Tallinn Chamber Orchestra

Peeter Vähi & Urmas Sisask

"Celestials"
Maarika Järvi & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra - Kristjan Järvi
Flute concertos by Peeter VÇhi and Urmas Sisask

Born in Estonia Maarika Järvi has lived in Spain and France after emigrating to the United States in 1980 with her family, today known as a family of noted musicians. On this CD her brother Kristjan is conducting the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. Presently she lives in Switzerland. As a recitalist, chamber and
orchestral musician, Maarika has worked in many European countries and in USA. Still roots seem to be important. Having a remarkably precise and expressive personal style, Maarika Järvi is respected as a performer of Estonian music.

Peeter Vähi (1955),
the Estonian composer, music producer and orientalist, is a creator of cultural scope and of postmodernist tolerance. In his music East and West, archaic and civilized sound worlds come together - or at least come close.

His "Chant Of The Celestial Lake" is a love story reflecting Asian legends. Once upon a time there lived a boy who was searching for answers for a long, long time ... At last he found the supreme answer in the "Song of the Beloved". Väähi paints celestial landscapes using exotic orchestral colours and scales. The endless journey through the inner realms of the soul is being reflected in this music.

Urmas Sisask (1960)
is an Estonian composer whose main source of inspiration is the
mathematics of the starry sky and the magical forces of space. His music
embraces dense melodic nuclei and a strenuous flow of shamanic rhythms.
Simple ostinatos call to mind Estonian runic songs and medieval dance music.

The title "Leonides" refers to the meteor current from the direction of the Leo constellation, a kind of star shower. The soloist embodies an observer fascinated by the celestial spectacle. At the beginning of the piece the background harmony of the string orchestra characterises the structure of the Leo constellation, the dynamic scale is in accordance with the seeming brightness of Leo stars.

The melodic power of the work arises from excited patterns of the solo flute. Simple ostinatos in the orchestral background call to mind Estonian runic songs and medieval dance music. The musical pattern, glissandos, the canonized scale and dynamics describe the movements of meteors in the sky. The repetition of the rhythm and the sound image in the bass amplify the shamanistic magic of this unique celestial phenomenon. The piano work of Lepo Sumera's "Piece From The Year 1981" looms in the principal theme of the flute.

There is a glance of invisible worlds blinking in musical imagery in the Estonian flute concertos. Choosing roots, Maarika Järvi unmistakebly chooses the universal world of human spirituality. (Evi Arujärv)

More about "Temple-Tuttle"
"Every year in November the Earth approaches the trajectory of the Temple-Tuttle comet discovered in 1895. Thus it is possible to think of ten wishes per minute from the 14th to the 21st of November every year during Leonides, the meteor current from the direction of the Leo constellation. Due to the fact that the Temple-Tuttle Comet´s period of rotation is 33 years, i.e. the comet approaches the orbit of the Earth every 33 years, the leonides may appear in the form of a powerful shower of meteors.

In the early morning of November 18, 1999, I together with about a hundred astronomy fans were extremely lucky, after having dispersed the clouds with the help of a shaman drum, to observe these gorgeous "fireworks" (approximately 500 wishes per hour!). In one moment the total of seven meteors erupted from the Leo constellation. One of them seemed to be the size of a full moon. It looked like lightning without thunder. The name of this current work of music has been inspired by the observation of the described phenomenon." (Urmas Sisask, translated by Tiina Jokinen).

TRACKLIST

PEETER VÄHI (1955)
CHANT OF THE CELESTIAL LAKE (1999-2000) 28:58
Concerto in D for flute and string orchestra
Dedicated to Maarika Järvi
Commissioned by Tallinn Philharmonic Society
Recorded at Estonia Concert Hall in September 2000

1. Con Anima........10:39
2. Rubato.............05:35
3. Adagio.............04:23
4. Piu mosso........02:30
5. Sostenuto........05:47
Published by CultureWare Music Publ.

URMAS SISASK (1960)
LEONIDES (2000-2001) 23.15
-in memoriam Lepo Sumera-
Concerto for flute and string orchestra, op.78
Dedicated to Maarika Järvi
Commissioned by Eesti Kontsert
Recorded at Estonia Concert Hall in March 200

6. Tempo ad libitum............3:52
7. Moderato. Alla breve....12:46
8. Tutti. À tempo................. 6:37
Published by CultureWare Music Publ. and edition 49

Maarika Järvi, flute - Tallinn Chamber Orchestra - Kristjan Järvi - Produced by Ulrich Rützel and Peeter Vähi

Press reviews:
This newcomer is worth hearing for the brilliance of Maarika Järvi" (Gramophone, England)

"Maarika Järvi is an excellent flutist, with a pleasing tonal range, full command of a wide range of colouristic devices, and a general liveliness which does the music no harm at all." (BBC Music Magazine, England)

"The flute concertos of the Baltic composers Peeter Vähi and Urmas Sisask have a deep feeling. Maarika Järvi's facile and light-winged performance lets it sound in a mellow mood." (FonoForum, Germany)

"Enthusiasts of Estonian music have a real treat in this disc. Maarika Järvi has recorded two excellent recent flute concertos by young composers that ought, I think, to attain cult status. Both works are beautifully played, with absolutely breathtaking sound, by Maarika Järvi, and accompanied to perfection by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra under her brother Kristjan. To cap it all, the recorded sound is superb - a wonderful disc." (International Record Review December 2003, by Ivan Moody)

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