MÄNGUTOOS
MUSIC BOX

ARSIS
Youth Handbell Ensemble

An exciting performing of classical hits and Christmas tunes by Arsis Youth Handbell Ensemble. The festive bronze sound of the bells gives a new dimension to the well-known pieces.

#3, Bach. Sinfonia, fragm, 79 sec, mp3
#9, Albinoni. Adagio, fragm, 104 sec, mp3

Bells or chimes as percussion instruments were recognised already in ancient times. The roots of these musical instruments date back to the 13-14th centuries when it was common that differently tuned church bells called people to the service playing beautiful melodies. The first small copies from big church bells were made in England and that is why these handbells are known as English handbells.
Arsis Handbell Ensemble was developed from the chamber choir Arsis in 1993. Arsis Youth Handbell Ensemble has its roots in the Arsis Handbell School which was founded in 1999. In 2003, the first students graduated from the school, and the same year, the current youth handbell ensemble was founded. The 14-member group was chosen through a contest from among 45 participants. The conductor of the ensemble is Aivar Mäe, the founder of the ArsisHandbell Ensemble and the Handbell School.

Aivar Mäe (b 1960) – the artistic director of Handbell Ensemble Arsis. He acquired his musical education at Tallinn Music High School and Estonian Academy of Music where he studied choral conducting with Prof Ants Sööt. In his youth Aivar Mäe was the vocal soloist of the pop-rock group Vitamiin. Later he has been working with several choirs in Estonia as well as abroad – in Sweden and the USA. He has been the leader of international choir festivals, also running seminars for choral music. In 1992, Aivar Mäe studied in the USA for a year and a half improving his knowledge at the music department of Portland University with Prof Bruce Brown. 1999–2009 he has been working as the general manager of Eesti Kontsert, the National Concert Institute of Estonia, 2004–06 the general manager of Vanemuine Theatre. Since 2009 he holds the position of general manager of Estonian National Opera. Aivar Mäe is a Honorary Member of the Estonian Society for Music Education.

Performed by Arsis Youth Handbell Ensemble: Mariann Tiirik, Jürgen Kaevats, Inger-Liis Kroonmaa, Gert Põrk, Kärt Tammjärv, Greta Roosaar, Kaisa-Maria Vellomäe, Innar Mihhailov, Kristjan Rausberg, Allan Aim, Jorm Miikael Kelder, Mariann Saarend, Gerda Neemre, Merilin Mandel, and conductor Aivar Mäe

Recorded in the House of Blackheads, Tallinn, on March 10th and 11th, 2007
Engineered and mastered by Tanel Klesment
Photos by Viljo Pettinen
Design by Mart Kivisild
Managed by Tiina Kodumäe
Recording supervisor – Peeter Vähi

© 2007 Arsis & ERP
ERP 1507

Sold out

Total time 53:46
24 bit / 96 kHz recording
DDD, Stereo
EAÜ / n©b

See also recordings with Handbell Ensemble Arsis: Handbell Symphony, Supreme Silence, In Dies, Planetentöne Vol 2, Om Mani Padme Hung, Traumzeit, The Flutish Kingdom, World Festival Of Sacred Music Europe, Awake, My Heart!, Night Music, Legend, Terra Mariana

See also: www.arsis.ee

MUSICA TRISTE
Estonian Flute Concertos

Maarika Järvi
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Kristjan Järvi

Maarika Järvi is the one, who has introduced Estonian flute music around the world – from Detroit and New Jersey to Gothenburg, Cologne and Tokyo.

E Tubin, Flute Concerto, Movement III, Vivace, fragm, 52 sec, mp3

Performed by:
Maarika Järvi – flute solo
Tallinn Chamber Orchestra
Harry Traksmann and Olga Voronova – principal violinists
Kristjan Järvi – conductor

Recorded in Estonia Concert Hall in 2000–01
Engineered by Maido Maadik
Producers – Kristjan Järvi and Peeter Vähi
Booklet compiled by Vardo Rumessen, Mare Põldmäe, Elle Himma and Tiina Jokinen
Published by Nordiska Musikförlaget (1 – 3), Edition 49 (4 – 10)
Stereo
Produced by ERP for Warner Music / Finlandia Records
0927-42991-2

Eino Tamberg can definitely be called a unique personality in Estonian music, an original thinker and a constant surprise maker. He has been at the centre of attention of the musical audience since creating his Concerto grosso that became a so-called new-wave break-through work of Estonian composition into the international music life at the end of 50ties.
Eino Tamberg graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music as composer in 1953, his supervisor having been Prof Eugen Kapp. From 1953 to 1959 he worked as a sound engineer at the Estonian Radio, since 1968 he is professor at the Estonian Academy of Music. He has educated a number of composers like Raimo Kangro, Peeter Vähi, Alo Mattiisen, Mari Vihmand, Toivo Tulev, Mart Siimer.
Though Eino Tamberg has composed music of several genres, symphonic and stage music always play the main role. He has been attracted by the wide possibilities of the human voice and the sound of orchestra. He is the composer of operas “Iron Home”, “Cyrano de Bergerac” and “The Flight”, a ballet “Joanna Tentata”, and oratorio “Amores”. The basic symphonic works by him are 4 symphonies, 2 trumpet concertos, a violin concerto, a saxophone concerto, a clarinet concerto and a cello concerto, among which the most frequently performed piece is the Trumpet Concerto No 1. In addition to the numerous times in Europe this concerto was also played by Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi during their concert tour in Asia 1987 and conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich it sounded in the USA 1990.
When at the beginning of his composer’s career Eino Tamberg was greatly influenced by Neoclassicism, then later intense expression was added to it. His style is characterized by epic, at some places lyric and passionate mode of expression that usually begins with picturesque forms and his musical language is dominated by consonance.
“Musica Triste” op 85 for flute, vibraphone and strings is rather a typical example of Eino Tamberg’s later period of work. The première performance was held in 1993 by the Chamber Orchestra of Tallinn Music High School, the soloist being Mihkel Peäske.

Heino Jürisalu graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music as composer in 1954 under the supervision by Heino Eller. From 1950 to 1969 he worked as a sound engineer at the Estonian Radio and TV. Since 1969 he was a teacher at the Estonian Academy of Music having Lepo Sumera among his students.
“The Three Estonian Dances” for symphony orchestra composed by him won a silver medal at the World’s Youth Festival in Vienna, 1959. The list of Jürisalu’s works includes various genres: an opera “St Susanne”, a ballet “The Street”, 2 symphonies, a French Horn Concerto, chamber and film music. During his early creative period Jürisalu inevitably tests also the contemporary “hot” styles like dodecaphony. However, his work as a whole leaves quite contradictory impressions, being serious and at the same time giving hints of pop, folk and baroque, the latter being not such a surprise – for many years Jürisalu was the artistic director of an early music ensemble “Consortium”. He has also written two books about the recorder.
The Flute Concerto has been composed for flute and string orchestra. In addition to solo flute an important role has been given to cello and piano. Dominating is the consonance of calssical music into which some occasional “splashes of paint” are being thrown. Here we can observe the composer’s knowledge of the instrument at its best and the colourfulness that are always underlined in case of Heino Jürisalu.

Kuldar Sink came into the world of Estonian music at the beginning of 1960-ties when the political situation in Estonia began to normalize and the contacts with Western musical centres were being re-established. This was a powerful break-through of one generation: Kuldar Sink came together with 10 years older Eino Tamberg, Veljo Tormis and Arvo Pärt. In 1960 Kuldar Sink graduated from Tallinn Music High School specialising in musical theory and in 1961 majoring on flute, simultaneously studying composition under the supervision by Veljo Tormis. During the years 1961–66 he studied composition at Leningrad Conservatoire, his supervisor being Andrei Petrov. He worked as a flautist at Estonian National Opera and Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1960 to 1973.
In 1960ties and 70ties Sink was carried along by the contemporary trends in music such as Neoclassicism, serialism, collage and aleatory technique. 1980s were a turning point in his creative work, he found new impulses from his trips to Central-Asia and at that period the oriental perception of eternally flowing time found expression in his music. Further on, his musical language became considerably simpler indicating the influence of Gregorian chant, Estonian folk song as well as romantic melody. His later works have mostly been composed on religious texts. Due to the multitude of styles Sink could be called “Estonian Stravinsky”. His music has repeatedly been used at the theatre stage, on the basis of “The Songs Of Death And Birth” the ballet “Scream And Silence” was created and “Mass Of St Mary’s Land” found expression in the ballet bearing the same name. The composer’s life ended tragically in a fire in 1995, leaving an opera based on The Bible unfinished.
The Flute Concertino by Kuldar Sink was composed right after the graduation from Tallinn Music High School in 1960. This piece attracted attention also outside Estonia. This clear-cut and laconic concertino bears a Neo-classic stamp, however, carrying a bright glad mood it lacks the lapidary angularity of Neoclassicism. The première performance of that piece was held at the Estonia Concert Hall in 1962.

The music by Eduard Tubin is extremely rich in variation, being among the most outstanding achievement in Estonian music. Though Tubin became a renowned master already in Estonia, his specific style got its final finesse during the years of exile in Sweden. The most precious part of his work is the 10 symphonies but besides that he has composed instrumental concertos, stage and chamber music, choir and solo songs. Eduard Tubin died in Stockholm, 1982.
Tubin came first in contact with music in his father’s house in Naelavere where after the death of his elder brother Johannes in 1912 Eduard inherited a piccolo flute. Thus, while shepherding the family’s cows Tubin started learning to play the flute. Later he graduated from Tartu Higher Music School as composer under the supervision by Heino Eller.
Memories of the shepherd days and Estonian folk tunes that had inspired Tubin earlier kept attracting him also during his exile. Though flute for Tubin was closely connected to his memories of shepherd time, before 1970 he had not composed anything specifically for that instrument. On the commission by the Estonian flautist “No One” Samuel Saulus Tubin started composing a flute concerto of which only some drafts have been found. Only in 1979 the composer wrote a Sonata for flute and cello. The première performance of the Flute Sonata was held at the ESTO Festival in the Great Hall of Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm, 1980. In 1995 it was arranged for the orchestra by an American composer Charles Coleman. The Flute Sonata remained the last work by Tubin. Here the clarity and simplicity characteristic of the composer’s last creative period are expressed at their best. The Sonata consists of three parts with the main point of gravity at the end of the piece where the composer’s mental enlightenment can be viewed through the retrospect on the passage of his life.

Kristjan Järvi (b 1972, Tallinn, Estonia) is chief conductor of the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra. As a child he moved with his family to New York, where he studied piano and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music. He attended master classes in piano taught by Tatiana Nikolajeva in Salzburg. In New York in 1993, Kristjan Järvi founded the Absolute Ensemble, which today is one of the world’s leading chamber ensembles. CD recordings with Järvi and Absolute Ensemble have been nominated for a Grammy Award and won the German Record Critics’ Prize. As musical director of Absolute Ensemble, Järvi plays repertoire ranging from the 16th to the 21st century, from Baroque to rock. He is an avid explorer and advocate of contemporary music and has conducted the premières of numerous works by such composers as  Daniel Schnyder, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Charles Coleman, and Peeter Vähi. From 1998 to 2000 Kristjan Järvi was assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted a sensational debut with this orchestra in the Hollywood Bowl. Since the 2000–01 season, he has been Principal Conductor of the Norrlands Operan and Symphony Orchestra in Sweden. He appears world-wide as a guest conductor of such fine symphony orchestras as the Hallé Orchestra of Manchester, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra of Cologne, the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Berlin and Frankfurt, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra of Italy, the Adelaide Symphony and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Maarika Järvi began her musical studies at the Tallinn School of Music and at the Boston and New England Conservatory of Music. She graduated with a Master of Music Degree from the Carnegie Mellon University where she was a student of Julius Baker as well as his teaching assistant. She has attended Master Classes with the distinguished professionals of their field such as Walfrid Kujala, Julius Baker, Donald Peck, Jeffrey Khaner, Jeanne Baxtresser, Michel Debost and William Bennett. She has been a prize-winner in a number of competitions in Boston, Toronto, New York.
As a soloist Maarika Järvi has been invited to play with various orchestras such as the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Radio-Television Symphony Orchestra of Spain, Gothenburg Symphony in Sweden, Lyra Borealis Chamber Orchestra in Toronto, Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Turkey, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, Camerata “Arión” in Spain, Pärnu City Orchestra in Estonia, English Chamber Orchestra, and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona. Her work as a recitalist and chamber musician (Duo Martinika) has taken her to many countries of North America and Europe. She has recorded for the Spanish, Swedish and Estonian radios, with the Absolute Ensemble in New York, Radio Television Orchestra of Spain, a CD “Méditations”, “Celestials”, as well as for other labels like ASV, RTVE. She has premièred numerous compositions, and released the CD, which includes two new concertos specially written for her: “Chant Of The Celestial Lake” by Peeter Vähi and “Leonides” by Urmas Sisask.

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1993. The conductor Tõnu Kaljuste has bounded the widely well-known Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir with TCO’s activities. The members of the orchestra are all outstanding musicians, who often perform as soloists and are invited to perform with various other orchestras and ensembles.
TCO has performed in many prestigious music festivals: Bach Cantatas Festival in Milan, Bremen Music Festival, Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music, Glasperlenspiel, etc. Concert tours have taken the orchestra and the choir to Canada, the USA, Japan and to many European countries.
The orchestra’s instrumental programs have been prepared mainly together with guest conductors including Richard Tognetti, Terje Tonnesen, Patrick Strub, Valentin Zhuk, Silvio Barbato, Samuel Wong, Olari Elts and Paul Mägi. In 1995–96 the artistic director and chief conductor of the orchestra was Juha Kangas, from 1996–97 to 2000–01 it has been Tõnu Kaljuste, the present artistic director is Eri Klas.
In 1993, TCO and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir recorded the CD “Te Deum”. For a year, this record has been on the world’s Top Ten list and has gained exalting appraisals from the critics. “Crystallisatio” by Erkki-Sven Tüür and “Litany” by Arvo Pärt were released by ECM in 1996, and another record by ECM “Neenia” released in 2001 is music for strings by Heino Eller.

Press resonance

Distribution in UK by Amazon UK
Distribution in Germany by Amazon.de

Other recordings with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra: Celestials, A Chant Of Bamboo, Enter Denter
See other recordings with Kristjan Järvi: Supreme Silence, Celestials, Light
See also other recordings with Maarika Järvi: Somnium Boreale
Other recordings of Tubin by ERP: 100 Years Of Estonian Symphony, Estonian Preludes, Eduard Tubin And His Time, Tubin, Northern Lights Sonata

FRYDERYK CHOPIN
ŹAL / KURBUS / MELANCHOLY

Vardo Rumessen, piano

Dedicated to the memory of Polish President Lech Kacziński and all the others who lost their lives on the air disaster in Smolensk (Russia) on April 10th, 2010. Released on April 10th, 2011. Booklet (32 pages) in Estonian and English.

#16, Mazurka in B minor, Op 33 No 4, fragm, 2 min 9 sec, mp3
#17, Waltz in B minor, Op 69 No 2, fragm, 80 sec, mp3

Performed by Vardo Rumessen
Recorded in Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn on Oct 27th, Nov 13th, and Dec 5th, 2010
Instrument: Steinway & Sons D-274
Sound engineer: Tanel Klesment
Häälestaja / Piano tuner: Ants Saluraid
Design: Tiina Sildre
Front Cover: Coloured litograph Solo. Melancholy (1861) by Cyprian Kamil Norwid
Special thanks to Warsaw National Library
Liner notes: Vardo Rumessen and Virve Normet
English translation: Juhan Peipman
Producer: Peeter Vähi

© Estonian Record Productions, Estonian Classics, 2011

ERP 4211 / EC 006
Stereo, DDD

Fryderyk Chopin – The Heart and Soul of the Piano

A great Russian pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein once said that the heart of the piano lives in the music of Chopin. This phrase encapsulates the essential elements which are natural to Chopin’s music. Rubinstein added that his music “is filled with tragedy, romanticism, lyricism, heroism, fantasy and naivety”. Heinrich Heine made the following remark about Chopin: “He is a true poet of music, whose artistic home resides in the land of poetic fantasy”. Ferenc Liszt wrote a biography about Chopin where he describes the history of piano music as if it lies between two points of division − music before Chopin and music after Chopin.
Although Józef Hofmann has stated that every work of Chopin is created in its own style, there is, to be sure, a noticeable simplicity and sincerity which generally underpins and characterizes Chopin’s overall musical output. The most significant characteristic of Chopin’s music can be seen in its breadth and range of musical expression. It was Arthur Rubinstein, one of the twentieth century’s greatest pianists and respected authority on piano music who once commented that “Chopin speaks directly to the hearts of people”.
Chopin’s early compositions written in Warsaw had already captured the imagination and interest of many listeners. The publication of his music endowed the composer with almost instant fame as well as widespread interest in performing his compositions. Over a period of one hundred and fifty years his music has constantly retained a prominent position in most reknowned pianists’ repertoires. Chopin’s fame as a composer found its way into the broader artistic imagination of his day, unlike Johann Sebastian Bach whose personal fame rested primarily on his reputation as the most outstanding organist of his time. Fryderyk Chopin rose to a position of national hero, alongside his recognition as a first rate pianist and composer. While still a student in Warsaw his teacher, Józef Elsner, commented that Chopin “was a musical genius”.
Chopin made his name as a craftsman of the musical form known as miniature, the most important being the mazurkas, waltzes and preludes. Of no less significance are his polonaises, ballads and scherzos. Chopin rose to the pinnacle of his compositional life at the time of writing his Piano Sonata no 2, which is widely considered to be the most uniform and musically perfect work of its time. Sonata no 2 is a superlative example of human struggle and tragedy that was previously unknown in any work written for piano. The sheer musical contrast and depth of feeling is wholly unique among compositions written during the Romantic period. Such uniqueness is most clearly evident in the music’s formal structure, its richness of imagination and growing dramaticism, where detailed thematic transformation progressively shapes the music bringing to it a unified whole. This progressiveness of thinking is revealed for example in his Polonaise-Fantasia Op 61, and also in Chopin’s ballades which seemingly point the way to a later stage of musical development most notably observable in Liszt’s Symphonic poems.
Although virtuosity was the key to Liszt’s works, there is also sometimes a certain element of philosophy which underpins his work. Traces of an etherial kind of lyricism are not unusual in Liszt’s music, but what captures the listener’s attention is the fact that he achieves this quality by way of a rather conventional harmonic structure. Liszt’s melodies tend to lack even the slightest element of flamboyancy, instead inclining towards being short and assymetrical in overall structure. By contrast Chopin had an incomparable sense of line and depth of feeling superbly weighed with dramatic harmonic movement, thereby positioning Chopin as a force majeure of his age. Chopin was convinced that correct phrasing was the key element which undergirded a good melody, and believed that bel canto effect should be mastered by all students. At the same time Chopin’s music displays a clear sense of inner harmony and formal balance; a quality comparable only to the masterworks of Mozart. There is an inner logic to this music, giving it an attractive sense of freshness and spontaneity. Using limited resources, Chopin manages to create a rich palette of expression without ever losing its innate simplicity. Such an achievement is only possible in the hands of the finest of composers. Indeed, the majority of Chopin’s output has always been considered music of the highest artistic standards. There isn’t even the slightest hint of any technical weakness which can, for example, be found in Mendelssohn’s or Tchaikovsky’s ouvre. Any implication as to the background or the creative inspiration behind a given work was revealed in the relatively obscure meaning behind the title of a composition.
It could be argued that Chopin was very protective” of his music − any implication as to the background or the creative inspiration behind a given work was restricted to the relatively general wording in the title of a composition. Though it could be argued that Chopin’s contemporaries wrote music of more profound substance, his own innate sincerity and immediate accessibility raises his music to the highest of heights, as if it were music touched by the gods.
Chopin spent a considerable period of his life moving among the Parisian aristocratic class, enjoying the company of the cultured; those who fed their curiosity of the popular arts through membership in any one of the city’s numerous salons. Chopin was a man of high taste, always impeccably dressed. This outward sense of elegance resonated deep within his heart, giving rise to a very natural yet discreetly “tailored” form of music. It could be said that Chopin’s music is crafted in the same fashion and care that a fine old Grecian sculptor would produce from marble.
Chopin came to be recognised as an innovator whose compositions inspired generations of younger composers, beginning from the time of Liszt onwards. Through his revolutionary sense of harmony and structure, Chopin could be considered a forerunner of Richard Wagner. A study of his Mazurkas (Op 63 No 1 or Op 68 No 4 for example) or the section before recapitulation of Barcarolle Op 60 are clear examples of being music which is ahead of its time. Such harmonic perfection is unknown in the work of any other composer. It points the way towards the complicated harmonic nature, for example, of Tristan and Isolde. The nature of Chopin’s melodic contours is even adopted in the music of Grieg and Tchaikovsky, not to mention Rachmaninov and Scriabin who could be considered to be Chopin’s direct musical descendants. In fact, Chopin’s influence resonated into the early Twentieth Century period of musical experimentation of Debussy and Ravel.
By nature, Chopin was a friendly, supportive and − from outward appearances − generally happy person. It therefore probably comes as a surprise to many readers that he bore pain and grief in his heart – qualities to which we bear witness when we hear his most intimate musical compositions. Chopin once said that in his heart of hearts there was a dualism taking place, a clash of feelings which expressed itself in terms of personal tension. Displays of beauty contrasted with deep sorrow were the dual emotions existing side by side in his music, like a violin E string which is raised to maximum level of tension. This sense of sorrow and joy are played out as in an ancient Greek tragedy where the goddesses Melpomene and Thaleia look down with favor upon Chopin, guiding the composer’s every move and thought behind the creation of his masterpieces.
Characteristic of Chopin’s music is a high sense of drama, an internal restlessness and heroism, but also a lonely man’s hidden sadness which finds expression especially in his melancholy nature; in his minor key compositions. These qualities are most obviously discernible in his nocturnes, mazurkas and even his waltzes. This melancholy undertone is as natural to Chopin as it was in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Cyprian Kamil Norwid. Indeed, Chopin and Norwid were close friends and shared many similar personality traits. There is further evidence of it, for example, in the haunting expression of a painting called Melancholy by Norwid, whose masterpiece is reproduced on the front cover of this recording.
Chopin was always yearning for love and for much of his life he kept images of someone special within his heart. Though these emotions more often than not brought him considerable heartache, they profoundly influenced much of the outcome of his compositions where delicacy, desire and pain often mixed together. In spite of his many love affairs, it seems that the composer’s one true love was the Polish born Maria Wodzińska, to whom he dedicated his Waltz Op 69 No 1 − a portrait of Maria. In the knowledge of her deteriorating health, Chopin clung to every letter of correspondence with Maria in spite of intensely growing resentment from Maria’s mother over their relationship. These letters were bundled into paper onto which was written Moja bieda (My pain). This feeling stands in sharp contrast to his strained relationship with George Sand towards whom he ceased to hold any affection, let alone the slightest wish of dedicating any of his compositions to her memory. In fact he flatly refused to have her seen anywhere near his deathbed.
What lay behind such personal bitterness? Was it a lack of love, lack of a homeland or maybe deteriorating health? On one occasion Ferenc Liszt recalls a conversation about Chopin which took place at a French salon music evening, when an ardent admirer of his music approached Chopin and asked him: „What is the secret to your music, and how can one describe this particular quality which embodies such a broad range of musical expression?” Chopin, moved by the question and barely able to hold back his tears responded, that in spite of joyous moments in his life, there is always a pervading sense of sadness which follows him everywhere. It is a feeling which is best encapsulated in the Polish word Ózal, which describes his music as if it consisted of „burning silver tones”.
Polish friends persuaded Chopin to write a national opera or symphonic work, but he remained stubbornly faithful to the piano, and herein lies his personal success as a Polish national and that country’s most loved musician. It enabled Chopin to create a very intimate musical language which was the envy of masters such as Liszt.
Chopin’s name looms large over the entire period of 19th century musical life. Only in Chopin’s music is the co-existence of musical ideas and pianistic technique so perfectly in tandem. Indeed it was Chopin who raised the profile of the pianoforte to such a degree that it replaced the organ as the primary keyboard instrument of its day, owing to the piano’s extensive range of colour and overall flexibility. Time has shown that very few composers have managed to create music on a scale comparable with Chopin. Even the many orchestral arrangements which various composers have made of his works pale into insignificance beside his piano music.
So far-reaching is Chopin’s thinking, even the characteristically airy quality that he frequently employed soon becomes one of the leading elements which propelled musical advancement towards Impressionism (eg Berceuse Op 57). It could be said that this same airy quality gives music a sense of intangibility, creating lines of division between outstanding piano music and otherwise mediocre com-positional efforts. Chopin’s ouvre is widely considered to be the perfect embodiment of piano music.
A new approach to piano technique rose out of the nature of Chopin’s compositional challenges, including melodic ornamentation, enlarged chords and arpeggiated sections, all of which came to be seen as having more poetical importance rather than merely serving a technical purpose. Chopin’s greatest victory was overcoming the struggle − and subsequently achieving − a sense of unity between musical intentions and technical demands. There appears to be a link between the composer’s technical application together with unity of form particularly in his preludes and etudes.
Chopin preferred the intimacy of salon concerts as a venue for performing his music and he is known to have said that the beauty of high artistic achievement is often lost in the large concert hall. Chopin preferred performing on Pleyel pianos which produced a warmer and more intimate melodic sound quality. He disliked the sharpness of forte sounds. Instead he inclined towards quieter sounding instruments which, in his opinion, lent themselves to a wider dynamic range. Chopin most often played in a dynamic range between piano and mezzo-forte, rarely reaching the forte level. His playing style is characterised by a wide range of colour and expression of sound and a gentle touch of the keys (touché). This last technique often creates serious problems for pianists attempting to play Chopin’s music on contemporary Steinway pianos.
Chopin was a Polish patriot. Though his father was French, nevertheless this genetic background produced an intrinsically Polish character of music, reflected in national hardship and political scourges that united many centuries of troubled times between countries lying both East and West of Poland. There is an intrinsic parallel here concerning national fate which also applies equally to other countries including Estonia.
Chopin’s music reflects these heroic moments through dramatic outbursts, tragic conflict and revolutionary heroism. It is music that encompasses the passions of its time. Indeed, apart from Chopin, it is difficult to find another composer whose music reflects so clearly the notions of revolutionary freedom. At this point it is worth noting that in spite of attempts to label Chopin a French composer, his music is and remains unmistakably Polish. This can be seen in every one of his opuses. Whilst residing in Paris, Chopin experienced a deep sense of homesickness, evident, for example in his Funeral March from Sonata no 2. One critic stated that it is impossible for anyone other than a Pole to write such music. It is therefore nothing short of ironic that Chopin’s music has sounded at the funerals of many great Soviet leaders when in fact the USSR not only occupied but actively attempted to destroy Polish culture.
Towards the end of his life Chopin refrained from performing or even personally appearing in public. He once described his inner condition dating from around that time: “My soul is burdened though I am trying to control my state of heart”. This state of heart and mind comes through in his late works, with their fractured melodies and restless harmonic sequences. Especially sorrowful is Chopin’s final work − Mazurka in F minor Op 68 No 4.
The present recording is largely the product and inspiration stemming from the sentiment expressed in these late works of Chopin. His last wish and desire was to be buried in his native Poland.“I know”, said Chopin,“that Russian officials will not allow my burial to take place in Warsaw, but at least let my heart be buried there”. Nevertheless this request was met by authorities, and in time Chopin’s heart was buried in the Church of the Holy Cross, Warsaw. Furthermore in the cemetery of Paris’ Per Lachaise a sculpture in the mournful image of Euterpe by Auguste Clésinger adorns the composer’s final resting place.

Vardo Rumessen

Pianist and musicologist Vardo Rumessen is widely known as an authority of Estonian music, having written many books on the subject. He has also published a wide range of scores and performed on a significant number of records and CDs featuring the music of Estonian grand masters Eduard Tubin, Rudolf Tobias, Mart Saar and Heino Eller. Besides Estonian music Rumessen has also researched and recorded the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Johannes Brahms and Fryderyk Chopin and many other composers’ works.
Rumessen has a special affinity with the music of Chopin, having per-formed the complete etudes, all four ballades as well as numerous preludes, waltzes, nocturnes and mazurkas. Many of these compositions were featured in a special series of concerts presented by Rumessen to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of Chopin’s birth.
The present recording features piano music intended to commemorate the plane crash near Smolensk in April 2010, where the President and many important Polish government officials lost their lives. The album expresses condolence of the Estonian pianist to the Polish people as can only be experienced through the music of Chopin. The composer’s personal grief and devotion to his homeland helps towards understanding both the heart and soul of Chopin’s music, whilst also assisting the listener of this CD towards a clearer understanding with regard to the tragedy. The pianist believes that when the sounds of Chopin’s music are left sounding in our ears can we say that the ultimate goal in pursuit of the beauty and pain behind this music has been finally attained.

Download: Vardo Rumessen, recording session – Chopin (2010, Tartu University Hall), photo by P Vähi, jpg, 300 dpi, 3.7 MB

Press resonance

Worldwide distribution by Note 1 Music (Carl-Benz-Straße 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany, phone +49 6221 720351, fax +49 6221 720381, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.note-1.de) / Naxos Global Logistics
Distribution in Estonia by Easy-Living Music, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +372 51 06058

See also other recordings of Vardo Rumessen by ERP: Koidust Kodumaise viisini, Eduard Tubin and His Time, Northern Lights Sonata, Estonian Preludes, The Call of the Stars, The Well-Tempered Clavier I, Sergei Rahmanionov. Piano Works, Silent Moods

HILLAR KAREVA
MASTER OF HARMONY

Non-physical release.

A tragic story of a talented composer − Master of Harmony − an alcoholic who created his best works at the end of his days, already as an invalid. Production by ERP based on the archive recordings of the Estonian Radio. The liner notes’ story by the composer’s daughter, poetess Doris Kareva adds final touches to the CD.

#7, Concerto-triptych Tentazione de Paris for saxophone and piano, Aphrodite, fragm, 2 min 39 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

Performed by Mati Kärmas − violin (#1−2), Hannes Altrov − clarinet and Peep Lassmann − piano (#3−5), Villu Veski − saxophone and Signe Hiis − piano (#6−8), Andrus Järvi − viola and Lilian Semper − piano (#9−10), Virgo Veldi − saxophone and Kai Ratassepp − piano (#11−13)

Engineered by: Mati Brauer, Jaan Sarv, Aili Jõeleht
Recorded: 1981−2002
Licensed: from Estonian Radio
Mastered by Marika Scheer / Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR)
Photos by Hillar Kareva
Designed by Piret Mikk
Translated by Tiina Jokinen
Produced by Peeter Vähi
Published by Estonian Record Productions (#1−10), Edition 49 (#11−13)
Special thanks: Estonian Cultural Endowment

Total time 69:55
AAD / DDD
Stereo

LESSON OF HARMONY

At the age of four or five I was desperate to have colours and paper so that I could draw as much as I desired. My father gave me a piece of ordinary cardboard, a glass of water and a fine brush saying that this was all I actually needed. To illustrate his words he dipped the brush in the water and painted a landscape the beginning of which was already fading away while he was still giving the final strokes in another corner. Until today for me this magical neverending landscape has remained the symbol of human life. With our limited means we have endless possibilities.
At the Estonian Academy of Music my father’s official title was Master of Harmony. I was always amused by that, as him being a choleric type of person, chain smoker and alcoholic, the whole of his life was in contradiction to the pendulum’s centre of balance which he, a passionate admirer of Antique Greek culture, that much adored and defended. Only later I came to understand: maybe the striving for balance, the new establishment of it at every moment − that is harmony. Is it so that stability could be achieved only through striving and searching like on a surfboard?
Could it be that what we call beauty is actually gracefulness? Gracefulness − so different in a tiger and a gazelle − is born from percieving oneself and one’s surrounding in correlation, from correct estimation of one’s resources and the right usage of them. Gracefulness can only be enhanced and increased through exactness unlike strength that can grow endlessly. Gracefulness is the intellectual strength, the art of getting by with little, the ability to see the necessary and the courage to give up the surplus. Gracefulness is born from trust and even there are a number of possibilities. A child trusts instinctively since it has never experienced disappointment. Contrary to that a pilot trusts experience and control over matters. A lover believes, hopes and loves in spite of everything, risking all he has. Love blinds fear like fear blinds love − these two exclude each other. The very trust of a lover − the openness with full vulnerability − is the highest expression of humanity, precisely there is the ultimate gracefulness − perception of one’s place in the world, one’s fragility and haphazard − and the readyness to act despite all that, maximum dedication and creativity.
One of my books, a collection of selected works, bears the title Days of Grace. That is a legal term standing for the period between the conviction and execution of the sentence. The whole lifetime could be seen as days of grace – being aware of our mortality but not of the moment of death. However, born of love, we were born for love. The time with its duration unknown but the depth of which could be sensed, gives us the chance to love, to do good − at least to strive for what we consider the greatest value at the moment.
When at the end of his days my father lost both his legs and the mobility of his right arm, he rebuilt his piano with his only hand. By night, tormented by phantom pains to insomnia, he created his possibly best works of music.
At daytime he used to photograph the view from the balcony of his apartment block. The smallest change − a pram taken to the balcony of the house across the street, a bird flying by, a rainshower − was worth giving eternity on the photo. Only years later I understood how these countless, seemingly unchanging photos rhymed with the piece of cardboard from my childhood. When the space ends, the time expands.
Sitting at the deathbed of my father, I held his hand feeling how his soul left the body. His last words with eyes halfclosed were: up... up... And then, only half guessing, I realized: when the time ends, the space expands.

Doris Kareva

LEMBITU
OPERA BY VILLEM KAPP

Estonian National Opera
Georg Ots, Tiit Kuusik ...

Opera by Villem Kapp in 4 acts and 5 scenes. Double CD, archive recording from 1960ties. Released on Sep 16th, 2011.

CD I

CD I #3, Scene The Monks Are Here, fragm, 95 sec, mp3, 1492 KB
CD I #7, Scene Greetings to You All, Brave Knights, fragm, 3 min 35 sec, mp3, 3361 KB

CD II

CD II #5, Scene A Wreath, a Garland, fragm, 2 min 19 sec, mp3
CD II #15, Final scene Lembitu Has Fallen, fragm, 1 min 45 sec, mp3

Performed by:
Lembitu, the elder of Sakala County – Tiit Kuusik
Meelis, his son – Georg Ots
Kaupo, the elder of Livonians – Teo Maiste
Mare, his daughter – Aino Külvand
Folkvin, master of the order – Georg Taleš
Alobrand, pater – Ervin Kärvet
Manivald, a young soldier – Heino Otto
Hendrik, a monk – Ants Aasmaa
Niilo, an elder – August Sepp
A guard in Toreida – Artur Linnamägi
Albert, a knight – Heino Raudam
Bernhard, a knight – Harald Kard

Estonian National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Conductor: Kirill Raudsepp

Recorded in 1966 by Asta Kuivjõgi
From the archives of ERR and Melodija
Restored and produced by Jüri Kruus, mastered by Marika Scheer
Photos from the archives of Estonian National Opera
Liner notes by Jüri Kruus and Inna Kivi
Booklet compiled by Liina Viru
Designed by Stella Tillo
Co-produced by Peeter Vähi

Total time 60:58 + 50:17
Score published by Eres Edition
Licensed from ERR and Jüri Kruus
2011
ERP 5011

The libretto of Villem Kapp’s (1913–1964) opera Lembitu is based on Juhan Sütiste’s play Ristikoerad (Lembitu), bringing the heroic moments of the ancient Estonian fight for independence against the supremacy of German crusaders in the 13^th century to contemporary opera stage. The libretto was finished in 1959 in cooperation with Astrid Pirn, the actress of Pärnu Drama Theatre. The piano score was ready in 1961, soon followed by the 600-page full score.
The première of Lembitu, staged by Udo Väljaots, took place at the Estonian National Opera on August 23^rd, 1961. The high artistic level of our top soloists was a great contribution to its success. Lembitu was sung by Tiit Kuusik, Meelis by Georg Ots, Mare by Aino Külvand and Kaupo by Ott Raukas or Teo Maiste. Other characters, carved by the quill of the composer’s fantasy, add captivating scenes to the opera in contrasting colours, turning the audio-picture of Udo Väljaots’ staging into an interesting and exciting event. The opera was conducted by Kirill Raudsepp. The open-air performances of Lembitu at the Lehola fortress in Suure-Jaani on July 8^th, 1962 and on the Chapel Hill of Pirita on July 2^nd, 1966, became the highlights of Estonian music life of the time and are remembered even today.

Synopsis

Prologue

People have gathered around a pyre to mourn their heroes killed in war. The victims include Lembvald, son of Lembitu.

Scene 1

Priest Alobrand and monk Hendrik, sent as envoys by the Livonian chief Kaupo, arrive at Lehola stronghold – the men are also collaborators of the order master Folkvin and spies. The monks tell Lembitu that his other son called Meelis, also thought to be dead, is actually alive and imprisoned by Kaupo. On behalf of Kaupo, they want to trade Lembitu’s son for Kaupo’s daughter Mare who, in turn, is held in prison by Lembitu.
Lembitu is all for the exchange and decides to travel all the way to Toreida on this occasion.
Mare is happy to return home, yet sad to say farewell: she is reluctant to leave Lehola where Lembitu treated her like his own daughter.

Scene 2

Knights are revelling at Toreida castle. Priest Alobrand returns from Sakala and tells the order master about the outcome of his trip, and mentions that Lembitu had made a military pact with the Prince of Novgorod. Folkvin is excited about the news.
Several defeats by Estonians have made the order master cautious. The knights need more troops. Kaupo is summoned – he is given a message by the Pope and declared the King of Livonia. Kaupo’s ambitions are fulfilled and he promises to give three thousand men, though he is not sure about their willingness to help because he knows that he has lost people’s trust. The order master and knights are happy to see that “simple-minded” Kaupo has become their obedient servant. A message is delivered that Lembitu himself has arrived in Toreida, and Mare is with him. Bewildered by Lembitu’s courage, the knights want to kill him. The order master, however, is more cunning: “Why should we kill Lembitu? This is not a clever thing to do. Let Kaupo influence the guest.” Kaupo, however, fails to talk Lembitu into betraying his people. Lembitu gets his son back. Over the past six years, Meelis has been trained as a monk who has estranged even from his own father. When Meelis is about to leave Toreida, Alobrand follows the command by the order master and gives Meelis a dagger for killing Lembitu. The priest persuades Meelis that it would please the church if he killed his pagan father, and takes an oath from him.

Scene 3

The stronghold is being reinforced in Lehola. Manivald who accompanied Lembitu on his trip to Toreida is telling the builders amusing stories about life abroad. Meelis, clad in his monk’s attire, is tormented by his promise, given to the church, to kill his father. Gripped by religious frenzy, he is about to attack Lembitu but at the last moment realises the atrocity of his intentions. He asks for his father’s forgiveness and declares himself Lembitu’s son again. The people and their leader are happy for Meelis. Everybody’s high spirits are cut short by Mare’s arrival. She has escaped from Toreida and delivers a message that large troops of the order have crossed Sakala’s border. Men are preparing for the battle.

Scene 4

An autumn night at Lembitu’s war camp. Everybody is in suspense. Lembitu is deeply concerned about the next day. He recalls an old battle song… Meelis and Mare who have fallen in love with each other meet again. The young lovers are very happy, but...The dawn is already breaking, there is the sound of a war horn, and Meelis joins the troops heading to the battle.

Scene 5

Kaupo is deadly wounded. Before dying he realises that it was a grave mistake to trust his knights. Alobrand who is sneaking past robs the dying Kaupo of his money. Meelis catches him red-handed and kills him. Mustering his last strength, the seriously wounded Lembitu returns from the battlefield, supported and helped by his companions. The dying leader persuades his people to fight for their freedom.

Villem Kapp

Almost for a century and a half, the Kapp dynasty has played an important role in the history of Estonian culture and music. The roots of the Kapp family are known to date back to the 18^th century. The youngest of the family was Villem Kapp.
He was born on September 7^th, 1913 as the oldest son of the family of Hans Kapp, a local sacristan and organist, a teacher and the head of the parish school in Suure-Jaani, a prominent Estonian cultural centre at that time, and was christened as William, a name which was later turned into Estonian-like Villem. Following a family tradition, Villem got the basic musical knowledge from his father. Soon after, Villem, who showed an early musical talent, was sent to the classes of the local music teacher E. Göbel. The path of education of the future composer lead him from Suure-Jaani Elementary School to the Viljandi County Gymnasium for Boys (Viljandi Maakonna Poeglaste Gümnaasium) (he continued to take piano lessons with M. Siimonson, an alumnus of the Conservatory of Leipzig and a piano teacher in Viljandi) and thereafter to the Tallinn Conservatory, which Villem Kapp graduated from in the class of August Topman in 1938 receiving a degree as an organist and then again in 1944 as a composer under the tutoring of Artur Kapp and, later on, Heino Eller.
After graduating from the Conservatory, Villem Kapp became a teacher at the Tallinn Music School. From 1945 until his death in 1964, he worked as a teacher at the Tallinn Conservatory where he held the position of the Head of Composition Department in 1957–1964. All through his life, he maintained his ties with Suure-Jaani. Whenever he had some time to spare, he visited Suure-Jaani, where he completed or started most of his musical pieces. Villem Kapp died on March 24^th, 1964 of lung disease at the age of 51, when his creative career was in its prime. He was buried at Suure-Jaani cemetery, where many famous Estonian cultural figures rest, including artist Johann Köler, composers Artur Kapp and Mart Saar.
A humble man, inquisitive and frequently questioning his creative powers, Villem Kapp was somewhat left in the shade by his attractive uncle Artur Kapp (1878–1952) and his socially active cousin Eugen Kapp (1908–1996) during his life. The most valuable of his works are his sophisticated songs for choir and solo voice, which suited best for the deeply emotional and romantic nature of the composer. Besides, Villem Kapp considered most important the mood of the text and matching the rhythm of words to the music – a topic he knowingly and continuously explored. The best examples of his work that measure up to the world’s best are a song for solo voice written for the superb text by Juhan Sütiste Kui lõpeb suvepäeva viimne vine (When the Summer Day Ends) (1950) and a poem for male voice choir Põhjarannik (The Northern Coast) (1958) written for the lyrics by Kersti Merilaas as well as a lot of other songs for choir and solo voice.
Villem Kapp’s passion for nature and the way he used nature as his greatest source of inspiration for his works is reflected in his song titles such as Nõmm (The Heath), Pilvele (To The Cloud), Sina kena tammekene (You, Sweet Oak-tree), Kevadlaul (Spring Song), Kuldhommik (A Golden Morning), Rannal (On The Shore), Lumehelbeke (Snowflake) etc.
There is one other aspect that distinguishes Villem Kapp from his famous relatives. When Eugen Kapp and sometimes even Artur Kapp were ready to make compromises in their works due to the ideological pressure of the Soviet rule then Villem Kapp, a determined man with great integrity, tried to avoid such situations. When the pressure became too strong, he preferred to escape to Suure-Jaani.
... a sense of nationality that was born and had grown together with the man and the artist, a synthesis of twists, intonations and rhythm elements in the Estonian folk songs and the cheerful spurts of joy that are pressed into the framework of masculine austerity, subdued lyrics and moderateness reflecting the Nordic nature and people was the musical ground based on which Villem Kapp shaped his pieces. /.../ His works of music have more heart than intellectuality in them, they create a strong impression and the intensity of feelings that reach almost dramatic levels of his works is comprehensible and understandable already during the first hearing, their form is classically clear and mostly symmetric, and the rhythmic pattern is much stricter, clearer and more traditional compared to the modern active energy and flexibility. The same characterises the way how Villem Kapp treated harmony and melody – we rarely find here a search for novel expressions and creative experiments. /.../ The music of Villem Kapp entails quite strong motifs of the Nordic later Romanticism that somewhat divert him from the modern rhythm of life and means of expression... – summarises Helga Tõnson her book on Villem Kapp.
Villem Kapp composed in many genres. Other noteworthy pieces of music besides his songs for choir and solo voice are his Symphony No 2 (1955), Wind Quintet (1957) and opera Lembitu (1961). The composer considered the last piece his opus magnum.

Estonian National Opera

The Estonian National Opera, established in the year 1906, is a historic organisation with vital traditions and manifold functions.
The EsNO’s season, lasting 10 months from Sep until Jun, contains a varied repertoire of opera, ballet, operetta, musicals and children’ pieces. Around 250 performances of up to 30 different works are presented annually, including the cream of classical opera and operetta as well as contemporary masterpieces. On the top of that, the best works of Estonian origin are also shown on the stage!
The Estonian National Opera is the home of the symphony orchestra, the opera choir and the ballet. The orchestra was founded in 1907 and it now employs almost a 100 musicians. In addition to its theatre assignments, the orchestra regularly performs symphonic works and records world classics as well as the best of Estonian music. The 54-strong opera choir, besides participating in stage productions, consistently gives concerts on its own as well. The EsNO employs as many as 25-30 soloists. As a compliment to that, it welcomes guest singers on a regular basis. The EsNO ballet, existing within the framework of the opera company and employing approximately 60 dancers, is the country’s largest ballet troupe. Young choreographers are constantly enriching its repertoire of standard favourites with contemporary pieces and occasional avant-garde projects. In order to stay open to new ideas and fresh approaches, The EsNO always makes space and time in its working schedule for joint projects of multifarious nature, and for individual guest artists. For the latter to bring their unique experience onto our stage; for the Estonian audience, to partake of a different artistic vision.
Symbolically speaking, the EsNO’s location in the heart of Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a reflection of the company’s artistic position – at the centre of Estonian culture.

press resonance

Other records of Estonian National Opera produced by ERP: Cyrano de Bergerac, Verdi Wagner 200, DVD Wallenberg, DVD Faust, Estonia – 100, Artist Chagall, CD + bonus DVD Voices of the Estonian National Opera / Estonia ooperihääled, DVD Georg Udukübara aaria
See also: Estonian National Opera at Glasperlenspiel Festival

Distribution by the Estonian National Opera (phone +372 6831242) and Easy Living Music

LEGEND

ARSIS

An exciting performing of classical hits by Arsis Youth Handbell Ensembles. The festive bronze sound of the bells gives a new dimension to the well-known pieces.

#4, Albeniz. Legenda, fragm, 127 sec, mp3
#13, Tchaikovsky. October – Autumn Song, fragm, 141 sec, mp3

Performed by Arsis Youth Handbell Ensembles: “olders” (#1−9) and “youngers” (#10−17)
Conducted by Aivar Mäe
Recorded: Apr 10th−11th, 2010 in Swedish St Michael’s Church, Tallinn
Engineered and mastered by Tanel Klesment
Photos by Viljo Pettinen
Designed by Piret Mikk
Texts translated by Tiina Jokinen
Management by Tiina Kodumäe
Recording supervisor – Peeter Vähi
Scores published by Harold Flammer Inc (#1), Meredith Music Press (#4), Jeffers Handbell Suply Inc (#5, 17), AGEHR (#6−9, 12, 16), Agape (#10, 11), Warner Bros Publications Inc (#13), Beckenhorst Press Inc (#14, 15)

DDD, Stereo
n©b
© Arsis & ERP
ERP 3910

The roots of handbells as musical instruments go back to the 17^th century England where the first miniature copies of church bells were cast. First designed as practice instruments for the carillon players, they soon acquired the status of independent musical instruments called handbells. The heyday of the handbells was the 18^th century when most self-respecting and cultured citizens of England practiced handbell music. Those, in the meantime obsolete instruments, are claiming more and more popularity in today’s world.
Handbell music tradition in Estonia had its beginning in 1993 with the foundation of Arsis Handbell Ensemble. The youth groups presented on the current CD have grown out of Arsis Handbell School, all the players being selected alumni. The older staff of the Youth Ensemble has been performing since 2003, and has toured Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and the USA. The younger one, formed in 2006, has by today given a number of concerts in Estonia and Finland. The conductor of the ensembles is the artistic director and the founder of Arsis Handbell School maestro Aivar Mäe.

Aivar Mäe (b 1960) − the artistic director of Handbell Ensemble Arsis. He acquired his musical education at Tallinn Music High School and Estonian Academy of Music where he studied choral conducting with Prof Ants Sööt. In his youth Aivar Mäe was the vocal soloist of the pop-rock group Vitamiin. Later he has been working with several choirs in Estonia as well as abroad − in Sweden and the USA. He has been the leader of international choir festivals, also running seminars for choral music. In 1992, Aivar Mäe studied in the USA for a year and a half improving his knowledge at the music department of Portland University with Prof Bruce Brown. 1999−2009 he has been working as the general manager of Eesti Kontsert, the National Concert Institute of Estonia, 2004−2006 the general manager of Vanemuine Theatre. Since 2009 he holds the position of general manager of Estonian National Opera. Aivar Mäe is a Honorary Member of the Estonian Society for Music Education.

Press resonance

See also other recordings with Arsis: Handbell Symphony, Supreme Silence, In Dies, Planetentöne Vol 2, Om Mani Padme Hung, Traumzeit, The Flutish Kingdom, World Festival Of Sacred Music Europe, Awake, My Heart!, Night Music, Prelude, Terra Mariana

Worldwide distribution by MusiContact / Naxos Global Logistics
Distribution in Germany by Note 1 Musikvertrieb GmbH (Carl-Benz-Straße 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany, phone +49 6221 720351, fax +49 6221 720381, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.note-1.de)
Distribution in Estonia by Arsis ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; +372 6621855)

EDUARD TUBIN
WORKS FOR VIOLIN & PIANO
VOL I

Sigrid Kuulmann & Marko Martin

#1, Capriccio No 1, 2 min 7 sec, mp3
#7, Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes (Old Waltz), fragm, 2 min 56 sec, mp3

Performed by: Sigrid Kuulmann (violin) & Marko Martin (piano)
Recorded by Estonian Broadcasting Corporation 2003–2009
Engineered by Maido Maadik / ERR
Liner notes by Vardo Rumessen
Booklet edited by Inna Kivi, Sigrid Kuulmann and Tiina Jokinen
Design by Regina Kari, Mart Kivisild
Co-produced by Peeter Vähi

Special thanks: Eduard Tubin Society, Association of Estonian Professional Musicians, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR), Pille Lill Music Fund

© Sigrid Kuulmann
n©b
ERP 3009

Although Eduard Tubin (1905–1982) is well known as a fine symphonist, he also wrote a considerable amount of chamber music. Among his chamber works, compositions for the violin occupy a significant place: Tubin himself played the instrument in his youth and the violin remained his favourite instrument throughout his life. In the context of Estonian violin music, Tubin composed many of the most outstanding works, including 2 violin concertos, 2 violin sonatas with piano, Sonata for Solo Violin and Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes, as well as a number of shorter pieces.

Capriccio No 1 for Violin and Piano, ETW 50, composed in 1937 and slightly revised in 1971, is a brilliant and effective piece in which we find the characteristic tarantella rhythm distinctive of Tubin’s earlier  period. Capriccio No 1 was first performed by Evald Turgan and Olav Roots on 4th March 1938 in a concert broadcast on the Estonian Radio. Since the WW II, this technically very demanding piece has been played by many Estonian violinists and has become one of the most frequently performed of Tubin’s works. The later Capriccio No 2 dates from 1945.

Sonata No  2 for Violin and Piano, ETW 56. After writing his 1st Violin Sonata, in 1941 Tubin began work on his second. At that time it never got beyond the stage of sketches. Having emigrated to Stockholm, Tubin started to compose a cello sonata based on the remaining material, but this also remained unfinished. In 1948 he resumed work on his Second Violin Sonata, which he finished on 27th January 1949. The sonata was first performed by Zelia Aumere and Olav Roots at the Stockholm chamber music union’s Fylkingen concert in the Concert Hall’s small hall on 2nd April 1949. Even though in the opinion of many critics this performance was something of a disappointment, it turned out to be one of the most remarkable Estonian violin sonatas, and has been performed by many Estonian violinists, including Hubert Aumere, Carmen Prii, Vladimir Alumäe, Mati Kärmas, Arvo Leibur, Ulrika Kristjan and Urmas Vulp, as well as foreign violinists such as Ivan Romanenko and Håkan Sensoy.
The sonata consists of three movements. The 1st movement opens with the main theme, presented by the violin; this is followed by a new theme on the piano, which takes on an aggressive character. A subsidiary theme (the “Northern Lights” theme) is then heard in the violin’s upper register; this does not dominate, but slowly dies away, only to reappear at the end of the development. In the reprise, where the subsidiary theme is omitted, the main theme appears with a march like rhythm. In the coda, the piano theme from the first part of the movement takes on a new character as it metamorphoses into a flickering, shimmering figure which dies away as the movement reaches its close. The 2nd movement begins with a simple, demure theme played in unison. The archaic second theme, introduced by the violin in fourths, at first appears self-engrossed but subsequently culminates in the lightning-like flashes of the piano interlude. The 2nd movement ends with the quiet and thoughtful second theme against a background of “nightly glowing” piano passages.
In the aggressive 3rd movement, the principal theme with its dance-like character is played against a background of “flashing” rhythms, rather in the manner of some kind of “Dance of the Northern Lights”. The second theme follows the 2nd movement’s second theme almost exactly, although it assumes a slightly calmer, more restrained character. In the development, the main theme is given a rather mysterious character by the piano, after which it is taken over by the violin. In the middle of the development there is a surprising appearance of the accompaniment from the development of the 1st movement, which gives rise to a new, more energetic sense of movement. In the reprise the battle between the two themes picks up even more momentum, conquering everything else, until it culminates in an exalted repetition of the “Dance of the Northern Lights” at the end.
The final movement is characterised predominantly by its non-stop, pulsating rhythmic motion, which does not let up for a moment but moves with dizzying speed to the final chords.
Tubin’s 2nd Violin Sonata turned out to be a composition of the utmost importance for the composer, preparing the way for his most important pieces – the 2nd Piano Sonata (Northern Lights Sonata) and the 6th Symphony. In all these pieces, where we meet the so-called “Northern Lights” patterns, common traits are to be found which become apparent in terms of their structural characteristics and particular means of expression. Tubin’s 2nd Violin Sonata is without doubt the most remarkable of Estonian works in the genre, as well as one of the most technically demanding.

Tubin’s Sonata for Solo Violin, ETW 57,  written in 1962, is one of his most complex, densely textured violin pieces. One of the composer’s most technically demanding violin works, it makes maximum use of the instrument’s wide range of different sounds and timbres. As a result, Tubin is able to turn simple, laconically themed material into a great composition imbued with dramatic tension in which a deceptively improvisatory character is allied to a firm inner logic.
The sonata was premiered at the Swedish chamber music union Samtida Musik concert in Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art on 11th March 1963, where it was performed by Bronislaw Eichenholz. This sonata can without doubt be considered as one of the most remarkable examples of the genre and, in terms of both musical expression and technical craftsmanship, is comparable to Bartók’s Solo Sonata. 

Tubin’s Ballade for Violin and Piano, ETW 52 was composed in 1939 and orchestrated in the same year. The premiere of the version with piano accompaniment took place on 2nd December 1939 at the Vanemuine Concert Hall in Tartu, where it was performed by Evald Turgan and Leo Tauts; the version for violin and orchestra was subsequently premiered by Rudolf Palm under the baton of Olav Roots in an Estonian Radio broadcast on 9th April 1940.
The Ballade is the first piece Tubin composed for violin and orchestra. However, the arrangement with piano accompaniment could be considered the more successful version, highlighting, as it does, the symphonic effect of the development of the piece, in which every successive phrase and section adds more tension until the music reaches its culmination  followed by a solo violin cadenza.
As in most of Tubin’s works, the Ballade draws on one main theme that is accompanied by even crotchets (quarter notes). Such regular, step-like movement was to prove quite a distinctive feature of Tubin’s music, and acquired special expressive force in the funeral march of his second symphony. The symphony’s subtitle, Legendary, points to the influence of historical legends, and this can also be felt in the Ballade for violin which was composed two years later. As in the symphony, a number of exclamatory motifs which grow out of the statements of the main theme serve to add tension to the calm theme in the bass. We also hear motifs derived from the main theme in the piano part, against which the violin plays rapid figurations. In the reprise the main theme appears in an altered form; piano and violin together embrace a greater and greater field of sound until the climax, which is followed by a short violin cadenza. During the closing section we hear the same theme as a distant recollection that fades gently away into the distance.

Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes for Violin and Piano, ETW 53. Eduard Tubin’s works, with their crisp, northerly expression, are profoundly national in character. Though he often makes use of Estonian folk tunes in his music, however, the national character that emerges in many of his works owes less to direct quotation of such melodies than to a more general ethno-psychological form of expression. A new impetus in this direction came in 1938 when Tubin visited Budapest, where he studied the music of Zoltan Kodály and Béla Bartók. Kodály recommended that Tubin should pay more attention to using folk melodies. As a result of his Hungarian experience, in 1938 Tubin wrote a Suite on Estonian Dances for symphony orchestra.
His research into the Estonian Folklore Archives left him profoundly impressed by the unique character of Estonian folk music, and he made use of this in the composition of the ballet Kratt which is based on the mythology of folklore. His Sinfonietta on Estonian Motifs, composed in 1940, was also based, as the name suggests, on Estonian motifs. Folk tunes played an important part in Tubin’s musical development and contributed towards forming his musical character. However, the use of folk music was not an end in itself for Tubin, but a necessary experience. His work with folk music was a creative laboratory for him as he strove to forge a national style, which he wrote about in the following terms: “By nationalist music, I understand musical works that express the temperament of the nation, its characteristic rhythms, old rituals and sagas, as well as its patriotism, its self-awareness; these are expressed by a composer who himself lives through the same elements – experiences, hears and understands them – but nevertheless remains original, so that another composer of the same nationality can express the same elements with an utterly different tone”.
In the summer of 1943, in the brief space of three weeks, Tubin composed his Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes for violin and piano. Here Tubin used the folk tunes that he had copied from the Estonian Folklore Archives when composing the ballet Kratt. A distinctive feature of the Suite is the manner in which the composer combines different folk tunes contrapuntally. In the 1st movement, Old Waltz, for example, he uses two different tunes, combining them in counterpoint; and in the 2nd movement, Village Shepherd’s Horn Song, as many as three different tunes are used and, following a prolonged climax over a pedal point, these are again contrapuntally combined to achieve a distinctive kind of dynamic development. In the 3rd movement, Zither Player, the composer imitates the sound of the Estonian zither in the piano part. Here two different folk tunes are used alternately. The fourth movement, Goat-horn Song, is the most extensive, and is based on three different tunes, the last of which is probably derived from folk melody by the composer himself. The movement, with its wonderful symphonic development, closes with a threefold statement of material from the introduction of the first movement, thus framing the whole cycle.
Tubin’s Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes is one of the most successful of all pieces based on folk tunes, fascinating the listener with its stimulating musical figures and rich fantasy. The premiere of the Suite took place on 2nd October 1943 at the Vanemuine concert hall in Tartu, where it was performed by Evald Turgan and Jüri Mandre. Subsequently it found its way into the repertoire of many Estonian violinists. The manuscript of the work remained in Estonia when the composer escaped the country. When the publisher Körling proposed publishing the piece in 1952, all Tubin’s connections with Estonia had been lost. He rewrote the first three movements from memory, and these were published in Sweden in 1952. After re-establishing his connection with Estonia, Tubin procured a copy of the fourth movement, and in 1974 he rearranged the whole work for violin and orchestra. In this arrangement the Suite was first performed on 22nd September 1975 on Swedish Radio, with the violinist Alfred Pisuke and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kjell Ingebretsen.

Download: Duo Sigrid Kuulmann & Marko Martin, 2012, at Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, photo by Kaupo Kikkas, colour, RGB, 300 dpi, jpg, 6.2 MB

Sigrid Kuulmann started her violin studies at the age of seven. She studied at the Estonian Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and at Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. Her teachers include Tiiu Peäske, Yfrah Neaman and Rosa Fain, a former pupil of David Oistrakh. She has taken part in masterclasses with Igor Bezrodny, Michaela Martin and Dmitry Sitkovetsky.
Sigrid Kuulmann is a laureate of Heino Eller International Violin Competition in Tallinn and is gaining further accolades for her performances of Estonian music, especially in Eduard Tubin’s works.
She Estonia-premiered Partita by Lutoslawski, Sequenza VIII by Berio, Violin Concerto No 2 by Virkhaus. She has performed as a soloist with conductors Neeme Järvi, Andres Mustonen, Andrei Chistyakov, Gregory Rose, Nicholas Smith etc, and given recitals in England, Germany, Scandinavia and Estonia. Sigrid Kuulmann has been broadcasted and recorded by Estonian Radio and TV.

Marko Martin is clearly a pianist to watch. Laureate of the 2000 Esther Honens International Piano Competition and prize winner at the 1998 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Marko is gaining a reputation for his inspired balance between energy and lyricism, especially in the works of Brahms, Schubert and Liszt. He is equally admired for his interpretation of music of the 20th century.
Martin studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Prof Peep Lassmann and went on to work with Prof Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has taken part in numerous masterclasses, including Leon Fleisher, Dmitri Bashkirov, Murray Perahia and Paul Badura-Skoda.
Marko Martin has performed with Philharmonia Orchestra London, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. He has given recitals at Barbican Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Musikhalle in Hamburg, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. His recordings include Schubert and Liszt for Abbas Records (1998) and Liszt for Arktos (2002).

See also press resonance
See also other recordings of Sigrid Kuulmann and Marko Martin produced by ERP: Eduard Tubin. Works for Violin and Piano Vol II, Works for Solo Violin
See also other recordings of Tubin produced by ERP: Eduard Tubin and His Time, Kratt, 100 Years Of Estonian Symphony, Estonian Preludes, Northern Lights Sonata, Tubin, Musica Triste
See also other violin recordings by ERP: Vivaldi per Pisendel, Mari Tampere-Bezrodny, Ad patrem meum, World Premiere Recordings,  Vivaldi opera quinta, Vivaldi senza basso

Worldwide distribution by Note 1 Music (Carl-Benz-Straße 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany, phone +49 6221 720351, fax +49 6221 720381, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.note-1.de) / Naxos Global Logistics
Distribution in Estonia by Easy-Living Music, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +372 51 06058

CANTUS ANGELICUS

Heldur Harry Põlda, boy-soprano
Tallinn Sinfonietta
Conductor Risto Joost

Põlda’s voice has that pure quality which British listeners will know from Howard Blake’s ‘Walking in the Air’, either from the sadly neglected but original Peter Auty, or the starry but subsequent Aled Jones. Unlike the straight English sound of the aforementioned, Põlda is not averse to using some restrained vibrato, though this seems to heighten the perceived vulnerability in his young voice, rather than propel him into mini-tenor territory. What we have here is a very pleasant selection of highly popular classical ‘hits’, given lush but not overly drippy accompaniment from a decent sounding orchestra. The recording reflects the airy acoustic of the church nicely... (MusicWeb International, 2013)

#1, Gluck. Amor’s aria Gli squardi trattieni, fragm, 2 min 3 sec, mp3
#3, Bach-Gounod. Ave Maria, fragm, 1 min 43 sec, mp3
#13, Dalla. Caruso, fragm, 2 min 37 sec

In Latin, Italian, German, and Estonian
Arranged by Valdo Preema (except #9)

Recorded in St Jacob’s Church (Viimsi, Estonia) October 14th – 16th, 2011
Sound engineer Tanel Klesment
Recording producer Peeter Vähi
Liner notes by Inna Kivi
English translation by Tiina Jokinen
Photos by Mati Mõttus, Ahto Sooaru, Kaupo Kikkas
Design by Mart Kivisild

Special thanks: Zoja Hertz, Halliki Põlda

© 2011 Estonian Record Productions
ERP 5312
n©b

Heldur Harry Põlda (b 1996, in Kuressaare) is a young musician studying violin and conducting at the Tallinn Music High School. His popularity, however, derives mainly from his angelically beautiful soprano which consequently has given name to the current CD Cantus Angelicus. His teachers are Zoja Hertz (singing), Prof Mari Tampere-Bezrodny (violin) and Hirvo Surva (conducting).
Heldur Harry sings in the boys’ choir of the Estonian National Opera and has regularly performed as soloist in various big musical projects. Having had his debut on the opera stage at the age of 8, he has by today gathered an awe-inspiring list of opera and musical roles – Miles (Britten’s The Turn of the Screw), Amor (Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice), Nuki (children’s musical Pipi! Nuki! Puhh!), Erik (Maury Yeston’s musical Phantom) and Arno (Anti Marguste’s mono-opera Monologues) – as well as of oratorial works like Lera Auerbach’s Russian Requiem, Roxanna Panufnik’s Westminster Mass, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and Galina Ustvolskaya’s Symphony No 1. In 2008, he was awarded the Annual Prize of the Estonian Culture Endowment for his role in The Turn of the Screw, being the youngest musician ever to receive such award. He has also been awarded the Co-operation Prize by the Estonian Choral Society (2010).
Heldur Harry Põlda has performed with a number of choirs and orchestras in various countries like the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Sweden et al. as well as collaborated with many renowned musicians. The audience of the 25th All-Estonian Song Festival remembers him as soloist with united choirs. In July 2011, Heldur Harry performed Arvo Pärt’s work Vater unser, accompanied on the piano by the composer himself, in Vatican at the festivities Homage of Artists celebrating the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedictus XVI as priest.
In autumn 2010, ERP released CD Terra Mariana featuring Heldur Harry and handbell ensemble Arsis, and in 2011, CD single Vater unser.

Download: Heldur Harry Põlda, photo by Mati Mõttus, colour, jpg, 5.4 MB

Tallinn Sinfonietta (in 2012 renamed Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta) was founded in 2008 with an aim to perform mainly music from the 18th and 21st centuries. The founder and artistic director of the orchestra uniting the best young musicians of Estonia is Risto Joost. Though a special place in the repertoire is taken by Mozart with the ambition to perform all his symphonies in the course of time, the orchestra performs music from Bach to Tüür and Corelli to Piazzolla. The orchestra has close co-operation with Estonian composers encouraging them to write new works.
Tallinn Sinfonietta has attracted attention with extraordinary concert programs which serve to prove that classical music is still very much alive in our contemporary world and can offer unforgettable experience to the listener. Within a short time the orchestra has made quite a name for itself also in Europe with performances in Switzerland and Austria (2011), at Festival Ars Musica in Belgium (2011), in Amsterdam Concertgebouw (May 2011) and at Mittelfest, Ravello and Emilia Romagna Festivals in Italy (July 2011) as well as a concert tour to Slovenia.
Participants in the current recording: Elar Kuiv (principal violinist), Sigrid Kuulmann (1st vl), Mari Targo (1st vl), Eva-Liisa Heinmaa (2nd vl), Kristjan Hallik (2nd vl), Kristjan Nõlvak (2nd vl), Helena Altmanis (vla), Helen Kedik (vla), Marius Järvi (cello), Villu Vihermäe (cello), Janel Altroff (dbl bass), Eneli Hiiemaa (fl), Kristi Keel (ob), Imbi Tarum (harpsichord).

Risto Joost (b 1980) has graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music, received further training at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and completed postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm majoring in orchestral conducting with Prof Jorma Panula.
In 1999, he founded chamber choir Voces Musicales and in 2002, also chamber orchestra Ensemble Voces Musicales. In 2008, he was the initiator of Tallinn Sinfonietta and is the principal conductor of this orchestra.
He has conducted many well-known orchestras both in Estonia and abroad. In June 2007, Risto Joost made his debut in the Estonian National Opera conducting Erkki-Sven Tüür’s opera Wallenberg and since 2009, holds the permanent position of conductor. He has conducted several opera and ballet performances in the theatre.
In 2009, the CD Pilgrim’s Song with Voces Musicales and Tallinn Sinfonietta, featuring music by Arvo Pärt conducted by Risto Joost was elected the CD of the Year. The aforementioned recording gathered critical acclaim in Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and other music journals.
Risto Joost has conducted more than 50 première performances ranging from chamber music to extensive symphonic works with different orchestras.
From the season of 2011/2012 he holds the post of the principal conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir.

Press resonance

Distribution in Estonia by Easy-Living Music

See also other recordings with Heldur Harry Põlda: Vater unser, Terra Mariana, The Best of Arsis Bells
Other recordings with Tallinn Sinfonietta (Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta): Pilgrim’s Song, In the Finnish Mode, Ad patrem meum
Other recordings with Risto Joost: Maria Magdalena, A Chant of Bamboo, Pilgrim’s Song, De spe, Verdi Wagner 200

HEINO ELLER

KOIDUST KODUMAISE VIISINI

Photo album and CD Koidust Kodumaise viisini dedicated to Eller − 120. One of the first Estonian symphonists... “Bright composer’s talent, excellent musician, fresh ideas, interesting figures of rhythm. More independence in form could be recommended.” These are the words Alexander Glazunov told Heino Eller, newly graduated composer from St Petersburg Conservatory in 1920.

* live recordings

#1, Dawn, fragm, 1 min 45 sec, mp3
#7, Bells, fragm, 3 min 1 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

Performed by Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peeter Lilje (#1 & 9), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vitaly Katayev (#2), Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste (#3), Heljo Sepp (#4 & 5), Urmas Vulp & Vardo Rumessen (#6), Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa (#7), Lithuanian String Quartet (#8), Estonian Radio Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Mägi (#10 & 11)

From the archives of Estonian Radio
Recorded in 1980ties and 1990ties
Recorded by Enn Tomson, Aili Jõeleht, Maris Laanemets, Priit Kuulberg, Igor Garšnek, Jaan Sarv, Maido Maadik
Edited and mastered by Marika Scheer
Design by Rein Seppius
Producer − Peeter Vähi
In co-operation with Estonian Theatre and Music Museum
Manufactured at Sony DADC, Austria
Total time 73:14
Stereo, AAD / DDD
2007
© ERP 1607
n©b

Heino Eller (1887−1970) is considered to be the founder of Estonian national school of composition and a symbol of national classics. Summarizing the result of his long life in plain numbers it looks quite awe inspiring: approximately 300 musical compositions and about 50 composers from among his students.
Eller was born in Tartu, one of the oldest university towns in Europe and the cultural centre of Livonia. Here he received his first musical education and practical knowledge of violin playing. His youth from the age of 20 to 33 was spent in St Petersburg. He studied violin, thereafter suffering from bad arm took up law, was mobilized as musician to Tsar’s army during WW One, continued his studies even through difficult times of political turmoil and graduated as a composer from St Petersburg Conservatory 1920. Eller met his future wife pianist Anna Kremer with whom he stayed together until the tragic death of Anna Kremer in a German concentration camp in 1942.
Eller had acquired profound experience in music during his St Petersburg period. He had listened to the conducting of Nikischi and Sibelius, the performances by Casals and Ysaÿe, the music by Wagner, Richard Strauss and Sibelius. He had been very fond of the works by Chopin, Grieg, Sibelius and Skryabin. This was the background that Eller brought back to Estonia, dedicating the last 50 years of his life to educating young composers first in Tartu Music High School and from 1940 until his death in Tallinn Conservatory. “Through him, as a personality of a different generation, we came into contact with the pre-revolutionary aristocrasy and its cultural heritage. Soviet ideology was incapable of dimming his insight into human and cultural values. Thanks to his training in St Petersburg, with its centuries-old music tradition, he was able to establish totally new standards in small Estonia, thereby laying the cornerstone of professionalism in music”, gratefully writes Eller’s student Arvo Pärt in the booklet of CD Neenia. Besides Arvo Pärt also Eller’s other students Eduard Tubin, Villem Kapp, Jaan Rääts, Lepo Sumera possess strong individuality in their creation.
Eller’s mostly instrumental output comprises 3 symphonies, several symphonic short pieces, a violin concerto, 5 string quartets, 4 piano sonatas, 2 violin sonatas, about 180 smaller pieces for piano. According to many musicologists Eller with his cultivated musical language and individual style is classed among the Northern top composers. In Estonian culture, though, Eller has even more multilayered meaning − his Homeland Melody and Dawn have become a symbol expressing the undescribable feeling of Estonian identity.

Other recordings of Heino Eller produced by ERP: Somnium Boreale, Heino Eller, Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa, 100 Years of Estonian Symphony

IN DIES

ARSIS
Ensemble of English Handbells

Arsis’ first record on ERP. Sold out!

#6, I Albeniz. Legend, fragm, 1 min 49 sec, mp3. 320 Kbps

Arranged by F Gramann (2), W H Griffin (3-5), J Meredith (6), K McChesney (12)

Performed by Arsis Handbell Ensemble (Tiina Kodumäe, Asse Sild, Vahur Soonberg, Eneken Moorlat, Marge Saarela, Vello Rand, Tiina Trass, Margus Bubert, Lemme-Liis Elp, Clelia Piirsoo, Mart Schifrin, Katrin Männi, Inna Lai), Toomas Vavilov (clarinet), conductor Aivar Mäe

Recorded in Tallinn Merchant Guild, in March 2000
Engineered and mastered by Priit Kuulberg
Liner notes by Igor Garšnek
Design by Mart Kivisild
Photos by Harri Rospu and Peeter Vähi
Produced by Peeter Vähi

Published by Beckenhorst Press (2, 3), Harold Flammer (4, 9, 10), AGERH (5, 8, 11), Meredith Music Press (6), Jeffers Handbell Supply (12)

Manufactured on Sony DADC, Austria
© 2000 Arsis & P Vähi
Total time 60:47
DDD, Stereo
ERP 100

Bells and chimes are probably the oldest instruments that many Asian and European nations knew already in ancient ages. The music of handbells is not the invention of last centuries, either. The roots of these musical instruments date back to 13th-14th cent when it was not rare that differently tuned church bells called people to the service playing beautiful melodies. Sometimes there was used carillon – bell-ringing mechanism in which a manual keyboard (and often pedals) is connected by wires to the beaters of up to 70 static bells. The bells are usually hung in church tower. Carillons are found throughout Europe and the USA, mechanized carillons were the forerunners of musical clocks and boxes, also forerunners of handbells and handchimes.

Arsis Handbell Ensemble was grown up from Arsis Chamber Choir – when the conductor of chamber choir, Aivar Mäe heard handbell music in the USA for the first time, it became his fixed idea to bring this wonderful music also to Estonia, thus founding his own ensemble. It was the year 1991. It took two years explanatory work and preparations in both sides of the world and the idea became reality. In 1993 the representatives of the American Guild of Handbell Ringers visited Estonia, and brought the first three octaves of bells as a present to Aivar Mäe and his choir. By now Arsis Handbell Ensemble has one of the most perfect sets in the world that includes bells of seven octaves. All the handbells in the set have been made in the USA, Malmark Incorporation bell factory with whome Arsis has been co-operating already since 1993. The ensemble, having eight members, has toured in different places of the world. One of the most exotic places was the Republic of South Africa where Arsis participated in Eisteddfod festival and was awarded the Grand Prix. Already for four times Arsis has visited the USA where the handbell music is most widely spread.
The ensemble is playing mostly arrangements of classical music but also a lot of original music. They have given out 5 CDs that include original works by Peeter Vähi (Handbell Symphony, Supreme Silence, Planet Cantata) and arrangements of Estonian folk songs by Tõnu Kõrvits (Awake, My Heart!).

Aivar Mäe (b 1960) − the artistic director of Arsis Handbell Ensemble. He acquired his musical education at Tallinn Music High School and Estonian Academy of Music where he studied choral conducting with Prof Ants Sööt. Aivar Mäe has been working with several choirs in Estonia as well as abroad − in Sweden and the USA. He has been the leader of international choir festivals, also running seminars for choral music. In 1992, Aivar Mäe studied in the USA for a year and a half improving his knowledge at the music department of Portland University with Prof Bruce Brown. Since 1999, he has been working as the general manager of Eesti Kontsert, the National Concert Institute of Estonia, and 2004−2006 also as the general manager of Theatre Vanemuine. Since 2009 he holds the position of general manager of Estonian National Opera. Aivar Mäe is a Honorary Member of the Estonian Society for Music Education.

Toomas Vavilov (b 1969) graduated from Estonian Academy of Music, where he studied the clarinet. He also took post-graduate course with Karl Leister (the well-known clarinetist of Karajan-time Berlin Philharmonics) in Germany. Toomas Vavilov is the most appreciated and most well-known clarinetist of Estonia, he has performed in Germany, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Poland, Australia, etc. Toomas Vavilov won the annual prize of State Concert Institute Eesti Kontsert, in 2001 the annual prize of Estonian Cultural Endowment. Also, he is a member of NYYD Ensemble. During last eight years Toomas Vavilov also has been active in conducting, in 1996−1998 he studied at the Estonian Academy of Music in the class of Jüri Alperten and Prof Roman Matsov. Since 2004, Toomas Vavilov works as a assistant conductor of Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and 2006−2007 as the chief conductor of the Theatre Vanemuine.

Other recordings with Arsis Handbell Ensemble: Om Mani Padme Hung, Traumzeit, Supreme Silence, Handbell Symphony, The Flutish Kingdom, Awake, My Heart!, World Festival Of Sacred Music Europe, Planetentöne Vol 2, Night Music, Music Box, Legend, Terra Mariana, The Best of Arsis Bells, Prelude, Quarter of a Century with Friends

See also other recordings of René Eespere produced by ERP: Februa, Eesti portreed, De spe, Somnium boreale, Respectus, Locus amoenus

HEINO ELLER

Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa, piano

One of the first Estonian symphonists, educated in St Petersburg Conservatory, Heino Eller was also known for his love of piano music. His skills of using the Estonian Folk tunes were outstanding. The music on the current CD is strongly influenced by the chimes of his neighbouring church bells.
Produced by ERP for Antes Clssics.

Winner of Heino Eller Music Award.

Bells, fragm, 3 min 1 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

Recorded at Estonia Concert Hall in 2000 / 2001
Recorded by Aili Jõeleht / Estonian Radio
Edited and mastered by Marika Scheer / Estonian Radio
Booklet: 16 pages in German, English, French, Italian, and Estonian languages
Liner notes by Reet Remmel
English translations by Tiina Jokinen
Recording producer − Peeter Vähi
Piano Steinway & Sons D-274 tuned by Ants Saluraid
Special thanks to Tiia Teder, Kersti Inno
Published by Ilukirjandus ja Kunst, Tallinn (1−13), Muzyka, Leningrad (14−18)
Total time 64:44
Stereo, DDD

Produced by ERP for ANTES Edition Classics
BM-CD 31.9163

“Bright composer’s talent, excellent musician, fresh ideas, interesting figures of rhythm. More independence in form could be recommended.” These are the words Alexander Glazunov told Heino Eller, newly graduated composer from St Petersburg Conservatory in 1920. It is a general knowledge that the Rector of the Conservatory Glazunov was extremely critical, at times even picky at exams. One of Eller’s works for graduation was Piano Sonata No 1.
The three pieces on the present CD are in the opposite chronological order dating back to different periods in Eller’s long creative biography.
Thirteen Piano Pieces on Estonian Motifs, composed 1940−1941, remind one of the famous sentence by Confucius “Clarity in language means all!” Also, in the language of music. A clear, transparent, nearly graphic texture unites all the thirteen pieces where in total 16 Estonian folk songs have been used. Those hearing Estonian music for the first time, immediately grasp the essence of Estonian folk melody. In Eller’s presentation folk songs are like a demonstration with the aim to maximally expose the initial source, showing it in sequence and canon, inverting the motifs, sometimes also extending the melodies and thus further developing the elements of rhythm and intonation. Everything that Eller adds on his behalf is extremely modest and discreet. Music seems to be placed on a sieve where all unnecessary ballast gets discarded.
Eller was inspired to compose Bells (1929) by the bells of St Paul’s church in Tartu while living many years in its close vicinity. St Paul’s church designed by a Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and being a new step in architecture had been completed only a year before Eller’s moving to Tartu. During the first years the church had no bells. In 1923 the church obtained steel bells made in Bochum with the weight 800 and 1280 kg and tuned in G-flat and E-flat respectively. “Bells” is the most played piece by Eller.
Piano Sonata No 1 (1920) was one of Eller’s two graduation works in St Petersburg Conservatory. By the completion of the sonata Eller had already composed about 60 pieces for piano. The sonata with its duration of more than 30 minutes is the most extensive work for piano by Eller. According to the composer himself this sonata is “a whole big symphony”. By its themes and structure this work is close to the symphonic poem Voices of the Night that reflects impressions from a stormy night at the seaside near St Petersburg during the First World War. The texture of this piece is characterized by occasional redundancy. That was pretty common in Russian and German schools where the composer often were also good piano-players. Eller himself pointed out that the sonata has “too many notes”. The work is a real expression of Sturm und Drang, an overwhelming emotion and due to its technical complexity it has not found a place in the piano players’ repertoires. Disregarding Artur Lemba’s (piano professor in St Petersburg Conservatory at that time) presentation of the piece at Eller’s graduation exam, the present recording is the first full performance of the sonata for the wider public.

Heino Eller (1887−1970) is considered to be the founder of Estonian national school of composition and a symbol of national classics. Summarizing the result of his long life in plain numbers it looks quite awe inspiring: approximately 300 musical compositions and about 50 composers from among his students.
Eller was born in Tartu, one of the oldest university towns in Europe and the cultural centre of Livonia. Here he received his first musical education and practical knowledge of violin playing. His youth from the age of 20 to 33 was spent in St Petersburg. He studied violin, thereafter suffering from bad arm took up law, was mobilized as musician to Tsar’s army during WW One, continued his studies even through difficult times of political turmoil and graduated as a composer from St Petersburg Conservatory 1920. Eller met his future wife pianist Anna Kremer with whom he stayed together until the tragic death of Anna Kremer in a German concentration camp in 1942.
Eller had acquired profound experience in music during his St Petersburg period. He had listened to the conducting of Nikischi and Sibelius, the performances by Casals and Ysaÿe, the music by Wagner, Richard Strauss and Sibelius. He had been very fond of the works by Chopin, Grieg, Sibelius and Skryabin. This was the background that Eller brought back to Estonia, dedicating the last 50 years of his life to educating young composers first in Tartu Music High School and from 1940 until his death in Tallinn Conservatory. “Through him, as a personality of a different generation, we came into contact with the pre-revolutionary aristocracy and its cultural heritage. Soviet ideology was incapable of dimming his insight into human and cultural values. Thanks to his training in St Petersburg, with its centuries-old music tradition, he was able to establish totally new standards in small Estonia, thereby laying the cornerstone of professionalism in music,” gratefully writes Eller’s student Arvo Pärt in the booklet of CD Neenia. Besides Arvo Pärt also Eller’s other students Eduard Tubin, Villem Kapp, Jaan Rääts, Lepo Sumera possess strong individuality in their creation.
Eller’s mostly instrumental output comprises 3 symphonies, several symphonic short pieces, a violin concerto, 5 string quartets, 4 piano sonatas, 2 violin sonatas, about 180 smaller pieces for piano. According to many musicologists Eller with his cultivated musical language and individual style is classed among the Northern top composers. In Estonian culture, though, Eller has even more multilayered meaning – his Homeland Melody and Dawn have become a symbol expressing the undescribable feeling of Estonian identity.

Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa had her debut at the age of 9 performing Piano Concerto in D Major by Haydn together with Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 14 she gave her first solo concert. Her quick development took the pianist after two years in the Lithuanian Academy of Music to the Conservatory of Moscow to Prof Jakov Zak under whose supervision and guidance she also took her post-graduate course. 1976−1977 Juozapénaité-Eesmaa had the luck to study in Paris National Conservatory. Under the tuition of professors Claude Helffer and Yvonne Loriod (the wife of Olivier Messiaen) she dedicated most of her time and effort to French contemporary music. Being an extremely talented pianist her Paris connections offered many an opportunity to discover the world, had the ideological discrepancy between East and West not been an unovercomeable obstacle at that time. Still, the year in Paris gave that profound knowledge of French contemporary music that in 1993 the French record company JADE ordered from her the recording of the cycle Twenty Glances at Jesus-Child by Olivier Messiaen. Later this cycle in Juozapénaité-Eesmaa’s performance was released as a double-CD in the year 2001 being a co-operation project of Lithuania and Austria through record company “Semplice”. The current CD is Juozapénaité-Eesmaa’s 11th. She has recorded for the radios of Vilnius, Tallinn, Moscow, Paris and Amsterdam focusing on French, Estonian and Lithuanian music. She has frequently been the first performer of several works. Likewise, the present is the first recording of Sonata No 1 by Eller. Among her achievements are various diplomas and titles from international competitions and the 1st prize in the International Piano Competition named after Čiurlionis 1968. She has given recitals as well as performed together with orchestras in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.
“She is an artist that has a message to deliver, who always plays exemplarily true-to-text and with polished preciseness; who has good taste and sense of tact, whose emotions and reason live in harmony and perfect balance. At the same time she always possesses an attitude of her own towards the music to be performed.” (Prof Bruno Lukk)
“Happy times”, the pianist said about the recording of the present CD in spring-summer 2001. “I like to work with concentration. Emotions and dramatism suit me, I am glad that I can express it.” Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa has passion, grasp and power, sometimes even pathos − and at the same time also sufficient clarity, preciseness, respect and distance. These are the characteristic features of her interpretation of Eller’s work.

Press resonance

See also Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa’s other recordings on ERP: Aleksandra Juozapénaité-Eesmaa
See also other recordings of Heino Eller by ERP: 100 Years Of Estonian Symphony, Koidust kodumaise viisini
See also other piano recordings by ERP: Marginalia, Resurrection of Mozart, Magic of Sound, Melancholy, The Call of the Stars, Walzing Mephisto by the Danube, Keyboard Juggleress, Enter Denter, Estonian Preludes, Northern Lights Sonata, The Well-tempered Clavier I, Sergei Rahmaninov. Piano Works, Toivo Nahkur, Neeme Järvi, Deus Ex Clavier

EARLY MUSIC OF 3rd MILLENNIUM

Knaifel, Tüür, Vähi, Pärt, Silvestrov, Kancheli
Hortus Musicus

Himmlischer König, Fragm, 142 sec, mp3
In Memoriam HM, Fragm, 157 sec, mp3
Helesa, Fragm, 154 sec, mp3

Ensemble Hortus Musicus:
Andres Mustonen – Geige, Künstlerische Leitung
Joosep Vahermägi – Tenor
Jaan Arder – Tenor / Bariton
Riho Ridbeck – Bass, Schlagzeug
Olev Ainomäe – Bombardone, Schalmei, Blockflöte
Tõnis Kuurme – Dulzian, Blockflöte
Valter Jürgenson – Posaune
Peeter Klaas – Viola da gamba
Imre Eenma – Violone
Ivo Sillamaa – Positiv, Klavier

Helen Lokuta – Mezzosopran (# 5)
Toomas  Vavilov – Klarinette (# 5)

Aufnahme: Estonia Konzerthalle, Tallinn
Co-Produktion mit dem Estnischer Rundfunk
Tonmeister – Tanel Klesment
Annotationen – Inna Kivi
Die Fotos – Peeter Vähi
Design – Mart Kivisild
Übersetzung – Ela Vood
Produzent – Peeter Vähi

Stereo, DDD
© 2011 ERP
ERP 4611

Die meisten Werke, die auf dieser CD aufgenommen sind, stammen aus dem Jahre 2005 und sind zum Gedenken an Helle Mustonen, die 30 Jahre im Ensemble “Hortus Musicus” gesungene Sopranistin und das Gründungsmitglied, die früh verstorbene Frau von Andres Mustonen entstanden. Zum ersten Mal haben diese Werke auf dem Gedenkkonzert für sie am 2. Oktober 2006 in der Tallinner Domkirche ertönt. Die auf der CD klingende Musik, die gleichwie in der Stille geborene und nach innen schauende Musik bringt die Gedanken auf die in der Jugendzeit der Autoren und Interpreten begonnene Freundschaft und Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl, die einander stützend und für einander einstehend im schwierigen Kampf zwischen der Macht und dem Geist in der Sowjetzeit angedauert haben und mit der ganzen Geisteskraft zur Unterstützung für denjenigen, der schwere Momente im Leben hat, beflügeln. Dieses Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl ist so stark, dass die Werke der sechs, sich in ihrem Schaffen voneinander so unterscheidenden Autoren auf dieser CD wie einzelne Teile eines Werkes ertönen, indem sie klanglich zu einem einheitlichen Ganzen zusammenschmelzen. Das ist die Musik, die über zwei Pole des Lebens, Leben und Tod, über das Irdische und Himmlische überlegt, indem sie stille Gebete auf den Altar des Allmächtigen bringt. Aber lassen wir diesmal in der Hinsicht der Besonderheit dieser CD die Beteiligten selber reden – Das Geniale ist oft einfach und mit ein paar Worten zu erklären oder dann völlig unerklärlich.

Arvo Pärt: So wie die Verbesserung der Welt nicht von einem anderem Ende beginnt, sondern von dir selbst, millimeterweise – so lehrt die mittelalterliche Musik uns, angefangen mit Gregorianischen Chorälen, Trubaduren bis Dufay, Josquin und Schubert, was ein Millimeter auf dem Notenpapier bedeutet, was für eine Waffe das ist, wenn es richtig ausgemessen ist. Das muss nicht unbedingt eine Schule des musikalischen Schaffens, sondern die Schule der Formung des Geistes sein.
Giya Kancheli: Aus tiefer Achtung vor georgischem Volkslied habe ich in meinen Werken nie Zitate aus dem genialen Schaffen der Großen Anonymen verwendet. Das war das einzige Mal, und dabei habe ich auch nur den Titel eines Liedes benutzt und das aus ganz einfachen Gründen. “Helesa“ – so heißt ein Volkslied. Helle – so hieß die großartige Gefährtin von Andres Mustonen, einem mir lieben Menschen, der mit ihr gemeinsam durch das Leben ging.
Erkki-Sven Tüür: “Salve Regina” ist zum Gedenken an Helle Mustonen geschrieben worden. Der Aufbau der Vokallinie erinnert an die Melodieskizzen der Gregorianischen Choräle, aber dabei handelt es sich nicht um direkte Zitaten. Der Instrumentalteil verflechtet sich mit verschiedenen Klangfeldern um das Lied herum. “Hortus Musicus“ ist für mich lange Zeit ein inspirierendes Ensemble gewesen, schon im Jahre 1982 habe ich ihnen “Rituaalid“ (“Rituale”) geschrieben, wo die Instrumente der Alten Musik mit den Klängen des Synthesizers verbunden sind. In 90-er Jahren habe ich für “Hortus” ein umfangreiches Werk, “Psalmodie” komponiert. “Salve Regina” ist die frischeste Komposition in der Liste dieser Werke, die in einer ziemlich langen Periode geschrieben wurden.
Peeter Vähi: An einem Herbsttag hat Andres Mustonen mir mitgeteilt, dass 5 Autoren für das genannte Konzert schon geschrieben haben oder gerade dabei waren, und dass auch von mir ein neues Werk erwünscht wäre. Bedauerlicherweise war ich gezwungen, auf dieses ehrwürdige Angebot zu verzichten, da es bis zum Konzert nur weniger als ein Monat geblieben war und ich gerade vertraglich an zwei Kompositionen und Termine gebunden war. Es vergingen einige Stunden und plötzlich spürte ich, wie von irgendwo Oben die Musik geradezu “in mich einfloss” – das war “In Memoriam HM”. Für mich als einen relativ langsamen Komponisten passierte das Darauffolgende mit einer Rekordgeschwindigkeit – am nächsten Morgen lag die ausgedruckte Partitur schon im Proberaum von “Hortus Musicus” vor.
Andres Mustonen: Alle Klänge, alle Melodien, die unsere Seele und unseren Geist trösten und beschmücken, sind von dem Schöpfer, der durch die Komponisten sie unserer Welt schenkt. Sie heben uns höher, bringen uns der ewigen Schönheit näher.
Tonmeister Tanel Klesment: Die Anfangsphase des Aufnahmeprozesses war für mich total unverständlich. Andres Mustonen versuchte in bestimmten Musikabschnitten das allerhöchste Pianissimo zu erreichen. Die Bögen der Streichinstrumentalisten berührten kaum die Saiten, der Ton wollte fast abbrechen und war ohne das dem üblichen Streichinstrumentspiel eigene Vibrato. Das alles erinnerte eher an das Spiel eines beginnenden Schülers als eines Spitzenprofessionellen. Nach wiederholten Versuchen und Umstellen der Mikrofone und nachdem sich die aufgezeichneten Musikabschnitte in ihren richtigen Kontext stellten, erwies sich das Spiel “des Anfängers” als wunderbar. Stellenweise ist es direkt unglaublich, dass zum Beispiel der himmlische Klang der Werke von Knaifel mit den akustischen Instrumenten erreicht wurde.
 

Salve Regina

Salve Regina, Mater misericordiae.
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus exules filii Hevae.
Ad te Suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eja ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte.
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tiu, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria.

Sei gegrüßt, o Königin, Mutter der Barmherzigkeit;
unser Leben, unsere Wonne und unsere Hoffnung, sei gegrüßt!
Zu dir rufen wir verbannte Kinder Evas;
zu dir seufzen wir trauernd und weinend in diesem Tal der Tränen.
Wohlan denn, unsere Fürsprecherin, wende deine barmherzigen Augen uns zu
und nach diesem Elend zeige uns Jesus, die gebenedeite Frucht deines Leibes!
O gütige, o milde, o süße Jungfrau Maria.
 

Von Angesicht zu Angesicht (1 Kor 13:12)

Теперь мы видим как бы сквозь тусклое стекло,
гадательно, тогда же лицем к лицу;
теперь знаю я отчасти, а тогда познаю подобно как я познан.

Jetzt schauen wir in einen Spiegel und sehen nur rätselhafte Umrisse,
dann aber schauen wir von Angesicht zu Angesicht.
Jetzt erkenne ich unvollkommen, dann aber werde ich durch und durch erkennen,
so wie ich auch durch und durch erkannt worden bin.
 

Царю Небесный / Himmlischer König

Царю Небесный, Утешителю, Душе истины,
Иже везде сый и вся исполняяй.
Cокровище благих и жизни Подателю,
прииди и вселися в ны, и очисти ны от всякия скверны,
и спаси, Блаже души наша.

Himmlischer König, Tröster, Geist der Wahrheit,
Allgegenwärtiger und alles Erfüllender,
Urquell des Guten und Spender des Lebens.
Komm und nimm Wohnung in uns, reinige uns von aller Befleckung
und rette, o Gütiger, unsere Seelen.
 

Vertrieb weltweit: Note 1 Music / Naxos Global Logistics
Vertrieb in Nordamerika: Naxos USA
Vertrieb in Estland: Easy-Living Music ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

PEETER VÄHI
HANDBELL SYMPHONY

ARSIS
Handbell ensemble

CD is a world record: the first recording ever of a work for handbells and orchestra. Peeter Vähi’s “Handbell Symphony” is a masterful blending of the brilliant yet relatively soft qualities of handbells with the rich colors available in the modern orchestra. This extremely successful collaboration yields a very interesting and listenable piece. The three movements of “Handbell Symphony” manage to use the bells very idiomatically and yet also create a *new* idiom by combining them with orchestra. It definitely is an amazing first. (Jason Tiller, USA)

Performed by: Ensemble of English Handbells Arsis, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (1–3), conductor Aivar Mäe

Published by: Antes Edition / Edition 49 (1–3), Hope Publishing Company (4 & 5), Harold Flammer (6–8), Beckenhorst Press (9), American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (10)   

Recorded at the Estonia Concert Hall
Stereo, Total time 59:05
Antes Edition / Classics
1997 Bella Musica Audio-VideoProduction
BM-CD 31.9103

Handbell Symphony, Movement II, fragm, 88 sec, mp3
More music

Bells and chimes are probably the oldest instruments that many Asian and European nations knew already in ancient ages. The music of handbells is not the invention of last centuries, either. The roots of these musical instruments date back to 13th-14th cent when it was not rare that differently tuned church bells called people to the service playing beautiful melodies. Sometimes there was used carillon – bell-ringing mechanism in which a manual keyboard (and often pedals) is connected by wires to the beaters of up to 70 static bells. The bells are usually hung in church tower. Carillons are found throughout Europe and the USA, mechanized carillons were the forerunners of musical clocks and boxes, also forerunners of handbells and handchimes.

Arsis Handbell Ensemble was grown up from Arsis Chamber Choir – when the conductor of chamber choir, Aivar Mäe heard handbell music in the USA for the first time, it became his fixed idea to bring this wonderful music also to Estonia, thus founding his own ensemble. It was the year 1991. It took two years explanatory work and preparations in both sides of the world and the idea became reality. In 1993 the representatives of the American Guild of Handbell Ringers visited Estonia, and brought the first three octaves of bells as a present to Aivar Mäe and his choir. By now Arsis Handbell Ensemble has one of the most perfect sets in the world that includes bells of seven octaves. All the handbells in the set have been made in the USA, Malmark Incorporation bell factory with whom Arsis has been co-operating already since 1993. The ensemble, having eight members, has toured in different places of the world. One of the most exotic places was the Republic of South Africa where Arsis participated in Eisteddfod festival and was awarded the Grand Prix. Already for four times Arsis has visited the USA where the handbell music is most widely spread.

The ensemble is playing mostly arrangements of classical music but also a lot of original music. They have given out five CDs that include original works by Peeter Vähi, Tõnu Kõrvits, and René Eespere.

Aivar Mäe (b 1960) – the artistic director of Arsis Handbell Ensemble. He acquired his musical education at Tallinn Music High School and Estonian Academy of Music where he studied choral conducting with Prof Ants Sööt. Aivar Mäe has been working with several choirs in Estonia as well as abroad – in Sweden and the USA. He has been the leader of international choir festivals, also running seminars for choral music. In 1992, Aivar Mäe studied in the USA for a year and a half improving his knowledge at the music department of Portland University with Prof Bruce Brown. Since 1999, he has been working as the general manager of Eesti Kontsert, the National Concert Institute of Estonia, 2004–06 as the general manager of Vanemuine Theatre, and since 2009 the general manager of the Estonian National Opera.

Press resonance

Other recordings with Arsis Handbell Ensemble: Om Mani Padme Hung, Traumzeit, Supreme Silence, Awake, My Heart!, The Flutish Kingdom, In Dies, World Festival Of Sacred Music Europe, Planetentöne Vol 2, Night Music, Music Box, Legend, Terra Mariana, Prelude, The Best of Arsis Bells

See other records of Peeter Vähi: Maria Magdalena, A Chant of Bamboo, Supreme Silence, To His Highness Salvador D, 2000 Years after the Birth of Christ, Tamula Fire Collage, The Path to the Heart of Asia, Sounds of the Silver Moon, Quarter of a Century with Friends

Distribution in Estonia by Easy-Living Music, and Edition 49, phone +372 50 82223, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Distribution in Europe by Edition 49, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , and jpc
International distribution by Amazon

See also: www.arsis.ee

URMAS SISASK

GALAXIES

Tallinn Piano Duo

Our 17 billion years old universe is a huge “organ” invented by Jehova. Due to the force of gravity galaxies, stars, planets, comets and others constellations form gigantic organ pipes. That is the Credo of My life and work. To learn the harmony of the musical instrument of the universe and to make it heard to the people is My mission. Thus, I do not consider myself a composer but a Recorder of Music. (Urmas Sisask)
Produced by ERP for Edition 49.

Spiral Symphony V, fragm, mp3, 81 sec

Performed by Tallinn Piano Duo (1–12) and the piano duo Piret Habak – Reet Kopvillem (3)

Recorded at Estonia Concert Hall in 2001
Engineered by Priit Kuulberg
Booklet compiled by Elle Himma
Translated by Tiina Jokinen
Designed by Piret Mikk
Thanks: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Ministry of Culture of Estonia
Production and photos by Peeter Vähi
Published by Edition 49
Produced by ERP for Edition 49

2002
DDD, Stereo
Total time 56:12
EAÜ / n©b / GEMA

Nata-Ly Sakkos and Toivo Peäske have both graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music, taken their postgraduate course at the St Petersburg Conservatory named after N Rimski-Korsakov and presently teach chamber ensemble at the Estonian Academy of Music. Their duo’s repertoire contains practically all the classical works for two pianos and also a number of pieces for four hands. Recently the duo’s 25th jubilee was celebrated with a Festival for Piano Duos.
Urmas Sisask, a composer and an amateur astronomer, was born in 1960. His main activities, besides composing serious music, include astronomic observations and numerous concert lectures in the “musical planetarium” in his native village of Jäneda. Urmas Sisask’s interest in shamanic activities was deepened during the so-called singing revolution, and he feels that rituals represent one of the most important forces that help us carry on.

Press resonance

See also other recordings of Urmas Sisask (“Celestials”, “Portraits Of Estonia”)

RENÉ EESPERE
FEBRUA

It is as if the motives left open in the music of René Eespere beg the question: who am I in the midst of this mortal world? And this is his way to uncompromisingly represent the ethical art of the past.

#7, Flatus III, fragm, 3 min 22 sec, mp3
#8, Epigram VI, fragm, 3 min 22 sec, mp3

Performed by: Kaia Urb − soprano (#8, 11), Sauli Tiilikainen − baritone (#2, 9), Neeme Punder − flute (#1, 7, 8), Mihkel Peäske − flute (#5), Olev Ainomäe − oboe (#7), Meelis Vind − clarinet (#7), Rait Erikson − French horn (#7), Kaido Suss − bassoon (#7), Harry Traksmann − violin (#1, 5, 10), Arvo Haasma − viola (#5), Leho Karin − cello (#5), Silver Ainomäe − cello (#4), Marius Järvi − cello (#4), Teet Järvi − cello (#10), Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann − celesta (#5), Eda Peäske − harp (#5), Kristo Käo − guitar (#3), Tiit Peterson − guitar (#1, 8), Ralf Taal − piano (#6), Mihkel Mattisen − piano (#4), Tarmo Eespere − piano (#2, 9–11)

Recorded by Estonian Broadcasting Corporation (ERR) 2003–2009
Engineered by Aili Jõeleht (#6), Tanel Klesment (#3, 5), Mati Brauer (#1, 2, 9), Maido Maadik (#4, 7, 8, 10, 11)
Mastered by Maido Maadik
Liner notes by Evi Arujärv
Translated by Riho Maimets
Booklet edited by Inna Kivi and Tiina Jokinen
Design by Mart Kivisild
Photos by Fred Jüssi and Gert Kelu (Eesti Foto)
Co-produced by Peeter Vähi
Published by Edition Eisenberg, except Triangulum published by ERP

© René Eespere 2009
n©b
ERP 3209
 

It is as if the motives left open in the music of René Eespere (1953) beg the question: who am I in the midst of this mortal world? And this is his way to uncompromisingly represent the ethical art of the past.
René Eespere gained recognition in his native Estonia in the 1970s and 1980s for his vocal-symphonic opuses, works for the stage and his music for children.  The music composed in this period is characterised by deep research into human values. His later works, including his opera Gourmets (2005), draw attention to the more painful aspects of the human existence.The most significant among his instrumental works are seven concerti and chamber music.
The music of René Eespere has always had a clearly defined texture. Over time, its aesthetics have changed, from diatonic minimalism and baroque influences to the use of chromatic and linear voice-leading techniques, and a more conscientious treatment of timbre.
This is the eighth commercially released compact disc of René Eespere’s music, featuring chamber works written in the years 2002–2009. It is entitled Februa, alluding to the Roman festival of purification, which is marked also by the contents of the CD, in which sadness and a state of mourning take the listener on a journey to a sun-filled place of beauty and peace.
Tres in unum (2004) for flute, violin and guitar, is a melancholy trialogue. The musical leitmotif of the cross, weaved into the texture of the piece, forms links with Christian mythology.
Epigram II (2002) for baritone and piano, is composed on a tenth-century text from the Codex Vossianus.  The piece is a reflection of man’s lust for hope and the deceptive nature of this desire.
Immutatio (Lat ‘mutation’, 2004) for guitar, begins with a rushing Allegro which fades into a slow Adagio . The piece is dedicated to the American guitarist Hermann Hudde.
Februarium (2004) for two cellos and piano, is a painful surge of emotion caused by questions that have no answer. This is followed by an inner reconciliatory process. The title makes reference to Februa, the Roman festival of purification.
Ambitus (Lat ‘exterior border, periphery’, 2002) for six instruments (flute, harp, celesta, violin, viola and cello) creates an erratic atmosphere with its secretive timbres and the constant repetition of a desperate-sounding phrase, which can be thought to represent anxiety, bordering on the limits of human cognition . The work is dedicated to the Estonian NYYD Ensemble.
Ludus tactus (2008) for solo piano grows from an unpretentious play on music into a dramatic inner discussion. The piece is dedicated to an Estonian pianist Ralf Taal.
Flatus III (Lat flatus – ‘blowing, breathing’, 2004) for woodwind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and french horn) carries an element of grotesque  through seven playful variations.
Epigram VI (2004) for soprano, flute and guitarr is based on a text by the Roman poet Ovidius. It encourages to live one’s life in haste, because time is ticking and the body is withering…
Epigram VII (2005), on the text of the Roman poet Martialis, for baritone and piano sings praises to the abstemiousness of the human objective. The piece is dedicated to the Finnish baritone Sauli Tiilikainen.
Triangulum (Lat ‘triangle’, 2008) for violin, cello and piano  is a bright and melodious piece, in which the purity of mediaeval polyphony is realized.
Locus amoenus (‘The Place of Beauty’, 2009) for soprano and piano is based on a poem bearing the same name  by a fourth-century Roman poet Tiberianus, which is thought to be a reference to the Garden of Eden. As the last piece of Februa, Locus amoenus represents the harmonious condition of the human soul.

Epigram III

Lyrics from Codex Vossianus

Spes fallax, spes dulce malum,
spes summa malorum,
solamen miseris,
quos fata sua trahunt.
Credula res, quam nulla potest
fortuna fugare.
Spes stat
in extremis officiosa malis.
Spes vetat aeternis mortis
requiescere portis
et curas ferro
rumpere sollicitas.
Spes nescit vinci,
spes pendet tota futuris,
mentitur, credi vult tamen
illa sibi.

Epigram VI

Lyrics by Ovidius

Utendum est aetate,
cito pede labitur aetas.
Nec bona tam sequitur,
quam bona prima fuit...
Heu me nunc miserum!
Laxantur corpora rugis
et perit,
in nitido qui fuit ore, color.

Epigram VII

Lyrics by Martialis (?)

Nec volo me summis Fortuna
neque adplicet imis,
sed medium vitae
temperet illa gradum.
Invidia excelsos,
inopes iniuria vexat.
Quam felix vivit,
quiquis utraque caret.

Press resonance: René Eespere on üks neid heliloojaid, kes järgib muusika kirjutamisel loomuliku kulgemise rada... Plaadi valik on stiilne, ühtne... P.S. Ma ei küüni päriselt mõistma heliloojate üha süvenevat tendentsi panna üpris pretensioonikaid ladinakeelseid pealkirju... (Virve Normet, Muusika, 04 / 2010, Estonia)

Worldwide distribution by Note 1 Music (Carl-Benz-Straße 1, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany, phone +49 6221 720351, fax +49 6221 720381, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , www.note-1.de) / Naxos Global Logistics
Distribution in Estonia by Easy-Living Music, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone +372 51 06058

See also other recordings of René Eespere produced by ERP: In dies, De spe, Eesti portreed, Somnium boreale, Locus amoenus
See also www.eespere.ee
 

ESTONIAN PRELUDES

Vardo Rumessen, piano

The premiere recording of all the piano preludes of two Estonian music classics: Mart Saar and Eduard Tubin.

Mart Saar (1882–1963). Preludes (complete)

Mart Saar, Prelude in F major, 28 sec, mp3

Eduard Tubin (1905–1982). Preludes (complete)

Mart Saar
Preludes

Although Mart Saar is best known as a composer of choral and solo songs, piano music holds a relatively important place in his oeuvre. These are mostly various short pieces and suites on Estonian folk tunes. Especially noteworthy ones amongst them are his preludes for piano, which undoubtedly belong to the most outstanding achievements of Estonian piano music. They are very poetic and spirited paintings of sound where the clarity of musical images, harmonic richness of colour and excellent piano handling skills characteristic of Mart Saar are expressed.

Mart Saar wrote preludes almost all his life. The earliest of them has been dated in 1905, the latest in 1940. It means that he wrote preludes throughout his 35-year period of composition. Unfortunately, a lot of his preludes have been lost or perished in the course of time. 28 preludes have survived to our day but the actual total number of his preludes is unknown. A big part of Saar’s piano music perished unfortunately in a fire in his home in 1921.

Born as a son of a forest keeper in the middle of woods and bogs in the village of Hüpassaare in 1882, Mart Saar became interested in music already at an early age. In 1901 he entered the composition class of Prof Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at St Petersburg Conservatory, studying organ with Prof Louis Homilius at the same time. Mart Saar’s way from a secluded forest keeper’s cottage to the capital of tsarist Russia is somehow symbolic, expressing the endeavours of a youngster, who comes from the Estonian rustic cultural environment, to experience the world’s music culture. After graduating from the conservatoire as an organist, he settled down in Tartu. Shortly after that he continued improving himself in the field of composition with professor Aleksandr Lyadov at St Petersburg Conservatory until 1911. His studies in St Petersburg and his possibilities to take part in those days’ active musical life were of great importance to Mart Saar and influenced considerably on the forming of his creative personality.

Although Mart Saar studied organ besides composition at St Petersburg Conservatory and often performed as an organist, he also became a distinguished pianist. Unfortunately, his performances remained relatively occasional and rare and he mostly played piano accompaniment for the recitals of his solo songs. Nevertheless, the way Mart Saar handled the piano was exciting and attractive, especially when he played his miniatures for piano. The characteristic features of his manner of piano playing were creative impulsiveness, free improvisational manner of performance, sporadically of even certain ecstatic play. Mart Saar was very emotional and very imaginative as a pianist. Especially during his Tartu period he paid special attention to the piano, playing a lot of piano music by Chopin, Scriabin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and others. Mart Saar’s piano playing drew his contemporaries’ attention as well. One of his students, composer Riho Päts has very well characterized it, saying: “Once I had an extraordinary experience. When I arrived at the maestro’s door, I heard admirable piano playing. I dared not interrupt it and thought that I would call him during a pause. When I finally made use of a moment of silence, I found the maestro at home alone. Saar played 20 preludes for piano over again. In my judgement all those preludes where so poetic and quaint, spirited musical poems with short-spoken musical thinking that I would have liked to hear him play all of them. Moreover, for the first time I saw from such a close distance Mart Saar as a full-blooded pianist and it surpassed all my imaginations of a pianist in general sense. It seemed to me back then as if another spirit had settled down in Mart Saar: as soon as he started to play he turned pale, started breathing agitatedly, disconnectedly, even snuffing, his eyes turned extremely big and round and the look in his eyes became somewhat peculiarly concentrated. Every nerve, every muscle, let alone his mind and feeling, seemed to live on the live music alone. It was something like ecstasy that gave his performance admirable fantasy, extraordinary technical virtuosity and ultimate suggestiveness.”

In 1921, Mart Saar went to live in Tallinn where he devoted himself to creating solo and choral songs. However, at the same time he continued writing piano pieces as well. Mart Saar became familiar with the piano music by a lot of distinguished composers and it also influenced him. Although his piano texture is mostly relatively simple it is at the same time very pianistic and characteristic of the piano. We can also find examples that stand out for their technical complicity and virtuosity. As a brilliant pianist and improviser Mart Saar was also an imitator of the style of other composers. Thereby he devoted himself entirely to the object that fascinated him and used randomly his creative imagination. How inventively has he sometimes used an element of texture, a harmonious progression from another composer’s work! By the way we must admit that we can find examples like this with other composers as well.”

The beginning of Mart Saar’s musical activity in Tartu synchronizes with the emergence of a literary group “Noor-Eesti” (‘Young Estonia’). The words of the leader of the first literary album published already in 1905, “Let us be Estonians, but let us become also Europeans!” characterize compendiously the Young Estonians’ program. The most noticeable works of Mart Saar’s oeuvre of that period are a piano piece “Skizze” and a song “Black Bird”, which were published as appendixes of a periodical “Noor-Eesti” from 1910 to 1911. In the context of his era they can be considered as extremely radical compositions not only in Estonian music but also in that of entire Europe. Their characteristic features are a harmoniously complex style, abundance of dissonances and tonal instability, which approaches atonality. The same traits can be noticed in some of Mart Saar’s early preludes for piano as well.

Hereby it is interesting to mention that during the 2nd period of Mart Saar’s studies at St Petersburg Conservatory (1909–11) a new star, Alexander Scriabin, had risen into the sky of music. The passion and expansiveness of his music also fascinated young Saar. Considering that Scriabin’s music by nature belongs to the field of romanticism and late romanticism, it became very close to young expansive and passionate Saar. We can also notice A Scriabin’s influence in Saar’s compositions for piano written in the 1920’s. Mart Saar’s Prelude in E flat minor No 5, which he dedicated to the memory of Alexander Scriabin, should be hereby mentioned as one of the most characteristic examples of it. One of Scriabin’s latest preludes Op 74 No 1 can be considered an “example” for this prelude. We can also see similar direct connections with Scriabin’s piano pieces in other preludes by Mart Saar. Saar was also interested in Claude Debussy’s piano music, which fascinated him with its subjectivity, richness in experience, harmonious novelty and colourfulness. After Debussy’s death in 1918, Mart Saar wrote the prelude in B major No 23 in his memory. It is one of the most interesting preludes by Saar, as a “fundamental material” of which he has used in a skilful and interesting way the prelude “The Hills of Anacapri” first fascicle No 5 by Claude Debussy. In addition to the above-mentioned works we can find clear common points with the piano compositions by Edvard Grieg and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

At the same time one may compare Mart Saar’s preludes by the technical aim and sustained form of their texture with Fryderyk Chopin’s preludes and etudes, (eg the preludes in B major No 21 and in B major No 22). In general one must admit that Mart Saar’s preludes are however based on the preludes by Fryderyk Chopin and Alexander Scriabin.

There is no doubt that the certain little exceptional and peculiar examples by Mart Saar mentioned here have a great substantial and artistic value even today, proving how sharply Mart Saar sensed the oeuvre of contemporary composers and how progressive his music was in the context of his era. Using the works and the characteristic means of expression of the above-mentioned composers as a source of inspiration, Mart Saar has always done it in a way that is exclusively characteristic of him, being able to include a lot of experience in a fine artistic style in his works. As for artistry, his works are comparable with the compositions, which have inspired him, and that is why these examples cannot be underestimated in any way.

In order to understand the unconventionality of Mart Saar’s music, one must certainly emphasize his subjective attitude towards life and the inherent cognition of the music of this bard of nature. There is a close connection between Mart Saar’s oeuvre and his home Hüpassaare and its nature where he settled down in 1932. Saar wrote the majority of his compositions here, at his birthplace where he felt a complete homogeneity with the nature. Mart Saar was a romantic of swamps and bogs. For Saar the woods in Hüpassaare were like a temple that fascinated him with its mysteriousness. It is here that he got the inspiration for composing his works. He became engrossed in the essence of life and nature, trying to penetrate the mood of an instant, a moment in order to concentrate on what was important, to see its different nuances of emotion.

During his life only very few preludes performed mostly by Olav Roots and Erika Franz were published. The majority of the preludes have unfortunately remained almost unknown till our day. Most of Mart Saar’s preludes sounded for the first time in 1974 at a concert in Tallinn Museum of Theatre and Music where they were performed by Vardo Rumessen.

All the preludes by Mart Saar that have survived till our day have been published on the present CD whereas the majority of them are being recorded for the first time. The CD is based on The Full Collection of Mart Saar’s Piano Compositions, which was completed by Vardo Rumessen in 1971 and is based on the composer’s original manuscripts and earlier printed works.

Eduard Tubin
Preludes

Although Eduard Tubin is best known as a remarkable symphonist, short pieces in various genres also have an important place among his works. Beside many other musical pieces his piano preludes stand out. They reveal Tubin’s brilliant ability to express moods and impressions in a short, compressed form. Tubin wrote preludes during almost his whole creative span. The earliest were written while he was still Heino Eller’s student at the Tartu Music College in 1928, the last during his late creative period in 1976. Many preludes remain as sketches or creative intentions; altogether 14 have been preserved.

The first two – B flat minor and F minor (#29, #30) – were written in 1928. They reveal the composer’s poetic and youthfully romantic feelings. Both preludes show some spiritual affinity to the early preludes by Alexandr Scriabin and Heino Eller.

The next two preludes (#31, #32) were written in 1934. They already show more of the creative independence of the young composer. The second prelude is especially remarkable, presenting variations on an Estonian folk tune, and therefore being rather unique in the art of preludes. These two preludes were printed, the first was somewhat corrected by the composer before it went into print.

In the 1930s Tubin wrote two more preludes for piano. The first one (#33), which was later named a prelude by the composer himself, also carries the title “Moment” in the manuscript. Tubin himself regarded this prelude as one of his most successful short pieces. The second one, D major (#34) was written in 1937 and it is obviously meant for children.

After fleeing from Estonia in 1944, Tubin settled in Stockholm. There he developed his final personal style, which was above all revealed in his great works. In 1949 he started drafting a cycle of piano preludes. Unfortunately only one prelude (#35) survives in finished form, carrying the manuscript number 1. This piece, written in a short and laconic form, draws attention to the ostinato-like rhythmic movement, reminding of striding, which is a characteristic of Tubin’s later works.

Tubin’s last major piano work is the collection of “10 Preludes” from 1976. At first the composer intended to create a cycle of 12 preludes. “I talked about 12, but only 10 came out. It would be a bit too long to play them in succession, now they are more like a whole”, the composer wrote. Here Tubin used three preludes from earlier times, which might appear to spoil the cycle. The distance in time and style between the earlier and later preludes is rather great indeed. But their inclusion, whereby the earliest samples of the composer’s works are put together with the latest, reflects the composer’s purpose to show a synthesis of his style changes. The prelude before the last even shows the use of the principles of 12-tone technique, which is rather exceptional in Tubin’s music. The seven preludes (#36–42) created in 1976 are bound by a unified style. In comparison with the earlier preludes they are characterized by limited means of expression and a certain harshness, even asceticism. Tubin’s treatment of the harmony here is highly personal, telling in its simplicity and laconism compared with the complicated works of his middle period.

In this edition all Tubin’s 14 preludes are included, in chronological order. As Tubin has himself compiled the collection “10 Preludes”, his own numbers from this collection are marked after the titles to avoid confusion. In addition the numbers from the Eduard Tubin Catalogue of Works (ETW) are marked next to all preludes.

Vardo Rumessen

Vardo Rumessen (1942) graduated from Prof Bruno Lukk and Eugen Kelder’s piano faculty at Tallinn Conservatory in 1971. Today he is one of the best known performers and promoters of Estonian piano music. Rumessen, who has frequently performed abroad – in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Canada, the USA, Turkey, and Australia.

Rumessen has recorded piano and chamber music by Rudolf Tobias, Mart Saar, Heino Eller, Eduard Oja and Eduard Tubin. Vardo Rumessen is recognized as a master performer of Eduard Tubin’s piano music. He recorded a set of 3 CDs with piano music by Eduard Tubin for the Swedish company BIS in 1988. Rumessen was a personal friend of Tubin and had the opportunity to discuss the composer’s intentions in depth. Eduard Tubin has to a high degree authorized Vardo Rumessen’s interpretations of his music. Rumessen performed the American première of Tubin’s Piano Concertino in 1993 with the Longview Symphony Orchestra. Rumessen has performed works by Beethoven, Franck, Tobias and Tubin for piano and orchestra with the Estonian and Göteborg Symphony Orchestras, conducted by the late Peeter Lilje and Neeme Järvi. He has also performed frequently in ensemble with numerous singers, violinists, cellists, string quartets and other musicians.

Although Rumessen has achieved his success mainly as a performer of Estonian classical music, he has performed a lot of music from other parts of the world. His largest undertakings have been such as the complete Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier I”, Scriabin’s 10 sonatas, Chopin’s 27 etudes, Rachmaninoff’s 15 etudes-tableaux, etc.

Rumessen is not only the foremost performer of Estonian piano music but also a musicologist with a vast knowledge of Estonian music. He has published a lot of Estonian music, by R Tobias, M Saar, E Oja and H Eller, which have naturally found a place in Rumessen’s repertoire as both soloist and ensemble player. Among other works he restored and published R Tobias’s oratorio “Jonah’s Mission”. In addition, Rumessen has written many articles and has served as an editor of several books about R Tobias, M Saar, A Kapp, E Oja, E Tubin and others.

• The piano sound is very open and natural... Recommended with enthusiasm. (Fanfare, USA)
• Vardo Rumessen does not fit under any ordinary pianistic standard. (Sirp ja Vasar, Estonia)
• Undoubtedly Rumessen is unparalleled as a performer of Tubin... (Aftonbladet, Sweden)
• Rumessen is a pianist of very considerable stature and Tubin is fortunate in having so commanding and sensitive an advocate. (Gramophone, UK)
• Vardo Rumessen, himself an Estonian, is as Tubin seems to have acknowledged, a master of the music. (Hi-Fi News)
• Rumessen’s visit was not only a great musical event; it was a reminder for us to keep alive in our minds the struggle for Iceland’s independence and culture. (Morgunbladid, Iceland)
• A master pianist... one of the most notable interpreters of Tubin... (Länstidningen, Sweden)
• It would hardly be possible to play the music any better... (Goteborgs-Posten, Sweden)
• The world will largely depend upon Rumessen for interpretive insight into Eller’s work, as he is one of the best known advocates not only Eller, but of Estonian music in general. (The Morning Journal, USA)
• He plays them here with extraordinary sensitivity and poetic freedom... (American Record Guid, USA)

Download: Vardo Rumessen in 2005, photo by P Vähi, jpg, 300 dpi, 1235 KB

Instrument: “Steinway & Sons” D-274 tuned by Ants Saluraid
Recorded in Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn,
Recording dates: 18th–20th Nov and 10th Dec 2002
Engineered by Maido Maadik / Estonian Radio
Co-engineered by Priit Karind and Jaan Tsadurjan / Estonian Radio
Liner notes by Vardo Rumessen
Booklet edited by Tiina Jokinen
Photos by Harri Rospu, Vardo Rumessen and private archives
Produced by Vardo Rumessen and Peeter Vähi
Licensed from Estonian Record Productions
Executive producer – Jari Tiessalo
Published by Estonian Classics (1–28), Carl Gehrmans Musikförlag (29–42)
Total time 67:41
Stereo, DDD
2003 Finlandia Records. Warner Music Finland. A Warner Music Group Company
2564-60346-2

Press resonance

See also other recordings of Tubin by ERP: 100 Years Of Estonian Symphony, Kratt, Musica triste, Tubin, Eduard Tubin And His Time, Northern Lights Sonata, Works for Violin and Piano Vol 1, Works for Violin and Piano Vol 2
See also other recordings of Vardo Rumessen by ERP: Koidust Kodumaise viisini, Wiegenlieder der Schmerzen, The Call of the Stars, Eduard Tubin And His Time, Northern Lights Sonata, The Well-Tempered Clavier I, Sergei Rahmaninov. Piano Works

  ESTONIAN NATIONAL OPERA
“ESTONIA” − 100


  11 CD jubilee-box

11 CDs of archive recordings since 1930ties with the soloists of Estonian National Opera.

Dear opera-lover,
Whereas the Estonia Society, founded in 1865, staged performances from its very birth, the first professional theatre troupe under the wings of the Society was formed in 1906. Hence, the Estonia Theatre, our present National Opera has reached its first remarkable anniversary.
Tallinn has seen opera performances since the last decades of the 17^th century. Today we can only imagine what those plays sounded and looked like. The first preserved soundtracks date back to the 1930s and the movie tracks are younger still. Not all has been recorded, a lot has been lost and not everything could be restored. Nevertheless, 221 sound recordings on 11 CDs, collected and restored by Jüri Kruus in co-operation with Priit Kuulberg, can today be humbly presented to you. The sound recordings come mostly from the archives of the Estonian Radio and private collections. Listening to those recordings enables us to meet the theatre legends and old friends over again. For the new century audience of the Estonian National Opera, this collection will hopefully be a pleasant voyage of discovery.
Stones crumble, people tire, art lasts through times. The time will come when the Estonian National Opera marks the end of its second century. The next anniversary could be imagined in many ways but one thing is certain − the impressive history of the National Opera is something to be proud of then as well as now.
Hope you enjoy listening to the collection at hand,

Paul Himma
the general manager of EsNO

CD I, #1, Aav, The Vikings, fragm, mono / stereo, 1 min 48 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps
CD IV, #15, Verdi, La Traviata, fragm, 2 min 15 sec, mp3
CD VI, #12, Verdi, Il Trovatore, fragm, 2 min 21 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps

Recordings since 1930 from the archives of Estonian Radio and private collections

Compilation and liner notes by Jüri Kruus / EsNO
Restored and mastered by Priit Kuulberg
Designed by Mart Kivisild
Photos by Harri Rospu and the archives of EsNO
English translations by Tiina Jokinen
Booklet edited by Elle Himma
Co-producer − Peeter Vähi

Sponsored by Estonian National Culture Foundation
Thanks: Orbital Vox Studios
AAD / ADD
Mono / Stereo
© 2006 EsNO / ERP
906
Manufactured on Sony DADC, Austria

Estonian National Opera

The Estonian National Opera, established in the year 1906, is a historic organisation with vital traditions and manifold functions.
The EsNO’s season, lasting 10 months from Sep until Jun, contains a varied repertoire of opera, ballet, operetta, musicals and children’ pieces. Around 250 performances of up to 30 different works are presented annually, including the cream of classical opera and operetta as well as contemporary masterpieces. On the top of that, the best works of Estonian origin are also shown on the stage!
The Estonian National Opera is the home of the symphony orchestra, the opera choir and the ballet. The orchestra was founded in 1907 and it now employs almost a 100 musicians. In addition to its theatre assignments, the orchestra regularly performs symphonic works and records world classics as well as the best of Estonian music. The 54-strong opera choir, besides participating in stage productions, consistently gives concerts on its own as well. The EsNO employs as many as 25−30 soloists. As a compliment to that, it welcomes guest singers on a regular basis. The EsNO ballet, existing within the framework of the opera company and employing approximately 60 dancers, is the country’s largest ballet troupe.

Young choreographers are constantly enriching its repertoire of standard favourites with contemporary pieces and occasional avant-garde projects. In order to stay open to new ideas and fresh approaches, The EsNO always makes space and time in its working schedule for joint projects of multifarious nature, and for individual guest artists. For the latter to bring their unique experience onto our stage; for the Estonian audience, to partake of a different artistic vision.
Symbolically speaking, the EsNO’s location in the heart of Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, is a reflection of the company’s artistic position − at the centre of Estonian culture.

History in the highlights

The soloists of Estonian National Opera

Liida Aadre (1904−1957), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1935−1944). Roles: Elisabeth (Wagner. Tannhäuser), Leonora; Elisabeth (Verdi. Il Trovatore; Don Carlo) Norina (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Lisa; Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. The Queen Of Spades; Eugene Onegin), Mimi / Musette (Puccini. La Bohème), Vaike (Aav. The Vikings)
Jenny Anvelt (b 1949), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1972−1982). Roles: Salome (R Strauss. Salome), Odabella (Verdi. Attila), Donna Anna (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Katerina (Shostakovich. Katerina Izmailova), Luisa (Prokofiev. Betrothal In A Monastery)
Väino Aren (b 1933), operetta artist (1971−1975). Roles: Thief / Pippi’s father (Vinter / Raudmäe. Pippi Longstocking), Gaetan (Dobrzansky. Royal Balcony), Schultz (Kander. Cabaret), Count Bitowsky (Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Aleksander Arder (1894−1966), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1923−1931). Roles: Tonio / Silvio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Demon (Rubinstein. Demon), Scarpia (Puccini. Tosca), The Dutchman (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), di Luna; Renato (Verdi. Il Trovatore; Un Ballo in maschera), Boris (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Igor (Borodin. Prince Igor)
Andrei Christiansen (1914−1968), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1942−1944), soloist of Vienna and Wiesbaden State Operas (1946). Roles: Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Wolfram (Wagner. Tannhäuser), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Marcello; Sharpless (Puccini. La Bohème; Madama Butterfly)
Marika Eensalu  (b 1947), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1970−1998). Roles: Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Marfa (Mussorgsky. Khovanshchina), Ulrica (Verdi. Un Ballo in maschera), Clare (Prokofiev. Betrothal In A Monastery), Catharina (Tubin. The Parson Of Reigi), Dorabella (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte), Bradamante (Händel. Alcina), Suzuki (Puccini. Madama Butterfly)
Enno Eesmaa (1917−1996), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1942−1987). Roles: Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Duke (Verdi. Rigoletto), Canio / Beppo (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Almaviva (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Gerald (Delibes. Lakmé), De Grieux (Massenet. Manon), Yurodivyi (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov)
Helmi Einer (1888−1968), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1912−36). Roles: Elisabeth; Elsa (Wagner. Tannhäuser; Lohengrin), Leonora; Violetta (Verdi. Il Trovadore; La Traviata), Tosca (Puccini. Tosca), Mariza; Sylva (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza; Die Csárdásfürstin)
Ants Eskola  (1908−1989), operetta artist of the EsNO (1925−1941, 1947−1949). Roles: Celestin (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Paul Fontaine (Romberg. The Desert Song), Koloman Zsupán (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza), Bobby Kengsten (Beneš. Auf den grünen Wiese), von Körvessi (Kálmán. Die Herzogin von Chicago), Bernhard (Kálmán. Kaiserin Josephine), Florizel (Ábrahám. Dzchaina), Orlofsky (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus)
Viktor Gurjev  (1914−1985), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1950−1968). Roles: Lenski; Herman (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin; The Queen Of Spades), Alfredo; Gustav (Verdi. La Traviata, Un Ballo in maschera), Cavaradossi (Puccini. Tosca), Prince (Dargomizhsky. Rusalka), Hoffmann (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Eisenstein (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Mozart (Rimsky-Korsakov. Mozart And Salieri), Vladimir (Borodin. Prince Igor)
Jaan Haabjärv (1914−1946), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1938−1946). Roles: Rodolfo (Puccini. La Bohème), Walter (Wagner. Tannhäuser), Almaviva (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Sinodal (Rubinstein. Demon), Cavaradossi; Pinkerton (Puccini. Tosca; Madama Butterfly)
Maarja Haamer (b 1938), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1965−1991). Roles: Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Barbara (Tubin. Barbara von Tiesenhusen), Marchal’s wife (R Strauss. Der Rosenkavalier), Elisabeth; Luisa (Verdi. Don Carlo; Luisa Miller), Sirje (Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Donna Elvira (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Mimi; Tosca (Puccini. La Bohème; Tosca), N19edda (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci)
Benno Hansen (1891−1952), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (1909−13, 1918−1926, 1929−1952), chorus singer of Mariinsky Theatre (1913−18). Roles: Marcel (Meyerbeer. Les Huguenots), Sarastro (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Méphistophélès (Gounod. Faust), Miller (Dargomizhsky. Rusalka), Boris (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Falstaff (Nicolai. Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Mehis (Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Colline (Puccini. La Bohème)
Ludmilla Issakova (1924−2004), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO(1949−1959). Roles: Olga; Polina (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin; The Queen Of Spades), Suzuki (Puccini. Madama Butterfly), Konchakovna (Borodin. Prince Igor), Fjodor (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Ratmir (Glinka. Ruslan And Ludmilla)
Tiina Jaaksoo (b 1931), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1960−1987). Roles: Odabella; Leonora; Aida; Elisabeth (Verdi. Attila; Il Trovatore; Aida; Don Carlo), Gioconda (Ponchielli. La Gioconda), Minnie; Mimi; Georgette (Puccini. La Fanciulla del West; La Bohème; Il Tabarro), Zaida (Rossini. Il turco in Italia), Katerina (Shostakovich. Katerina Izmailova)
Vello Jürna (b 1959), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1989). Roles: Don Carlo; Alfredo; Radames (Verdi. Don Carlo; La Traviata; Aida), Rodolfo; Pinkerton; Cavaradossi (Puccini. La Bohème; Madama Butterfly; Tosca), Nemorino (Donizetti. L’Elisir d’amore), Ferrando (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte), Des Grieux (Massenet. Manon), Don José (Bizet. Carmen)
Mare Jõgeva (b 1939), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1971−1996). Roles: Aida; Leonora; Odabella (Verdi. Aida; Il Trovatore; Attila), Salome (R Strauss. Salome), Georgette; Angelica; Mimi (Puccini. Il Tabarro; Suor Angelica; La Bohème), Santuzza (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Margherita (Boito. Mefistofele), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Agathe (Weber. Der Freischütz), Katerina (Shostakovich. Katerina Izmailova), Saima (Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge)
Anu Kaal  (b 1940), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1967−1996). Roles: Queen of the Night; Konstanze (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte; Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Violetta; Gilda; Luisa (La Traviata; Rigoletto; Luisa Miller), Sophie (R Strauss. Der Rosenkavalier), Lucia; Maria (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor; La Fille du régiment), Manon (Massenet. Manon), Lucy (Menotti. The Telephone), Roxane (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac), Adele (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Violet (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Pippi (Vinter / Raudmäe. Pippi Longstocking)
Harri Kaasik (1910−1994), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1937−1944). Roles: Turiddu (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Pinkerton (Puccini. Madama Butterfly), Pedro (d’Albert. Tiefland), Beppo (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Alfred (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), René (Lehár. Der Graf von Luxemburg), Stanislaus (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Ain; Jacques (Ardna. Girl From The Tatras; Girl With No Homeland)
Mari Kamp  (b 1915), soprano. Chorus singer of the EsNO (1935−1939) and soloist (1939−1944). Roles: Sylva, Mariza (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Gräfin Mariza), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song), Adele (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Angele (Léhar. Der Graf von Luxemburg), Violet (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Kristel (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler)
Kalju Karask (b 1931), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1959−1994). Roles: Othello; Radames; Foresto (Verdi. Otello; Aida; Attila), Canio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Cavaradossi; Rodolfo; Louis; Dick Johnson (Puccini. Tosca; La Bohème; Il Tabarro; La Fanciulla del West), Radjami; Tassilo (Kálmán. Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza), Red Shadow (Romberg. The Desert Song), Peteri (Kemény. Somewhere In The South)
Katrin Karisma  (b 1947), operetta artist of the EsNO (1968−1998). Roles: Aldonza (Leigh. Man of La Mancha), Pippi (Vinter / Raudmäe. Pippi Longstocking), Golde (Bock. Fiddler On The Roof), Daisy Darlington (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Jeanne (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Sally (Kander. Cabaret), Teele (Vinter. Spring), Anastasia (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin), Pepi (J Strauss. Wiener Blut), Fran (Bacharach. Promises, Promises), Louis Lane (Porter. Kiss Me, Kate), Dolly (Herman. Hello, Dolly)
Eedo Karrisoo  (1907−1982), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1936−1937, 1940−1944). Roles: Rodolfo; Pinkerton; Cavaradossi; Dick Johnson (Puccini. La Bohème; Madama Butterfly; Tosca; La Fanciulla del West), Canio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Don José (Bizet. Carmen), Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin)
Valentine Kask  (1899−1974), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1923−1933). Roles: Azucena; Ulrica (Verdi. Il Trovatore; Un Ballo in maschera), Mignon (Thomas. Mignon), Marta (d’Albert. Tiefland), Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Countess (Tchaikovsky. The Queen Of Spades)
Tõnu Kilgas  (b 1954), operetta artist of the EsNO (1984−2001). Roles: Boni; Koloman Zsupán (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Gräfin Mariza), Josef (Strauss. Wiener Blut), Mustafa (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Master of Ceremonies (Kander. Cabaret), Bill Calhoun (Porter. Kiss Me, Kate), Kiir (Vinter. Spring), Warder the Frog (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Njegus (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe)
Meta Kodanipork  (1904−1983), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1945−1964). Roles: Tatiana; Iolanthe (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin; Iolanthe), Anna (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Mall (Ernesaks. The Coast of Storms), Tosca (Puccini. Tosca), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Tamara (Rubinstein. Demon), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song), Sylva; Mariza (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin, Gräfin Mariza), Rose-Marie (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Rosalinde (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Hanna Glawari (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe)
Ants Kollo  (b 1949), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1980−1995) and chorus singer (since 1995). Roles: Erik (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Ferrando (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte), Lenski / Triquet (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Arturo (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor), Oronte (Händel. Alcina), Alfredo (Verdi. La Traviata), Yurodivyi (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Vašek (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Raoul; Tassilo (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre; Gräfin Mariza)
Kaie Konrad  (b 1943), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO. Roles: Elisabeth (Verdi. Don Carlo), Elvira (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Barbara (Tubin. Barbara von Tiesenhusen), Singer (Sink. Salvation Of St Mary’s Land)
Uno Kreen (1928−1996), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (1964−1996). Roles: Philipp II / Grand Inquisitor; Walter (Verdi. Don Carlo; Luisa Miller), Sarastro; Leporello; Osmin (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte; Don Giovanni; Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Daland (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Colline (Puccini. La Bohème), Gremin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Geronio (Rossini. Il turco in Italia), Pimen / Varlaam (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov)
Hendrik Krumm (1934−1989), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1961−1989). Roles: Rodolfo (Puccini. La Bohème), Gustav; Foresto; Duke; Radames; Don Carlo; Manrico; Alfredo; Rodolfo (Verdi. Un Ballo in maschera; Attila; Rigoletto; Aida; Don Carlo; Il Trovatore; La Traviata; Luisa Miller), Edgardo; Ernesto; Tonio (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor; Don Pasquale; La Fille du régiment), Turiddu (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Faust (Boito. Mefistofele), Hoffmann (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann)
Galina Kulkina (1922−1990), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1961−1971). Roles: Tamara (Rubinstein. Demon), Maria (Tchaikovsky. Mazepa), Serena (Gershwin. Porgy And Bess), Jacqueline (Kabalevsky. Colas Breugnon)
Voldemar Kuslap (b 1937), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1965). Roles: Don Giovanni; Papageno; Bartolo (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte; Le Nozze di Figaro), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Don Carlos (Prokofiev. Betrothal in a Monastery), Cyrano (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac), Malatesta; Dulcamara (Donizetti. Don Pasquale; L’Elisir d’amore), Aristide (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Cervantes (Leigh. Man of La Mancha), Mirko Zeta (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe)
Tiit Kuusik (1911−1990), baritone. Soloist of Vienna Volksoper (1938−1939), Kassel Staatsoper (1942−1943), the EsNO (1940−1941, 1944−1988). Roles: Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Rigoletto; Aetius; di Posa; Jago; di Luna; Miller (Verdi. Rigoletto; Attila; Don Carlo; Otello; Il Trovatore; Luisa Miller), Enrico (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor), Scarpia; Michele (Puccini. Tosca; Il Tabarro), Boris (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Tonio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Demon (Rubinstein. Demon), Lembitu (V Kapp. Lembitu), the Dutchman (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Prime Minister (J Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Ivo Kuusk (b 1937), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1963−1967, since 1978). Roles: Turiddu (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Don Carlo; Alfredo; Gustav III; Othello (Verdi. Don Carlo; La Traviata; Un Ballo in maschera; Otello), Edgardo; Tonio; Nemorino (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor; La Fille du régiment; L’Elisir d’amore), Pinkerton (Puccini. Madama Butterfly), Don Jerom (Prokofiev. Betrothal In A Monastery), Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Khovanski (Mussorgsky. Khovanshchina), Raoul; Tassilo (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre; Gräfin Mariza)
Mati Kõrts (b 1962), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1986). Roles: Alfredo (Verdi. La Traviata), Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Tamino; Ferrando (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte; Cosi fan tutte), De Grieux (Massenet. Manon), Almaviva (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Nemorino (Donizetti. L’Elisir d’amore), Oberto (Händel. Alcina), René (Lehár. Der Graf von Luxemburg), Christian (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac), Zedlau (J Strauss. Wiener Blut), Edwin (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin)
Ervin Kärvet (1932−2000), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (1959−1998). Roles: Kaspar / Kuno (Weber. Das Freischütz), Don Alphonso; Masetto (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte; Don Giovanni), Grand Inquisitor (Verdi. Don Carlo), Comte de Guiche (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac), Mendoza (Prokofiev. Betrothal in a Monastery), Kagler (J Strauss. Wiener Blut), Fred Graham (Porter. Kiss Me, Kate), Crown (Gershwin. Porgy And Bess), Efraim (Vinter / Raudmäe. Pippi Longstocking)
Aino Külvand  (1921−2005), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1954−1978). Roles: Senta (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Amelia; Desdemona; Aida; Leonora (Verdi. Un Ballo in maschera; Otello; Aida; Il Trovatore), Gioconda (Ponchielli. La Gioconda), Nedda (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Tosca; Minnie (Puccini. Tosca; La Fanciulla del West), Donna Elvira / Zerlina (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Gorislava (Glinka. Ruslan And Ludmilla), Iolanthe; Lisa (Tchaikovsky. Iolanthe; The Queen Of Spades), Saima (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge)
Arvo Laid  (1945−1993), baritone. Chorus singer (1968−1974) and soloist (1974−1993) of the EsNO. Roles: d’Artagnan (Vinter / Raudmäe. Four Musceteers), Orlofsky (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Marcello (Puccini. La Bohème), Alfio (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Mister Herz; Monostatos (Mozart. Der Schauspieldirektor; Die Zauberflöte), Florimond; Koloman Zsupán (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre; Gräfin Mariza), Master of Ceremonies (Kander. Cabaret), Toots (Vinter. Spring)
Milvi Laid (1906−1976), soprano. Operetta artist of the EsNO (1929−1944). Roles: Violetta (Verdi. La Traviata), Rosina (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Odette; Mariza; Sylva; Violetta (Kálmán. Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza; Die Csárdásfürstin; Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Viktoria; Madleine (Ábrahám. Viktoria und ihr Husar; Ball im Savoy), Rosalinde; Adele (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Hanna Glawari (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe), Ingel Voog (Ardna. Fisherman’s Maiden), Kristel (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler)
Ester Lepa (b 1928), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1956−1965). Roles: Susanna (Mozart. La Nozze di Figaro), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Sirje (E. Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Anna (Kemény. Somewhere In The South), Angele (Heuberger. Der Opernball), Kristel (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Elts; Lea (Arro / Normet. Rummu Jüri; Lights Of The Home Port), Papagena (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte)
Artur Linnamägi  (1915−1983), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (1946−1977). Roles: Pharao (Verdi. Aida), Commander / Masetto; Sarastro (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte), Kontchak (Borodin. Prince Igor), Gremin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Don Basilio (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Varlaam (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov)
Ida Loo-Talvari (1901−97), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1926−44). Roles: Turandot (Puccini. Turandot), Queen of the Night (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Lakmé (Delibes. Lakmé), Gilda; Violetta (Verdi. Rigoletto; La Traviata), Norina (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Margarethe (Gounod. Faust), Rosina (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Juta (Aav. The Vikings)
Olga Lund (1912−1998), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1934−1941, 1944−1963). Roles: Eboli (Verdi. Don Carlo), Lisa (Tchaikovsky. The Queen Of Spades), Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Tosca (Puccini. Tosca), Mařenka (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Donna Elvira (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Senta (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Mall (Ernesaks. The Coast of Storms), Gorislava (Glinka. Ruslan and Ludmilla), Saima (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Sylva (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin)
Valter Luts  (1923−2003), operetta artist and director at the EsNO (1946−1968). Roles: Colonel Parker (Kálmán. Die Bajadere), General Birabeau (Romberg. The Desert Song), Boris Olenich; Bogdan Sussik (Milyutin. Unsettled Happiness; Trembita), Professor Süffle (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Värdi (Arro / Normet. Rummu Jüri)
Agu Lüdig (1897−1949). Operetta director and actor at the EsNO (1919−1949). Roles: Florimond (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Porthos (Penatzky. Three Musceteers), Mustafa Bei (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Benjamin Kidd / General Birabeau (Romberg. The Desert Song), Boni; Napoleon Saint Cloche; Sterzl (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Die Bajadere; Das Hollandweibchen), Herman (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Arpad (Dostal. Die Ungarische Hochzeit), Falk (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Ollendorf (Millöcker. Der Bettelstudent), Galicot (Fall. Madame Pompadour)
Elsa Maasik  (1908−1991), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1942−1963). Roles: Butterfly (Puccini. Madama Butterfly), Elisabeth (Wagner. Tannhäuser), Donna Anna (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Nedda (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Violetta; Amelia; Gilda (Verdi. La Traviata; Un Ballo in maschera; Rigoletto), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Tamara (Rubinstein. Demon), Viktoria (Ábrahám. Viktoria und ihr Husar), Marie (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Angele (Léhar. Der Gräf von Luxemburg), Rosalinde (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song)
Teo Maiste  (b 1932), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1965). Roles: Philipp II / Grand Inquisitor; Attila; Wurm (Verdi. Don Carlo; Attila; Luisa Miller), Selim; Don Bartolo / Don Basilio (Rossini. Il turco in Italia; Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Leporello (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Don Pasquale (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Gianni Schicchi (Puccini. Gianni Schicchi), Boris / Varlaam (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Miller (Dargomizhsky. Rusalka), Mendoza (Prokofiev. Betrothal in the Monastery), Cyrano (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac), Porgy (Gershwin. Porgy And Bess), Prime Minister (J Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Hugo Malmsten (1907−1991), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1944−1971). Roles: Alfredo (Verdi. La Traviata), Edvin / Feri; Tassilo / Prince Populescu; Louis Philippe (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Gräfin Mariza; Die Bajadere), Pierre / General Birabeau (Romberg. The Desert Song), Frank; Kagler (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus; Wiener Blut), Baron Weps (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Colonel Pickering (Loewe. My Fair Lady), Mirko Zeta (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe)
Eva Meil (1917−2002), operetta artist of the EsNO (1949−1975). Roles: Nastenka (Milyutin, Unsettled Happiness), Jeanne (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Ida / Lotte (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Julia’s nurse-maid (Gounod. Roméo et Juliette), Miina (Arro / Normet. Rummu Jüri), Adelaide (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Mare Tüürimees (Oit. Weird Adventures Of The Muhu People), Susan (Romberg. The Desert Song), Missis Hopkins (Loewe. My Fair Lady), Lolitta (Kemény. Somewhere In The South)
Alfred Mering (1903−1988), operetta artist and director at the EsNO (1946−1965). Roles: Koloman Zsupán; Napoleon Saint Cloche; Boni (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza; Die Bajadere; Die Csárdásfürstin), Vincenz (Fall. Der Fidele Bauer), Frog (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Krizsán (Kemény. Somewhere In The South), Aadu Kadakas (Oit. Weird Adventures Of The Muhu People), Alfred Doolittle (Loewe. My Fair Lady)
Hans Miilberg (b 1945), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1977). Roles: Almaviva; Don Giovanni; Papageno; (Mozart. Le Nozze di Figaro; Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte), Poet (Rossini. Il turco in Italia), Aristide / Mustafa Bei (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Lempelius (Tubin. The Parson Of Reigi), Raju (E Kapp. Freedom Singer), the Master Singer (Cimarosa. Il Maestro di Cappella), Prime Minister (J Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Enno Mikkelsaar (b 1945), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1977−1986). Roles: Aetius; Germont (Verdi. Attila; La Traviata), Alfio (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Pristav (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Ottokar (Weber. Der Freischütz)
Olga Mikk-Krull  (1887−1980), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1910−1912, 1918−1933, 1940−1958). Roles: Aida; Gilda (Verdi. Aida; Rigoletto), Margarete de Valois (Meyerbeer. Les Huguenots), Margarethe (Gounod. Faust), Rosina (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Tosca; Butterfly; Mimi (Puccini. Tosca; Madama Butterfly; La Bohème), Lisa (Tchaikovsky. The Queen Of Spades), Mignon (Thomas. Mignon), Julia (Gounod. Roméo et Juliette), Zerlina (Mozart. Don Giovanni)
Gerda Murre (1913−1981), sopran. Soloist of the EsNO (1937−40, free-lance 1956−1963). Roles: Nedda (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Giulietta (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Rosalinde (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song), Odette Darimonde; Mariza; Ninon; Risa Marbach (Kálmán. Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza; Das Veilchen vom Montmartre; Herbsmanöver), Eva (Ardna. Girl Fom The Tatras), Lolitta (Kemény. Somewhere In The South), Vanda (Friml / Stotthart. Rose-Marie), Marguérite (Heuberger. Der Opernball)
Paul Mägi sen  (1917−1973), tenor. The EsNO soloist (1944−1954), director (1949−1958), chief director (1958−61). Roles: Camille; René / Count Luxemburg (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe; Der Graf von Luxemburg), Edvin; Raoul (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Beppo (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Triquet (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Vašek (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Aramis (Benatzky. Three Musceteers)
Ahti Männik (b 1934), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1972−1991). Roles: di Luna; Germon; Renato, Aetius (Verdi. Il Trovatore; La Traviata; Un Ballo in maschera; Attila), Marcello; Michele (Puccini. La Bohème; Il Tabarro), Faninal (R Strauss. Der Rosenkavalier), Jochanaan (R Strauss. Salome), Vambo (E. Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Shaklovityi (Mussorgsky. Khovanshchina), Frank (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus)
Eve Neem  (1942−2006), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1970−1980). Roles: Eboli; Azucena; Amneris (Verdi. Don Carlo; Il Trovatore; Aida), Blind Person (Ponchielli. La Gioconda), Santuzza (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Mother (Szokolay. Vernasz), Olga (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Celine (Kabalevsky. Colas Breugnon)
Veera Nelus (1916−96), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1944−1971). Roles: Rosina (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Gilda; Violetta (Verdi. Rigoletto; La Traviata), Norina (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Musette (Puccini. La Bohème), Zerlina; Susanna (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Le Nozze di Figaro), Lakmé (Delibes. Lakmé), Adele (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Ludmilla (Glinka. Ruslan And Ludmilla), Olympia (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Marfa (Rimsky-Korsakov. The Tsar’s Bride), Manon (Massenet. Manon)
Illart Orav (1936−94), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1962−19). Roles: Don Giovanni; Papageno (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Onegin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Gianni Schicchi (Puccini. Gianni Schicchi), Amonasro (Verdi. Aida), Silvio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Mister X (Kálmán. Die Zirkusprinzessin), Jim Kenyon (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Olav (Aav. The Vikings), Petrov (Ernesaks. The Coast Of Storms)
Georg Ots  (1920−1975), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1945−1975). Roles: Jago; Renato; Rigoletto; Germont; di Posa (Verdi. Otello; Un Ballo di maschera, Rigoletto; La Traviata; Don Carlo), Don Giovanni; Papageno; Figaro (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte; Le Nozze di Figaro), Porgy (Gershwin. Porgy And Bess), Malatesta (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Demon (Rubinstein. Demon), Colas (Kabalevsky. Colas Breugnon), Onegin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Gianni Schicchi (Puccini. Gianni Schicchi), Cervantes / Don Quijote (Leigh. Man Of La Mancha), Pierre / Red Shadow (Romberg. The Desert Song), Andrei (Milyutin. The Unsettled Happiness), Danilo (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe), Radjami; Tassilo (Kálmán. Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza)
Karl Ots (1882−1961), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1920−1957). Roles: Tristan; Lohengrin; Tannhäuser (Wagner. Tristan und Isolde; Lohengrin; Tannhäuser), Herman (Tchaikovsky. The Queen of Spades), Radames; Manrico; Othello (Verdi. Aida; Il Trovatore; Otello), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Valentin (Gounod. Faust), Raoul (Meyerbeer. Les Huguenots), Pinkerton; Cavaradossi; Rodolfo (Puccini. Madama Butterfly; Tosca; La Bohème), Don José  (Bizet. Carmen), Hoffmann (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Éléazar (Halévy. La Juive)
Heino Otto (1915−1982), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1947−1969). Roles: Lyonel (Flotow. Martha), Ernesto (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Turiddu (Mascagni. Cavallieria rusticana), Cavaradossi (Puccini. Tosca), Don José (Bizet. Carmen), Almaviva (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Seviglia), Gerald (Delibes. Lakmé), Alfred (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Franz (Schubert / Berte. Das Dreimädelhaus), Adam (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler)
Paula Padrik  (b 1926), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1955−1969). Roles: Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Antonia (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Manon (Massenet. Manon), Mimi; Butterfly (Puccini. La Bohème; Madama Butterfly), Queen of the Night (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Lisa (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Marfa (Rimsky-Korsakov. The Tsar’s Bride), Francesca (Rahmaninov. Francesca da Rimini), Sirje (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Lea (Arro / Normet. Lights of the Home Port)
Mati Palm (b 1942). Soloist of the EsNO (since 1969). Roles: Philippe II; Attila; Walter; de Silva; Zaccaria (Verdi. Don Carlo; Attila; Luisa Miller; Ernani; Nabucco), Selim; Don Basilio (Rossini. Il turco in Italia; Il Barbiere di Siviglia), The Dutchman (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Sarastro (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Don Quijote (Massenet. Don Quichotte), Falstaff (Nicolai. Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Boris / Pimen; Ivan Khovanski / Dosifei (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov; Khovanshchina)
Liidia Panova  (b 1928), mezzo-soprano. Chorus singer (1952−60) and soloist (1960−94) of the EsNO. Roles: Amneris; Desdemona (Verdi. Aida, Otello), Marina Mniszech (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Cherubino (Mozart. Le Nozze di Figaro), Lubasha (Rimsky-Korsakov. The Tsar’s Bride), Octavian (R Strauss. Der Rosenkavalier), Laura (Ponchielli. La Gioconda), Bess (Gershwin. Porgy and Bess), Herodias (R Strauss. Salome), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song), Theodore (Kálmán. Die Zirkusprinzessin), Gabrielle (J Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Paul Pinna  (1884−1949), actor, director. One of the founders of the Estonian National Opera in 1906, actor (1906−1914, 1922−1923, 1927−1941, and 1944−1949). The main roles: Boni (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin), Prince Bogumil (Fall. Der liebe Augustin), Baptista (Schebalin. The Taming Of The Shrew), Kalehas (Offenbach. La Belle Helene), Caesar (Reimann. Distant Coastlines)
Theo Puks (1897−1988), bass. Soloist (1944−19) and chorus singer (1951−1963) of the EsNO. Roles: Doctor; Sparafucile (Verdi. La Traviata; Rigoletto), Zaretski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Deva Sing (Kálmán. Die Bajadere), Fisherman (Ernesaks. The Coast Of Storms)
Sirje Puura (b 1949), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1976−1997). Roles: Butterfly; Mimi / Musetta; Angelica (Puccini. Madama Butterfly; La Bohème; Sour Angelica), Dorabella; Papagena; Susanna (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte; Die Zauberflöte; Le Nozze di Figaro), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Luisa (Prokofiev. Betrothal In A Monastery), Madeleine; (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Ninon; Lisa (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre; Gräfin Mariza), Franziska (J Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Väino Puura (1951), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1976). Roles: Renato; Aetius; Miller; Germont (Verdi. Un Ballo in maschera; Attila; Luisa Miller; La Traviata), Papageno; Figaro (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte; Le Nozze di Figaro), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Enrico (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor), Onegin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Silvio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Barinkay; Prime Minister / Zedlau (J Strauss. Der Zigeunerbaron; Wiener Blut), Danilo (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe)
Aleskander Püvi (1921−1997), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1956−1971, 1974−1977). Roles: Othello; Radames; Manrico (Verdi. Otello; Aida; Il Trovatore), Canio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), don José (Bizet. Carmen), Cavaradossi (Puccini. Tosca), Herodes (R Strauss. Salome), Neeme (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge)
Aaro Pärn (1910−1990), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (1945−1968). Roles: Sarastro (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Nilakantha (Delibes. Lakmé), Inn-keeper (Ernesaks. The Coast Of Storms), Konchak (Borodin. Prince Igor), Don Basilio (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Don Pasquale (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Tonio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Gremin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Varlaf (Glinka. Ruslan And Ludmilla), Kecel (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Mefistopheles (Gounod. Faust)
Endel Pärn  (1914−1990). Operetta artist of the EsNO (1942−1986). Roles: Henry Higgins (Loewe. My Fair Lady), Sancho Panza (Leigh. Man Of La Mancha), Boni; Koloman Zsupán; Napoleon Saint Cloche (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Gräfin Mariza; Die Bajadere), Benjamin Kidd (Romberg. The Desert Song), Njegus (Lehar. Die lustige Witwe), Würmchen (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Herman Bing (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Dr. Falke (Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Mati (Arro / Normet. Lights Of The Home Port)
Helvi Raamat (b 1947), soprano. Chorus singer (1971−1980) and soloist (1980−90) of the EsNO. Roles: Senta (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Odabella; Amelia; Giuletta; Luisa (Verdi. Attila; Un Ballo in maschera; Un Giorno di Regno; Luisa Miller), Margherita (Boito. Mefistofele), Barbara (Tubin. Barbara von Tiesenhusen), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Mařenka (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Agathe (Weber. Der Freischütz)
Ott Raukas (1911−1962), bass. Soloist of the EsNO (1938−1962). Roles: Philipp II (Verdi. Don Carlo), Colline (Puccini. La Bohème), Don Basilio / Bartolo (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Leporello; Bartolo (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Le Nozze di Figaro), Konchak (Borodin. Prince Igor), Gremin; René (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin; Iolanthe), Daland (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer,), Kaupo (V Kapp. Lembitu), Mehis (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge)
Riina Reinik (1908−1990), operetta artist. Soloist of the EsNO (1931−1944). Roles: Flora (Verdi. La Traviata), Lisa; Anastasia; Anina (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza; Die Csárdásfürstin; Der Teufelsreiter), Malle (Ardna. Girl From The Tatras), Adelaide (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Etelka (Dostal. Die Ungarische Hochzeit), Daisy (Ábráham. Ball im Savoy), Lisi (Beneš. Auf der grünen Wiese), Mi (Léhar. Das Land des Lächelns)
Artur Rinne (1910−1984), baritone. Chorus singer (1929−1934) and soloist (1941−1944) of the EsNO. Roles: Papageno (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Figaro / Bartolo (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia); Chaunard (Puccini. La Bohème), Mercutio (Gounod. Roméo et Juliette), Alfio (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana)
Mait Robas  (b 1925), tenor. Soloist of the  EsNO (1972−1986). Roles: Leemet (Ernesaks. The Coast of Storms), Fenton (Nicolai. Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Pedrillo (Mozart. Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Gaston (Verdi. La Traviata), Alfred (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Sellem (Stravinski. The Rake’s Progress), Kulle (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge)
Marta Rungi (1902−1988), soprano. Chorus singer (1925−1935) and soloist (1935−1941 and 1944−1957) of the EsNO. Roles: Nedda (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Mimi (Puccini. La Bohème), Gilda; Violetta (Verdi. Rigoletto; La Traviata), Julia; Margarethe (Gounod. Roméo et Juliette; Faust), Vaike (Aav. The Vikings), Mařenka (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Iolanthe; Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Iolanthe; Eugene Onegin), Tamara (Rubinstein. Demon), Antonia (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann)
Helgi Sallo (b 1944), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1965). Roles: Mařenka (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Musette (Puccini. La Bohème), Zerlina; Papagena (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte), Annchen (Weber. Der Freischütz), Frasquita (Bizet. Carmen), Dolly (Herman. Hello, Dolly), Sally (Kander. Cabaret), Aldonza (Leigh. Man Of La Mancha), Mariza; Ninon (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza; Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Maria (Bernstein. West Side Story), Katharina (Porter. Kiss Me, Kate), Gabrielle (J Strauss. Wiener Blut), Pippi (Vinter / Raudmäe. Pippi Longstocking)
Haili Sammelselg (b 1928), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1964−1984). Roles: Leonora (Verdi. Il Trovatore), Bess (Gershwin. Porgy And Bess), Donna Anna; Pamina (Mozart. Don Giovanni; Die Zauberflöte), Juta (Aav. The Vikings), Mall (Ernesaks. The Coast Of Storms), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin) Theódore (Kálmán. Die Zirkusprinzessin), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song), Rosalinde (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus)
Konstantin Savi (1894−1943), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1928−38). Roles: Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Grigori (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Radjami; Tassilo; Sander (Kálmán. Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza; Der Teufelsreiter), Jim (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Aristide (Ábrahám. Ball im Savoy), Raoul (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Danilo (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe)
Leonid Savitski (b 1948), bass. Soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre (1980−1982), the EsNO (1983−91), Munich State Theatre (1993−98), the Estonian National Opera (since 1998). Roles: Boris / Varlaam / Pimen; Dosifei (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov; Khovanshchina), Gremin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), De Silva; Philipp II / Grand Inquisitor; Wurm; Zaccaria (Verdi. Ernani; Don Carlo; Luisa Miller; Nabucco), Daland (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Commander / Leporello (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Mefistofeles (Boito. Mefistofele), Basilio (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen)
Linda Sellistemägi (1909−81), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1942−1974). Mimi; Butterfly (Puccini. La Bohème; Madama Butterfly), Donna Elvira (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Mařenka (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Tamara (Rubinstein. Demon)
Jenny Siimon (1905−1982), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1936−1941, 1944−1956). Roles: Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Olga; Countess (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin; The Queen Of Spades), Lemme (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge), Azucena (Verdi. Il Trovatore), Rosalia (d’Albert. Tiefland), Princess (Dargomizshky. Rusalka)
Tarmo Sild (b 1953), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1980). Roles: Rodrigo; Germont (Verdi. Don Carlo; La Traviata), Enrico (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Sharpless; Marcello (Puccini. Madama Butterfly; La Bohème), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Ottokar (Weber. Der Freischütz), Don Alfonso / Guglielmo (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte), Onegin (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Cyrano (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac)
Sophie Sooäär (1914−1996). Operetta artist of the EsNO (1944−1971). Roles: Valencienne (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe), Anastasia; Mariette; Ninon (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin; Das Veilchen vom Montmartre; Die Bajadere), Vanda (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Azuri / Susan (Romberg. The Desert Song), Anne (Arro / Normet. Lights of the Home port), Malle (Ardna. Girl From The Tatras), Missis Peace (Loewe. My Fair Lady), Rosenblum (Vinter / Raudmäe. Pippi Longstocking)
Jelena Solovjova (b 1934), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1961−1982). Serpina (Pergolesi. La Serva padrona), Sophie (R Strauss. Die Rosenkavalier), Musetta (Puccini. La Bohème), Gilda; Oscar (Verdi. Rigoletto; Un Ballo in maschera), Olympia (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Norina (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Blonde (Mozart. Die Entführung aus dem Serail)
Alfred Sällik (1890−1943), tenor. Soloist and director at the EsNO (1910−1940). Roles: Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Alfredo (Verdi. La Traviata), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Cavaradossi (Puccini. Tosca), Tonio (Donizetti. La Fille du régiment), Erik (Wagner. Der fliegende Holländer), Danilo; René (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe; Der Graf von Luxemburg), Edvin; Mister X; Radjami (Kálmán. Die Csárdásfürstin, Die Zirkusprinzessin; Die Bajadere), Adam (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler)
Jassi Zahharov (b 1954), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1997). Roles: Rigoletto; Nabucco; Jago; Amonasro (Verdi. Rigoletto; Nabucco; Otello; Aida), Tonio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Scarpia (Puccini. Tosca), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), De Quiche (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac)
Leili Tammel  (b 1943), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1973−1999). Roles: Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Santuzza (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Ulrica; Azucena; Eboli; Federica (Verdi. Un Ballo in maschera; Il Trovatore; Don Carlo; Luisa Miller), Marfa (Mussorgsky. Khovanshchina), Ruggiero (Händel. Alcina), Herodias (R Strauss. Salome), Dorabella (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte)
Martin Taras (1899−1968), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1932−1959). Roles: Lohengrin; Tannhäuser (Wagner. Lohengrin; Tannhäuser), Radames; Manrico; Don Carlo; Alfredo; Hertsog (Verdi. Aida; Il Trovatore; Don Carlo; La Traviata; Rigoletto), Cavaradossi; Pinkerton; Rodolfo (Puccini. Tosca; Madama Butterfly; La Bohème), Ernesto (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Neeme (E Kapp. The Flames Of Revenge)
Georg Taleš (1912−1997), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1940−1971). Roles: Rigoletto; Germont; di Luna (Verdi. Rigoletto; La Traviata; Il Trovatore), Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Figaro (Mozart. Le Nozze di Figaro), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Tonio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Marcello; Scarpia; Jack Rance (Puccini. La Bohème; Tosca; La Fanciulla del West), Prince Igor (Borodin. Prince Igor)
Urve Tauts (b 1935), mezzo-soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1960−2001). Roles: Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Eboli; Azucena; Federica; Ulrica (Verdi. Don Carlo; Il Trovatore; Luisa Miller; Un Ballo in maschera), Herodias (R Strauss. Salome), Nurse-maid / Landlady; Marfa (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov; Khovanshchina), Laura (Ponchielli. La Gioconda), Octavian (Strauss. Der Rosenkavalier), Lubasha (Rimsky-Korsakov. The Tsar’s Bride), Celiné (Kabalevsky. Colas Breugnon), Duenna (Prokofiev. Betrothal In A Monastery), Santuzza (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana)
Klaudia Tiidus (1917−1996), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1950−1963). Roles: Violetta; Gilda (Verdi. La Traviata; Rigoletto), Butterfly (Puccini. Madama Butterfly), Adele (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus), Tamara (Rubinstein. Demon), Ludmilla (Glinka. Ruslan And Ludmilla), Giulietta (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Susanna (Mozart. Le Nozze di Figaro), Juta (E Kapp. Winter Fairy Tale)
Olga Torokoff-Tiedeberg (1902−1964), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1927−1944). Roles: Elisabeth / Venus; Isolde; Elsa (Wagner. Tannhäuser; Tristan und Isolde; Lohengrin), Desdemona (Verdi. Otello), Madeleine (Giordano. Andrea Chénier), Tosca; Mimi (Puccini. Tosca; La Bohème), Manon (Massenet. Manon), Tatiana (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin)
Tiit Tralla (b 1937), tenor. Soloist of the EsNO (1969−2001). Roles: Ernesto (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Narciso (Rossini. Il turco in Italia), Rinuccio (Puccini. Gianni Schicchi), Beppo (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Vašek (Smetana. The Bartered Bride), Suiski (Mussorgsky. Boris Godunov), Monostatos (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte), Hussar (Stravinsky. Mavra)
Annika Tõnuri  (b 1961), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (since 1989). Roles: Rosina (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Fiordiligi; Pamina; Cherubino (Mozart. Cosi fan tutte; Die Zauberflöte; Le Nozze di Figaro), Mariza; Sylva (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza, Die Csárdásfürstin), Arsena; Gabrielle (J Strauss. Der Zigeunerbaron; Wiener Blut)
Silvia Urb (b 1924), Soloist of the EsNO (1954−1972). Roles: Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Tiiu (Ernesaks. Hand In Hand), Bess (Gershwin. Porgy and Bess), Hanna Glawari (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe), Theodore; Odette (Kálmán. Die Zirkusprinzessin; Die Bajadere), Lolitta (Kemény. Somewhere in the South), Stella / Lana (Normet. Stella Polaris), Gabrielle (J Strauss. Wiener Blut), Eliza (Loewe. My Fair Lady), Katharina / Lilli Vanessi (Porter. Kiss Me, Kate), Margit (Arro / Normet. Lights of the Home Port)
Ia Uudelepp (1913−1983), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1938−1948). Roles: Venus (Wagner. Tännhauser), Julia (Gounod. Roméo et Juliette), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Santuzza (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Ninon (Kálmán. Das Veilchen vom Montmartre), Juta (Ardna. Girl With No Homeland)
Els Vaarman (1908−1976), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1935−1944). Roles: Carmen (Bizet. Carmen), Butterfly; Tosca (Puccini. Madama Butterfly; Tosca), Santuzza (Mascagni. Cavalleria rusticana), Marta (d’Albert. Tiefland), Maria (Tchaikovsky. Mazepa), Odette; Mariza (Kálmán. Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza), Hanna Glawari (Lehár. Die Lustige Witwe), Margot (Romberg. The Desert Song), Rose-Marie (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie)
Kalju Vaha (1926−1962). Operetta artist of the EsNO (1940−1948, 1950−1959). Roles: Napoleon Saint Cloche (Kálmán. Die Bajadere), Benjamin Kidd (Romberg. The Desert Song), Sergei (Milyutin. Unsettled Happiness), Wild Herman (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Värdi (Arro / Normet. Rummu Jüri), Njegus (Léhar. Die lustige Witwe), Süffle (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Bogdan (Milyutin. Trembita)
Harri Vasar (1926−1994), tenor. Operetta artist of the EsNO (1960−1981). Roles: Zedlau; Falke / Orlofsky (Strauss. Wiener Blut; Die Fledermaus), Tony (Bernstein. West Side Story), Lauri (Normet. Stella Polaris), Kote (Dolidze. Keto and Kote), Freddy (Loewe. My Fair Lady), Wild Herman (Friml / Stothart. Rose-Marie), Céléstin (Hervé. Mam’zelle Nitouche)
Vootele Veikat (1907−1980), baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1930−1963). Roles: Figaro (Rossini. Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Scarpia (Puccini. Tosca), Demon (Rubinstein. Demon), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Almaviva (Mozart. Le Nozze di Figaro), di Luna; di Posa (Verdi. Il Trovatore; Don Carlo), Silvio (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Ungru Count (Ernesaks. The Coast of Storms), Jeletski (Tchaikovsky. The Queen Of Spades), Igor / Galitski (Borodin. Prince Igor)
Heli Veskus (b 1969), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (since 2001). Roles: Desdemona (Verdi. Otello), Tosca; Mimi (Puccini. Tosca; Madama Butterfly), Nedda (Leoncavallo. Pagliacci), Micaëla (Bizet. Carmen), Agathe (Weber. Der Freischütz), Barbara (Tubin. Barbara von Tiesenhusen), Hanna Glawari (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe), Gabrielle (J Strauss. Wiener Blut)
Asta Vihandi (1929−1993), soprano. Operetta artist of the EsNO (1950−1985). Roles: Mariza / Lisa; Mariette (Kálmán. Gräfin Mariza, Die Bajadere), Franziska (J Strauss. Wiener Blut), Valencienne (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe), Kristel (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Anna (Kemény. Somewhere in the South), Lea; Elts (Arro / Normet. Lights of the Home Port; Rummu Jüri), Olesya (Milyutin. Trembita)
Aarne Viisimaa (1898−1989), tenor. Soloist and director at the EsNO (1927−1944). Roles: Romeo; Faust (Gounod. Roméo et Juliette; Faust), Lohengrin (Wagner. Lohengrin), Tamino; Ottavio (Mozart. Die Zauberflöte; Don Giovanni), Pinkerton (Puccini. Madama Butterfly), Lenski (Tchaikovsky. Eugene Onegin), Eisenstein (Strauss. Die Fledermaus)
Vello Viisimaa (1928−1991), operetta artist at the EsNO (1944−1980). Roles: Boni; Napoleon Saint Cloche; Koloman Zsupán (Kálmán. Die Csardasfürstin; Die Bajadere; Gräfin Mariza), Pappacoda (J Strauss. Eine Nacht in Venedig), St Brioche (Lehár. Die lustige Witwe), Stanislaus (Zeller. Der Vogelhändler), Benjamin Kidd (Romberg. The Desert Song), Toni (Kálmán. Die Zirkusprinzessin)
Karl Viitol (1888−1944), bass / baritone. Soloist of the EsNO (1918−1944). Roles: Wolfram; The Dutchman (Wagner. Tannhäuser; Der fliegende Holländer), Don Pasquale (Donizetti. Don Pasquale), Germont; Rigoletto; Amonasro (Verdi. La Traviata; Rigoletto; Aida), Escamillo (Bizet. Carmen), Leporello (Mozart. Don Giovanni), Scarpia (Puccini. Tosca)
Margarita Voites (b 1936), soprano. Soloist of the EsNO (1969−1990). Roles: Lucia;  Maria; Norina (Donizetti. Lucia di Lammermoor; La Fille du régiment; Don Pasquale), Violetta; Gilda (Verdi. La Traviata; Rigoletto), Fiorella (Rossini. Il turco in Italia), Konstanze (Mozart. Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Alcina (Händel. Alcina), Olympia (Offenbach. Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Lucy (Menotti. The Telephone), Roxane (Tamberg. Cyrano de Bergerac), Rosalinde (J Strauss. Die Fledermaus)

Download: the whole booklet (79 pages, pdf, 1956 KB)

Other records of Estonian National Opera produced by ERP: double-CD Cyrano de Bergerac, DVD Modigliani − the Cursed Artist, Faust, Verdi Wagner 200, double-CD Lembitu, DVD Coppélia, DVD Wallenberg, CD Artist Chagall, CD + bonus DVD Voices of the Estonian National Opera / Estonia ooperihääled, DVD Georg Udukübara aaria
See also: Estonian National Opera at Glasperlenspiel Festival

Distribution in Estonia by Easy Living Music: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , phone (+372 ) 51 06058
Worldwide distribution by Europe RCD, www.russiancdshop.com

GIRLS’ CHOIR ELLERHEIN
Tiia-Ester Loitme

Estonin Choral music

... Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, 武満 徹 (Takemitsu Tōru) ...

Performed by: Girls’ Choir Ellerhein and Tiia-Ester Loitme, conductor

Ülle Sander – chorus master
Voice placing – Eha Pärg
Sound engineer – Mati Brauer
Design – Piret Mikk
Produced by Ellerhein, Eesti Rahvusringhääling and Estonian Record Productions
© 2009 Ellerhein
n©b
ERP 2109

Arvo Pärt. Two Prayers, fragm, 153 sec, mp3
Veljo Tormis. The Singer’s Childhood, fragm, 118 sec, mp3

Ellerhein

Tallinn Children’s Choir was founded in 1951 by Heino Kaljuste. In 1969 the choir was named Ellerhein. A year later, Tiia-Ester Loitme began working with the choir as an assistant conductor and since 1989 she has been the choir’s chief conductor. The choir’s current assistant conductor and music theory teacher is Ülle Sander, the accompanist is Katrin Kuldjärv and the vocal coach is Eha Pärg.

Ellerhein has received wide international acclaim for its beautiful sound and is the winner of many choir competitions. The choir has received the 1st prize in Celje (Slovenia, 1977), Powell River (Canada, 1988), Giessen (Germany, 1990 and 1997), Tolosa (Spain, 1990 and 1997), Nantes (France, 1993), Tallinn (Estonia, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008), Arezzo (Italy, 1994), Ankara (Turkey, 2005), Wuppertal (Germany, 2007), as well as the European Grand Prix in Tolosa (Spain, 1997), Takarazuka (Japan, 1995), Tolosa (Spain, 1997). In 2007 the choir won the Estonian Radio prize The Best Estonian Choir and in 2008 they won the Grand Prix at the international choir competition Kathaumixw in Canada. At the same competition they also received the 2nd prize in folk & cultural traditionscategory.

The choir has been a frequent visitor to Japan, where the highlight of their tour in 2005 was the performance at Tokyo City Opera concert hall. The choir has worked closely with conductor Chifuru Matsubara and as a result, the recording companies BMG, Victor JVC and M&I Company have produced five discs with Ellerhein performing Estonian music. In 2004 the choir’s recording career culminated with the winning of the prestigious Grammy Award for the Virgin Classics recording of Jean Sibelius’ cantatas. In 2005, New York Times named their Virgin Classics recording of Peer Gynt one of the most outstanding recordings of the year. The next year the choir received the BBC Music Magazine award in the category of orchestral music.

Ellerhein has worked with prominent conductors such as Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Gilbert Kaplan, Andrey Chistyakov, Peeter Lilje, Saulius Sondeckis, Arvo Volmer, Eri Klas, Anu Tali, Chifuru Matsubara, Tõnu Kaljuste, Olari Elts, Andres Mustonen, Paul Mägi and others.

Since 2003 Ellerhein is a member of Europa Cantat, European Federation of Young Choirs.

Tiia-Ester Loitme

Tiia-Ester Loitme graduated from Estonian Academy of Music in 1965 (Prof Gustav Ernesaks). In 1970 she started working with the girls’ choir Ellerhein and since 1989 she has been the choir’s chief conductor. In 1975–1981 she simultaneously taught at Estonian Academy of Music, and in 1980 she studied under the guidance of Prof V Sokolov at the Moscow State Conservatoire. Tiia-Ester Loitme has lead Ellerhein to many international victories and her contribution to Estonian music has earned her several prizes, such as Gustav Ernesaks Choir Music Award (1995), Order of the White Star (1997), the Tallinn City Honorary Decoration (1998), the Estonian Cultural Endowment prize (2003), Grammy Award for the best choral performance for the Virgin Classics record of Jean Sibelius’ cantatas (2004), the Third class Order of the White Star (2005), Honorary Member of the Estonian Choral Association (2007), Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (Japan, 2008), Musician of the Year (2008).

Veljo Tormis

Veljo Tormis (b 1930), one of the greatest masters in Estonian music, has composed almost exclusively for the voice – hundreds of songs, cycles, and large-scale compositions for different choruses, some stage-works and cycles of solo songs, and only single instrumental pieces. Veljo Tormis had often to explain that for him all music starts from words, he needs a text for composing that he does not have “purely musical” ideas. He has emphasized that he cannot (or does not want to) write music for pleasure or entertainment, his music has always something to say about the world, nature, men, and peoples. Tormis is a real master of choral sound and large-scale choral composition.
In the age of 12 Veljo Tormis came to Tallinn to study music and after a year of private lessons he was accepted to the organ class at the Conservatory. In 1951 he continued his studies as a composer at the Moscow Conservatory with Prof Vissarion Shebalin, graduating in 1956. Shebalin supported his student’s interest in national style based on the use of folk music. Returning to Tallinn he taught music theory and composition at the Music School. In 1959 he lead a student expedition to a small Estonian island of Kihnu. The group happened to attend a real traditional wedding with old folk songs and dances. The enchanting effect of this event was so strong that it changed Tormis’ relationship to the use of folk material. But crucial, in that respect, was his acquaintance with the music and writings of Béla Bartók, analyses of choral songs by Zoltán Kodály after a visit to Hungary in 1962 that changed the musical language of Tormis. One of his most popular cycles Looduspildid (Nature Pictures) was written under those impressions. Some years later Tormis finished his first great cycle Eesti kalendrilaulud (Estonian Calendar Songs, 1967) for a male and a female chorus, in which the primeval enchanting power of ancient folk tunes used as the material for original choral composition was fully exposed. That was the starting point for “real” Tormis style as we know it now, thirty years later, and several cycles of great choral compositions based on ancient folk songs of different peoples followed.
In the 1970s the scope of Tormis’ search for archaic material widened, first including the closest Balto-Finnic people, but soon some commissions led him to different traditions. From one side, the driving force has been his attention to the quality of text, his care that the meaning of the text should be essential for singers. But not less important was a deep conviction that the ancient song traditions of different people have something in common, they all belong to a way of life that was more close to nature, they contain old beliefs, morals and ethics.

Prof Urve Lippus
 

Distribution by Ellerhein, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Other recordings with Ellerhein: Missa Nona. Green Tārā, Tormis. Nuud ep on ilus elada, The Hand Of God

EESTI PORTREED
PORTRAITS OF ESTONIA

Duo Concertante

A good collection of chamber music for guitar and flute by the mid-generation of Estonian composers Kõrvits, Eespere, Vähi, Sisask and others performed by Tiit Peterson and Tauno Saviauk – probably the most brilliant masters of these instruments in Estonia.
Produced by ERP for Antes Classics.

Performed by Duo Concertante: Tauno Saviauk – flute; Tiit Peterson – guitar

#3, Prelude II, fragm, 72 sec, mp3

Recorded in the studio of Estonian Radio & the hall of Merchant Guild in 1999
Engineered by Maido Maadik & Aili Jõeleht
Mastered by MS
Liner notes by Igor Garshnek
Edited by Pro Classics, Germany
English texts edited by Tiina Jokinen

Special thanks to Estonian Cultural Endowment & Klassikaraadio
Published by Antes Edition / Edition 49, except Preludes I & II by Eres Edition
Total time 62:54
DDD, Stereo
Produced by ERP in 2001 for Antes Edition Classics
BM-CD 31.9160

The present CD of Duo Concertante – Tiit Peterson (guitar) and Tauno Saviauk (flute) – bears a significant title “Portraits Of Estonia”. Most of the pieces selected for this CD have been written in 1991–1999 and are dedicated to Tiit Peterson and Tauno Saviauk. So, “Portraits Of Estonia” is at the same time a portrait of two musicians as well as a portrait of Estonian newest music. And even more, it is also a set of self-portraits of seven Estonian composers. Whatever the idea or subject matter of the work might be, composer always leaves his self-portrait in it.
See also other recordings by Tiit Peterson: “White Concert”

Raimo Kangro (1949–2001) is perhaps the most well-known portraitist among Estonian composers. His series “Display” consists of 11 musical portraits for various chamber ensembles, including portraits of Steve Reich, Mozart and Schubert. The idea of the composition is play and simple charm of playing is typical to Kangro’s musical handwriting as a whole. In his piece “Alla sincerone” (1998) the flute melody can be characterized as a neoromantic cantilena, guitar playing the role of harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment. All together it makes a colourful and exciting landscape of simple images.

Tõnu Kõrvits (1969) can be considered as an aquarellist in music. His compositions are always picturesque and they even share the artistic sense of the works of impressionists. In Two Preludes for guitar (1995) the composer’s idea is to avoid complicate rhythmic schemes in spite of multitude of triplets and quintuplets and thus the musicians should perform the preludes in relatively free movement and with free romantic breathing. In his guitar music, a number of hidden elements and intonations of pop music can be discovered.

Ester Mägi (1922) seems to paint beautiful Estonian landscapes − virgin forests, intact lakes and old-fashioned farmhouses in her music. In Mägi’s compositions tight contact with Estonian folk music appears, her chamber works can be characterized as lyrical and deeply poetical soundscapes. A due (1997) for the flute and the guitar is not an exception – fragile and airy images draw our attention. In this piece intonations of Estonian national music appear to some extent less than in her other chamber works. Here the composer has rather expressed most sensitively the general mentality of Estonian folk-lore.

Peeter Vähi (1955) appears sometimes as a graphic artist (Four Engravings Of Reval), in some works you can feel a touch of Dalí’s surrealism (To His Highness Salvador D). Peeter Vähi seems to be familiar with both Chinese silk painting and pop art – East and West as well as intonations of Baroque and pop-music interlace in his works. Dance Of The Moon Goddess won the 2nd prize at the contest of composers in 1996. As an impressive composition performing the variety of technical possibilities of the guitar, it is one of the favourite pieces in Tiit Peterson’s concert programs. Here rhythm is no less important than soundscape − guitar is sometimes used even as a percussion instrument. It makes a perfect suggestive accompaniment for the mythic dance of the goddess. Mystical Uniting (1991) has an effect as Eastern and Western frames of mind meeting each other – we can hear both meditative and improvisatory moments and it allows us to place the piece under the term “cross-culture”.

Jaan Rääts (1932) is the abstractionist in Estonian music. His works are well-proportioned and sometimes even organized by geometrical regularity. In Nameless Music (1999) repetition of images is significant – Rääts seems to be drawing a pattern of images. At the same time this repetition is more of neo-classicist and neo-baroque than of minimalist origin. Nameless Music is technically rather complicated both for the flute and for the guitar, that is why composer leaves the musicians a free hand in interpretation. His works starting with his first instrumental compositions written 40 years ago can be characterized as active and energetic.

René Eespere (1953) is rather a graphic artist than a painter. Exact details and clear figures of melody allow us to compare him with masters of etching. Evocatio (1996) is dedicated to Tiit Peterson and won the 1st prize at the contest for guitar compositions. Inner tension and dramatism are achieved with the help of gradually cumulating culmination, which is followed by minor final resolution as a poetic generalization. The title as well as the message of the piece are ambiguous and leave the listeners enough space for their phantasies. Modus vivendi (1998) seems to draw a picture of the turbulent lifestyle of our time and all means for survival (this is the indirect meaning of the title) are welcome.
See also other recordings of Eespere on ERP: In dies, De spe, Februa, Respectus, Locus amoenus.

Urmas Sisask (1960) paints the universe – galaxies, constellations, planets and comets. Sisask gets his inspiration from the mysterious starry sky, the core of his astromusic theory being a vision of music in harmony with universe. The Hale-Bopp Comet (1999) is the first composition, in which Sisask uses guitar. Main idea of the piece is coming, staying and leaving of the comet. Repetition of the E-note on the guitar and the flute makes an impression of a brightening spot in the night sky − we can already have a glimpse of the comet even when it is still far away. When the comet comes nearer and nearer, around the E other notes start assembling − the comet is becoming bigger and the sounds turn more and more intensive. At the same time music is becoming more and more “Spanish”, especially in the second phase of the composition, where we can even hear the intonations of flamenco. So, when Sisask starts to paint a comet he could very easily end up painting corrida.
See also other recordings of Urmas Sisask: Celestials, Galaxies.

Distribution in Estonia by Edition 49, and in Germany by Bella Musica Edition.

EDUARD TUBIN AND HIS TIME

Photo album and CD “Eduard Tubin And His Time” – dedicated to Tubin-100.

Performed by: Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (1, 2, 7, 8) conducted by Peeter Lilje (1, 2), Neeme Järvi (7) and Paavo Järvi (8); Vardo Rumessen – piano (3, 4, 5); Xiang Gao – violin (7); Urmas Vulp – violin (5); String Quartet of St Petersburg Philharmonic Society (3), Tallinn String Quartet (6)

Total time 72:23
Stereo
Recordings licensed from the archives of Estonian Radio
Recorded 1987–2004
* Live recording
705
In co-operation with International Eduard Tubin Society
Special thanks to Estonian Radio and Tartu City Government

Engineered by Jaan Sarv, Maido Maadik, and Priit Kuulberg
Mastered by Marika Scheer
Produced by Vardo Rumessen
Co-produced by Peeter Vähi

Violin Concerto No 1. Andante sostenuto, fragm, mp3

Eduard Tubin was born on June 18th, 1905 in the village of Torila at lake Peipsi in Estonia. His father was a fisherman and tailor. Both of Tubin’s parents loved music. His father played trumpet and trombone in a village band. After his brother’s death in 1912 Eduard inherited some scores, a violin and a piccolo flute. After the Estonian Liberty War Tubin entered in 1920 the Tartu Teachers College to prepare for a career as a schoolteacher. He played also in the college sinfonietta. Later the music teacher of the college entrusted Tubin with conducting a choir, with which he appeared at school parties. At the College he also made his first attempts to compose music. In 1924 Tubin entered the Tartu Higher School of Music, attending at first Johannes Kärt’s organ class. At the same time he studied music theory and harmony with Heino Eller. His first preserved compositions, solo songs and piano pieces, are from 1925. After graduating from the Teachers College in 1926, Tubin started working as a teacher near Tartu. In 1928 he was appointed conductor of the Male Choir of the Tartu Male Choir Association. In 1930 Tubin graduated from the Higher Music School and moved back to Tartu. From 1931 to 1944 Tubin conducted numerous opera, ballet and operetta performances, symphony concerts and oratories at Vanemuine Theatre. He also conducted several choirs: the male choir, the mixed choir named after Miina Härma, the mixed choir of Vanemuine, and the mixed choir of the Estonia Tallinn. From 1933 Tubin also led various song festivals, where his own songs were frequently performed. During the summer of 1938 he went to the island of Hiiumaa to collect folk songs. The interest for folk music led him in 1938-1940 to write the first Estonian ballet Kratt. In 1940, together with other Estonian composers Tubin was sent to Leningrad to study the Soviet music life. In 1941 the Communist authorities started to organize the Estonian participation in the coming cultural festival in Moscow. In 1944, when Estonia was occupied by Soviets, Tubin with his wife and his two sons had to flee to Sweden. Tubin became acquainted with the music publisher Einar Körling, and during the following years several works were published by Körlings Förlag. Already at the end of 1944 the Stockholm Estonian YMCA Male Choir was founded, and in 1945 Tubin was appointed its leader. Tubin conducted the choir until 1959. He joined the choir again in 1975 and continued as its conductor until 1982.
The greatest part of Tubin’s works was composed in Sweden. During this time Tubin achieved his individual musical style, combining intonations from Estonian folk tunes with contemporary means of expression. His most conspicuous major work was the Symphony No 5, which echoes tragic moods and experiences from the wartime. It was finished in 1946 and became Tubin’s most performed work. During composer’s lifetime it was performed more than 50 times. Notable early performances were in New York in 1952 and in Sydney in 1958. It was also the first of Tubin’s works performed after the war in occupied Estonia, which opened the way for renewed contacts with his homeland. In 1950 Tubin was inspired by northern lights in Stockholm to write his Piano Sonata No 2. The composer, who always regarded his music critically, considered it his best work, together with the Symphony No 6. In 1947 he visited the ISCM festival in Copenhagen, in 1952 he went to Bayreuth, where he could listen to several Wagner operas. In 1956 Tubin attended a Nordic Music Festival in Helsinki. In 1954 Tubin finished one of his most central works – Symphony No 6. A depressing thoughts led him to use jazz elements and rhythms from contemporary dance music as grotesque effects in the symphony. In 1961 Tubin visited Estonia for the first time since the war to attend the first performance of the restored ballet. The performances of the ballet and the Symphony No 6, conducted by Järvi in Tallinn, were important events for many Estonian musicians. In 1962 Tubin was elected member of the Swedish Composers’ Union. During the following years Tubin regularly visited Estonia to attend performances of his major works. In 1967 a producer of the Estonian National Opera Arne Mikk asked Tubin to write the opera Barbara von Tisenhusen based on a historical short story by the Estonian-Finnish writer Aino Kallas. The opera was first performed at National Opera in 1969, and became an immediate success. It was performed more than 50 times during the following years, more than any other Estonian opera. The great success led Arne Mikk to propose Tubin to write a second opera, based on another historical short story by Aino Kallas, Parson of Reigi. It was finished in 1971, but repeated attempts by Mikk to have it staged failed due to the Soviet cultural policy. It was first performed by Vanemuine only in 1979. The international breakthrough of Tubin’s music started in 1980, when Neeme Järvi emigrated from Estonia to the USA and started ardently to perform it. When Järvi was appointed chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 1982, he set his mind to record all of Tubin’s symphonies, which could unfortunately be achieved only after the composer’s death. A last great event in Tubin’s life were the performances of his Symphony No 10 by the Boston Philharmonic during its centennial concerts in 1981. During his last years Tubin received several important prizes. In 1979 he got the Kurt Atterberg award, and in 1981 the Culture Award of the City of Stockholm. In 1982 he was elected member of the Royal Academy of Music. He started writing his Symphony No 11, which remained unfinished – in the autumn of 1982 Tubin was hospitalized. Tubin died in Stockholm on Nov 17th, 1982.

See also other recordings of Eduard Tubin by ERP: 100 Years of Estonian Symphony, Estonian Preludes, Northern Lights Sonata, Tubin, Musica Triste, Kratt, Works for Violin and Piano Vol 1, Works for Violin and Piano Vol 2
See also other recordings of Paavo Järvi by ERP: 100 Years of Estonian Symphony,  Paavo Järvi Conducts EUYO at Glasperlenspiel
See also other recordings of Vardo Rumessen by ERP: Estonian Preludes, Northern Lights Sonata, Koidust Kodumaise viisini, The Well-Tempered Clavier I, Wiegenlieder der Schmerzen, The Call of the Stars, Melancholy, Sergei Rachmaninov. Piano Works