2040

Vertical and layered in form, “Strata” is austere and powerful music with a clearly Northern sensibility. The textures swirl and surge restlessly, building tension with harsh, emphatic brass chords set against high winds. There is an instense staccato outburst halfway through – with malign, mach-like drumming passages – evincing the composer’s rock influenes. Near the end, Tüür uses a pastoral motif from an Estonian (“Setu”) folksong, as the music slows down and coalesces in a shimmering coda and a sense of infinity in its long slow fade to silence. Performances by the Nordic Symphony Orchestra under Anu Tali are bracing, powerful, and very well recorded.