The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tõnu Kaljuste have been working with both Arvo Pärt’s and Veljo Tormis’ music for many years. Both pillars of Estonian music are at the core of the Choir’s repertoire, and they can be grateful to the Choir and the Maestro for performing their work and promoting it. Tõnu Kaljuste has received several Estonian awards in culture for interpretations of Tormis’ music, and performances of Pärt’s opuses have gained the conductor both a Grammy and an ICMA.

Arvo Pärt is possibly the most performed author of classical music in the world. Music created in his unique composing method called tintinnabuli (from Latin ‘little bells’), which he developed in the 1970s, is simple in its sound, pleasing to the ear and, upon a closer look, mathematically sound and highly intricate.

At the concert, we will hear Arvo Pärt’s iconic motet ‘Magnificat’, composed in the late 1980s, the motet for light and peace ‘Nunc dimittis’, ‘The Deer's Cry’, inspired by a traditional Irish prayer for protection, the Orthodox-inspired cantata ‘Dopo la vittoria’, and two parts of his monumental ‘Canon of Repentance’.

The achievements of Veljo Tormis are mainly related to working with Estonian and other Finno-Ugric folklore, shedding light onto small ethnic groups, including his interest in the history of music of Latvians and Livonians. He has mostly produced music for choirs, however, his works are not limited to that alone, and Tormis’ long life is honored in Estonia now as much as during his time.

Tõnu Kaljuste has selected fragments for female, male, and mixed choirs from Veljo Tormis’ cycles Swing Songs, Shrovetide Songs, Songs of Midsummer, all concluded by the impressive ‘Curse Upon Iron’, which transcends into a parallel world of archaic origins. 

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is one of the most prominent professional Estonian musical collectives in the world. The Choir was founded in 1981 by the highly-esteemed conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, who was the leader of the Choir for 20 years. His successor was Englishman Paul Hillier, followed by Dutchman Daniel Reuss, then Latvian Kaspars Putniņš. The Choir has cooperated with a number of outstanding conductors including Claudio Abbado, Helmuth Rilling, Eric Ericson, etc., participated in many classical music festivals, and performed with the most prominent orchestras of the world.

 Aside from performing, the Choir records music as well, and they have received several prestigious awards for their CDs, including two Grammy awards for their albums Arvo Pärt. Da Pacem and Arvo Pärt. Adam’s Lament. The choir has been nominated for the Grammy 14 times so far.

Artists:

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste

Program: 

Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis