COMPOSERS: Tuur
LABELS: ECM
WORKS: Architectonics VI; Passion; Illusion; Crystallisatio; Requiem
PERFORMER: Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn CO/Tonu Kaljuste
CATALOGUE NO: 449 459-2 DDD
A new recruit to the younger generation of Finnish/ Estonian composers , Erkki-Sven Tüür (born in 1959) began his professional musical life in the all too familiar guise of a progressive rock musician. But here there’s little to reveal such a background; even when live electronics are used, the colours are subtly mixed. Tüür says of his compositional approach that he’s ‘trying to create a meta-language that is intuitive rather than calculated’ – or trying to absorb many influences, of which Arvo Pärt is clearly one.
Of the five works all dating from the Nineties, Passion and Illusion are for strings alone, the first hauntingly using the mournful low registers of double basses and cellos, the second something of a jaunty contrast. The most substantial work is a Requiem, powerfully performed by the Tallinn CO strings and the crack Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Soprano soloist Kaia Urb is affecting in the Recordare but the final note for solo triangle is a mistake. The most interesting work is the most recent, Crystallisatio (1995). Tonu Kaljuste conducts glittering performances in a full, reverberant sound balance. Annette Morreau