Kaspars Putnins, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir – Ülo Krigul: Liquid Turns (2022) DSF DSD64

Kaspars Putnins, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir – Ülo Krigul: Liquid Turns (2022)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:05:49 minutes | 2,6 GB | Genre: Classical
Source: SACD | Artwork: Front cover | © BIS

“Ülo Krigul studied in Tallinn and Vienna, and has written music in a wide variety of genres. Three works on the present disc – And the Sea Arose, Aga vaata aina üles (‘But Look Always Up’) and liquid turns – were completed in 2019–20 when Krigul was composer-in-residence with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Linked by a common concept and the recycling of musical material, the three form a triptych-like set, here preceded by Vesi ise (‘Water Is’) from 2015. The latter is the first piece that Krigul wrote for the choir and its conductor Kaspars Putniņš and includes ideas that has been carried over into their later collaboration. If Vesi ise here functions as a prelude, liquid turns is to an extent a summation of the programme: the composer has sampled text and music from the two preceding works and random phrases interact and emerge as a new whole. Krigul has chosen his texts from the New Testament, the writings of the philosopher Uku Masing and the sound poetry of Ilmar Laaban.”

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Johan Hammarsrtöm, Swedish Radio Choir & Kaspars Putniņš – Schumann: Missa Sacra (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Johan Hammarsrtöm, Swedish Radio Choir & Kaspars Putniņš – Schumann: Missa Sacra (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:18 minutes | 971 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS

Less well known among his works, the Missa sacra, Op. 147, bears witness to Robert Schumann’s late interest in sacred music – and in particular in Catholic church music. The work would have a rather difficult fate: during Schumann’s lifetime, it was neither published nor performed in its entirety. Even after its posthumous première, opinions were lukewarm. Wrongly so: the Missa sacra is a fascinating attempt to update sacred music through a refined post-classical musical language. It was originally conceived for orchestra, but Schumann also made a version for organ, presented here. This version allows great vocal transparency and immediacy, thus contributing to a clearer vision of the work.

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Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Kaspars Putniņš – Schnittke & Pärt: Choral Works (2) (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Kaspars Putniņš – Schnittke & Pärt: Choral Works (2) (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:00:12 minutes | 1007 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS

As Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt both adopted the Orthodox faith in the 1970s, Orthodox choral traditions became increasingly prominent in their work, but both composers also looked to the music of the Western church. Schnittke’s Three Sacred Hymns set three prayers, familiar in the West as “Ave Maria”, the “Jesus Prayer” and the “Lord’s Prayer”, and evoke Orthodox chant. His Choir Concerto, on the other hand, draws on Russian choral music of the 19th century and the tradition of large-scale concert works based on Orthodox choral music. The texts by the medieval Armenian poet Gregory of Narek are informed by a humanistic individualism, with the poet directly expressing his emotions and often writing in the first person.

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Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Kaspars Putniņš – Rachmaninoff: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31 (Excerpts) (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir & Kaspars Putniņš – Rachmaninoff: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 31 (Excerpts) (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 59:05 minutes | 940 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BIS

The music of the Russian Orthodox Church was an essential part of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s musical background. As a boy he was deeply moved by the sound of St. Petersburg’s cathedral choirs, and phrases reminiscent of liturgical chant permeate his music. His Vespers has long been admired as a summit of Russian liturgical music. It has unfortunately tended to overshadow the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, his earlier large-scale sacred composition. Named after the fourth-century Archbishop of Constantinople and Church Father, the Liturgy consists of a sequence of prayers, psalms and hymns, which are sung or chanted by the different participants in the service.

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