ERKKI-SVEN TÜÜR (b. 1959)

 

Ärkamine, Awakening

 

Awakening (Ärkamine) (2011)

for mixed choir and chamber orchestra

World Première Recording

The Wanderer’s Evening Song (Rändaja õhtulaul) (2001)

for mixed choir a cappella

Insula deserta (1989)

for string orchestra

 

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

Sinfonietta Riga / Daniel Reuss

 

This new release showcases a cross section of choral and orchestral works by Erkki-Sven Tüür (b. 1959), who with Arvo Pärt counts among the most popular Estonian composers internationally.

 

The central piece on this disc is the world première recording of Awakening (Ärkamine), written in 2011. It features the acclaimed Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Sinfonietta Riga under the direction of Daniel Reuss.

 

According to Tüür, Awakening contemplates the springtime mystery of nature’s rebirth, embracing both the Christian conception of the world and the rather more pantheistic comprehension of creation peculiar to ancient Estonians.

 

Also included is The Wanderer’s Evening Song, a choral setting of poems by Ernst Enno and written for the EPCC’s 20th anniversary in 2001.

 

Insula deserta, for string orchestra, became Tüür’s first great success outside of Estonia, when first performed in Finland in 1989.

 

Ondine ODE11832