Land Of Song

The promotion of the choral music of their native region does not end with the Baltic Voices series for the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under the direction of Paul Hillier. This disk entitled simply Songs, is of music by one time member of the choir Toivo Tulev. It also features the participation of a guest soloist, counter tenor Robin Blaze, and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. It is inevitable that Tulev will be compared to fellow Estonians from an older generation such as Part, there is a definite touch of what those less well disposed to the style have labelled holy minimalism. It is easy to apply words like mystic and there are definite roots in Gregorian chant. Some of the works are based around pre-existing compositions by such as Josquin Desprez, others use texts from both the King James bible and the poems of such as Elizabethan Thomas Traherne. The choir sing wonderfully throughout and as well as Robin Blaze there are other teling solo contributions from individual members. The Tallinn Chamber Orchestra are utilised in an understated contemplative role but are augmented interestingly by the use of instruments such as the duduk which give a novel feel in this context. A standout piece for me is Leave Alas This Tormenting, which has a long lengthy instrumental introduction before using solo soprano, percussion and pre-recorded vocal quartet which includes the "live" soprano duetting with herself. Fragments of the musical material come from a madrigal by another Elizabethan, Thomas Morley.