Kaljuste

The elemental power of ancient folk music is the lifeforce that drives the compositions of Veljo Tormis (1930-2017). As the great Estonian composer famously said, “I do not use folk song. It is folk song that uses me.” This sentiment is echoed in definitive performances by the Estonian Philharmonic Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste, for decades one of Tormis’s closest musical associates. Four orchestral cycles celebrate the changing seasons: Autumn Landscapes, Winter Patterns, Spring Sketches, Summer Motifs. And three pieces – Worry Breaks The Spirit, Hamlet’s Songs and Herding Calls – feature new arrangements by Tõnu Kaljuste, continuing and commemorating Tormis’s work. The album opens with The Tower Bell In My Village which Kaljuste commissioned 45 years ago. It sets words by Fernando Pessoa that seem entirely pertinent in the context of this tribute. “Oh death, it’s a bend in the road/You can’t be seen when you’ve passed by/But still your steps continue…” Reminiscentiae was recorded at Tallinn’s Methodist Church in October and November 2020.

All four of Arvo Part’s symphonies are released on a single disc for the first time, newly recorded with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic under the direction of one of Part’s most trusted colleagues, Tonu Kaljuste. Each of the symphonies, as the great Estonian composer has noted, is a world unto itself. Heard in chronological order they also tell us much about Part’s musical and spiritual journey, and the very different ways in which he has exercised his craft. Forty-five years separate his Symphony No. 1 (“Polyphonic”) written in 1963 while he was still a student of Heino Eller, from his Symphony No. 4 (“Los Angeles”) written in 2008, by which time he was (and still is) the world’s most widely-performed contemporary composer, and one whose now famous “tintinnabuli-style” has become an immediately identifiable artistic signature.

Tractus emphasizes Arvo Pärt compositions that blend the timbres of choir and string orchestra. New versions predominate, with focused performances from the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Tõnu Kaljuste’s direction that invite alert and concentrated listening. From the opening composition Littlemore Tractus, which takes as its starting point consoling reflections from a sermon by John Henry Newman, the idea of change, transfiguration and renewal resonates, setting a tone for a recording whose character is one of summing up, looking inward, and reconciling with the past.

"Heino Eller was the consolidator, the man who - no less than Vaughan Williams in Britain - gave Estonian music a sense of direction." - International Record Review, Feb 2001 Heino Eller (1887-1970) is considered the father of modern Estonian music and teacher to virtually every notable composer in 20th century Estonian music, including Arvo Prt. With the current high interest in Estonian music, this is a good moment for ECM to highlight the historical contribution of Heino Eller alongside well-known composers Arvo Prt, Veljo Tormis and Erkki-Sven Tr, who have become firmly associated with the New Series label (13 recordings between them).

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s four symphonies tell the story of his musical life. It’s a tale bookended by the skittish and uncompromising Symphony No. 1, written while he was a student in 1963, and the Fourth from 2008—a beautifully sculpted masterpiece in his own “tintinnabuli” style in which textures rise, fall, and repeat like pealing bells. Much more than fine recordings of fascinating works, these are ideal performances directed by one of Pärt’s most trusted conductors, compatriot Tõnu Kaljuste. Listen out for the beautiful oases amid the noise in the final movement of Symphony No. 2 and the chant-infused Symphony No. 3, containing moments of pure beauty.