friday June 26 at 8:00 PM, the Church of St. Lawrence
On the opening evening English baroque is heard at its most expressive. Soprano Helena Bregar, viol player Domen Marinčič, archlute player Sam Chapman and harpsichordist Tomaž Sevšek delve into late 17th-century English music – works that portray the extreme states of love, melancholy and madness. The programme includes works by composers such as Blow, Eccles, Purcell, Locke and their contemporaries.
The Friday evening concludes at 9:30 PM with a compline organised by the parish – a quiet evening prayer under the same church vaults, open to all free of charge!
Catalina Vicens, organ
Saturday June 27 at 6:00 PM, the Church of St. Lawrence
Swiss–Chilean organist Catalina Vicens is one of the most versatile artists in the field of early music – musician, researcher and instrument builder, specialising in historical keyboards. In Janakkala she performs a programme that takes the listener across 16th–17th-century Europe: from Cabezón, Valente and Byrd to Sweelinck, Schildt and Dowland.
The concert is preceded by a free organ introduction at 5:00 PM.
Biber: Sacrum/Profanum – Fantastica Ensemble
Sunday June 28 at 6:00 PM, the Church of St. Lawrence
The festival culminates in the music of Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, where the sacred and the profane meet dramatically. The Polish Fantastica Ensemble – violinist Aleksandra Owczarek and harpsichordist Klaudia Łoboda – performs a selection of Biber’s mystery sonatas and other works. Biber’s music once demanded exceptionally virtuosic skills, and it has not lost its power.
Family Baroque
Art workshop accompanied by baroque music – Hilda Kunnola, harpist
Saturday June 27 11:30 AM–12:30 PM, The Yellow House, Laurinmäki, Hakoistentie 373
An art workshop where music, imagination and personal creative work meet. Participants can paint, draw or write while a baroque program performed on the harp creates a fantastical soundscape. The workshop offers a calm creative space for inspiration and expression. All necessary art materials and supplies are provided on site. Music by harpist Hilda Kunnola. The workshop is led by cultural producer / art educator Satu Ristola. Free entry.
Harp concert: Fantasia
Saturday June 27 at 3:00 PM, Tervakoski Community Hall, Seuranaukio 3
Harpist Hilda Kunnola
Welcome to a family harp concert where music and visual art form an experiential whole. The Fantasia concert programme leads listeners into the Baroque era. The concert is aimed at all ages and offers an opportunity to calm down, listen and immerse in the images evoked by the music. The harp’s tone creates a delicate and versatile sound world. The concert experience is enlivened by works from Vanajaveden Opisto’s children’s and youth visual art groups, which will be projected onto the screen as the music plays.
The concert program features compositions by baroque masters that combine dance-like elements, elegance and repose. The pieces form a varied and coherent whole, opening different moods and interpretations for the listener. The concert lasts approximately 45 minutes. Free entry.
The pulse of music in time – a short bridge from Bach to techno
Saturday June 27 at 3:00 PM, Välkky school center, Koulutie 2
Dr. of Music, cellist and singer Seeli Toivio
What do baroque music and the pulsating sound world of modern club music have in common? Surprisingly much. In this visual and auditory lecture we dive into the timeless core of music: rhythm, repetition and low frequencies – elements that have influenced the human mind across centuries. A steady pulse, like the heartbeat, carries the listener through baroque textures all the way to contemporary techno. How does repetitive rhythm shape our experience of time? Why do low sounds resonate in the body? And why is the same hypnotic power found both in Bach’s compositions and in electronic music?
Seeli Toivio leads listeners on a colourful journey that combines storytelling, research and live music. Expect images, audio examples and live performances – from Bach and Vivaldi to the pulse of modern techno. On stage will be both a more-than-200-year-old cello and a modern electric cello, whose dialogue builds a concrete bridge between past and future. This is not merely a lecture – it is an experience of the timeless power of music. Welcome to listen, feel and discover. Free entry.
Music, food and history
It is also possible to dine before the concerts. A concert ticket can be combined with dining on Friday evening at Turengin Wanha Asema – Finland’s oldest preserved wooden railway station – and on Saturday and Sunday at Tarinmaa parish hall, where Hakolan Marjatila offers a menu based on local produce.
Background information
Janakkala Baroque is an early music festival held since 2013, built around the Church of St. Lawrence’s unique organ and setting. The festival serves residents of Janakkala and the Kanta-Häme region, summer visitors and cultural tourists – including families with children.
The festival is produced in collaboration by the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra (HeBo), Janakkala municipal cultural services and the Janakkala parish. The artistic director is HeBo’s artistic director Aapo Häkkinen.
The Helsinki Baroque Orchestra is among Europe’s most respected early music ensembles, known for its artistically ambitious programming that combines familiar repertoire with rarer works and brings international-level performances to Häme.
Practical information
Venue: the Church of St. Lawrence, Janakkala (unless otherwise stated)
Tickets: €15–28 from Ticketmaster.
Concert tickets are also available at the door one hour before the concert starts.
Concert & Menu tickets: €39–65
The harp and organ introductions, as well as the Children’s Baroque event, are free of charge.
Further information and interview requests:
Janakkala Baroque
Anna Karvonen, executive director, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, anna.karvonen@hebo.fi
Janakkala Family Baroque
Satu Ristola, cultural producer, Janakkala cultural services, satu.ristola@janakkala.fi