Estonian Philharmonic

Poulenc's Stabat Mater, which the composer described as, "a requiem without despair," was written in 1950 following the death of Christian Berard, a leading figure of 1940s Paris who designed the sets for Cocteau's films and plays. This masterly work, dedicated to the Virgin of Rocamadour, gives pride of place to the chorus and clearly shows its line of descent from the French motets of the age of Louis XIV. It is paired with the Sept Repons de Tenebres, Poulenc's last choral work. Although sacred in nature, it was written for a non-religious celebration, the opening of New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. This recording's superb cast features soprano Carolyn Sampson and the Estonian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra led by Daniel Reuss.

Though born in Ukraine, composer Galina Grigorjeva has lived in Estonia since 1992 and has worked within that country's deep tradition of sacred choral music. She studied music in Tallinn in the mid-'90s, and her music is thus interesting in terms of representing the thoughts of a younger generation that has absorbed the holy minimalism of Arvo Pärt as well as a variety of other styles from the Slavic world and beyond. Indeed, the unifying stylistic thread of the six works on the album can be hard to find, and indeed the booklet notes by Saale Karede point to "the living light that glows through the music," most of it religious.

As Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt both adopted the Orthodox faith in the 1970s, Orthodox choral traditions became increasingly prominent in their work, but both composers also looked to the music of the Western church. Schnittke’s Three Sacred Hymns set three prayers, familiar in the West as Ave Maria, the Jesus Prayer and the Lord’s Prayer, and evoke Orthodox chant. His Choir Concerto, on the other hand, draws on Russian choral music of the 19th century and the tradition of large-scale concert works based on Orthodox choral music. The texts by the medieval Armenian poet Gregory of Narek are informed by a humanistic individualism, with the poet directly expressing his emotions and often writing in the first person.

This Christmas CD includes Estonian, Russian, and Ukrainian unaccompanied liturgical music, hymns, and carols written for the Orthodox Church, which (except for the 1990 piece by Arvo Pärt, and Mykola Leontovych's "A Song of Good Cheer," known in the West as "Carol of the Bells") were suppressed during the Soviet era and have only since then come to light. The music is for the most part written in a late Romantic tonal idiom in the choral tradition of Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Rachmaninov, and while some pieces have the Slavic gravity associated with Orthodox liturgical music, some have a simpler, folk-like flavor.

Toivo Tulev - Songs
Robin Blaze / Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir / Paul Hillier
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,31 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,07 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: Hamronia Mundi USA # HMU 807452 | Country/Year: Europe 2008 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical, Sacred | Style: Present 21th Century, Vocal

"The work is polychoral, and almost made for multichannel recordings. (…) Sonically this is a splendid disc; in multichannel making the most of the rich acoustic signature of the church to add bloom to the voices and instruments, and presenting the spatial organisation of 'Songs' in a unique and convincing way. (…) Lovers of fine choral singing and contemporary vocal music will surely enjoy this fine disc, which ably demonstrates the versatility of Hillier and his forces." ~sa-cd.net

Toivo Tulev - Songs
Robin Blaze / Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir / Paul Hillier
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 230 MB | Full Artwork: 180 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Hamronia Mundi USA # HMU 807452 | Country/Year: Europe 2008
Genre: Classical, Sacred | Style: Present 21th Century, Vocal

"The work is polychoral, and almost made for multichannel recordings. (…) Sonically this is a splendid disc; in multichannel making the most of the rich acoustic signature of the church to add bloom to the voices and instruments, and presenting the spatial organisation of 'Songs' in a unique and convincing way. (…) Lovers of fine choral singing and contemporary vocal music will surely enjoy this fine disc, which ably demonstrates the versatility of Hillier and his forces." ~sa-cd.net