Finland's most prominent composer from the generation after Sibelius now has more than a toehold in the catalogue, at least with his symphonies and operas; but only a sprinkling of his 65 songs are currently available.

The 32 songs in this first of (presumably) two volumes are chronologically laid out. After the late-Romantic elegiac lingua franca of the Op 2 set, the first of Op 9, 'Dark-hued leaves', startles with its affinities with Rachmaninov; this gem of a piece is on the short list for all Finnish song recitals.

Composed in 1913, the first of the Songs of Youth, Op 20b, could not be published until Finland's independence from Russia after the First World War, which is no surprise, given that its text is demonstratively nationalistic ('Arise, O young sons of Finland…Saved and cherished shall our homeland soon be!') and its melody strong and catchy. This is an altogether impressive opus, whose concluding 'Christmas song' has become one of Finland's best-loved carols.

With Op 25 we are back to the ecstatic tone of the earlier songs. Perhaps most impressive of this set is No 2, 'Wintry Road', with its tolling Brittenish ostinato and general air of painful asceticism. Patriotic and semi-religious texts increasingly predominate in the later songs (the last ones date from the time of the Nazi occupation in the Second World War), but there is little or no further stylistic evolution.

Almost all of these songs are to Finnish texts. Of the Danish poems that make up Op 44, Holstein's 'Song behind the plough' is familiar from one of Carl Nielsen's most famous songs. The contrast is instructive: with Madetoja, distanced nostalgia; with Nielsen, direct identification with the man of the soil.

Swedish-born baritone Gabriel Suovanen is well attuned both to the late-romantic manner of Madetoja's early songs and to the ardent national-patriotic tone of his later ones. His pianist, Gustav Djupsjöbacka, supplies not only stylish accompaniments but also an informative booklet essay. Recording quality is fine, and collectors of Nordic and/or song repertoire should not hesitate to invest.