Voices of Estonia

A fine recital of contemporary choral music from the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir led by Paul Hillier, titled Baltic Voices 1. The first of a series of three volumes highlighting the mainstream tradition of the last hundred years in the Baltic Sea countries with special attention to Estonia itself, I don't yet have the other two volumes but this one is incentive to invest eventually. The most well known composers featured here are Rautavaara, Part and Vasks but there are also works by Cyrillus Kreek, Sven-David Sandstrom and Veljo Tormis. All the works are acapella with the exception of the Peteris Vasks Dona Nobis Pacem which features the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and is maybe the most impressive piece. Most of the items are settings of sacred texts but the Rautavaara piece concerns the poet Lorca and Tormis sets Latvian folk songs. The Vasks and Tormis works are world premieres as was the Arvo Part trifle...which was the son of...although this has now had subsequent recordings. It is slightly cliched to talk of the distinctive sound of choirs from this part of the world but all voice types perform well, not just the famous basses. Hillier is coming to the end of his spell as director of the choir but it has been a fruitful partnership for both sides.