Erkki-Sven Tüür (b. 1959) is among the most prominent Estonian composers from the generation after Arvo Pärt. In the mid-1990s, several of his pieces, notably the Requiem (1994), Passion (1995) and Symphony No. 3 (1997), garnered international attention, as well as recording contracts from ECM and EMI. His opera, Wallenberg (2000), premiered at the Dortmund Opera in 2001.
Canticum Canticorum Caritatis (Alpha Classics) is a portrait disc featuring a cappella pieces. All of the recorded works, except for one, were composed for and dedicated to Collegium Musicale. Tüür has gone through several phases in his career, from more modernist beginnings to an intuitive inclusion of triadic harmony. His current direction involves both numeric derivations and intuitive decisions. He describes this as being encoded via genetic information and influenced by an environment, and rotation plays an important role in his recent composition's designs. Many of Tüür's works are large in scope; these choral works are by no means insubstantial, but they demonstrate the composer's viewpoint when addressing more compact formal designs.
Collegium Musicale Chamber Choir, conducted by Endrik Üksvärav, provide detailed performances with a wide dynamic range that belies their relatively small complement. Where required, fleet rhythmic articulation is seamless. Even in the most complex passages, Collegium Musicale perform with impressive tuning and balance. This is demonstrated by Trigolosson Trishagion (2008), a piece influenced by Orthodox theology in which the choir sings in Russian, Estonian and Greek. Melismatic chant-like melodies and descending chromatic passages are juxtaposed with bitonal chords. Some of these materials recall the tintinnabuli methods of Pärt, while others are more closely connected to composers such as James MacMillan and Tarik O'Regan, who explore similar material in linear and vertical dimensions.
Missa brevis (2013) doesn't refer to a piece that omits movements from the Ordinary. Instead, it suggests the scale of the piece. The singing is lithe with varied textures and different ensemble deployments. It begins with layered bass voices in overlapping stepwise progressions: gradually, these move up the compass, culminating in rich stacked harmonies. In a canny swerve from the norm, solo voices take over in the second Kyrie. The melody features soaring melodies, complex homophony and coruscating counterpoint. The Credo begins with wrenching dissonant chords and then unthreads these into canons. The most affecting sections are the Sanctus et Benedictus, which floats diaphanously and then incorporates stentorian cluster chords, and the Agnus Dei, into which the Sanctus et Benedictus proceeds attaca, where hushed secundal harmonies are interspersed with scalar melodies. A pianissimo octave setting of the word ‘Amen’ finishes the Mass with calm elegance.
In Omnia mutantur (2020), Tüür builds polychords and then wends between them with contrapuntal duos. The first section closes with hushed piquant verticals. The second half includes canonic writing punctuated by pungent forte chords. The final section moves from the bottom register to the top several times, creating sturdy cadences.
Written in 2020, the title piece, based on Paul's Letter to the Corinthians, describes the nature of love. It contains frequent dynamic contrasts and imitative passages that lead to polychordal pile-ups. A melodic trope involves a slow oscillation that widens and speeds up, sounding like it might take off at any minute. Harmonic passages are equally active, with small cohorts of the ensemble each performing biting segments that eventually are combined into impressively shimmering polychords.
Rändaja õhtulaul (Wanderer's Evening Song, 2001) concludes the recording with its earliest piece, written for the Estonian Chamber Choir. After the relative consistency of so much of the preceding programme, reflecting Tüür's mature choral voice, it is fascinating to hear this piece's different approach, melody and accompaniment rather than elaborate counterpoint, with duet passages accompanied by bell-like sonorities, evoking Pärt.
There are a number of excellent recordings of Tüür's music writ large. Canticum Canticorum Caritatis provides the listener with the opportunity to appreciate a more intimate side to Tüür's work. If you are new to this composer, this CD might not be the place to start, but it certainly is one on which to linger.
