Tulev studied with
Eino Tamberg at the Tallinn Conservatory.
He then spent time as a pupil of Sandström
and attended a course on electro-acoustic
music at Köln.
The music is ruminative
and largely undramatic; not that there
isn't variety. However this is music
where the tone is one of evolution without
grand gestures or ictus. The text that
inspired Quella Sera alludes
to the mystery of the Communion. Among
the tinkle of bell sounds long violin
lines weave rather like Petterrsson
at his most consolatory, poignant and
piercing. There is more dissonance and
angularity in Gare de l'Est -
the Paris railway station for departures
and arrivals from the East. Adios
is dedicated to the memory of the
Estonian born philosopher Tamma aka
Srī
Rāma (1911-2002).Wisps of Dufay-like
melody, sung by a small choir and soloists,
interleave with an active web of sound
including roles for solo oboe and solo
violin. All the while the piece is 'lifted'
by long-held quiet violin notes played
by the small ensemble. The occasional
shards of oriental gesture in the first
three pieces become more assertive in
Isopo (Italian - a tender plant
of graceful appearance and pleasurable
fragrance). Be lost in the call is
inspired by the words of the Persian
poet whose words also drew music from
Karol Szymanowski. Jalaluddin al-Rumi
(1207-1273) wrote the poem set by Szymanowski
in this Third Symphony Song of the
Night. Once again the music is fractured,
thrustful and variegated. Chattering
lines and drama pressed home by the
more assertive brass (one each of trumpet,
trombone and horn) distinguish this
piece. Water sounds weave in with a
tape of a tenor intoning Cor Jesu
Sacratissimum. The gong strokes
towards the close and the grumbling
heartbeat sustain a satisfying mystical
groan and the suggestion of a journey
into eternity.
Do you have a taste
for Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful
Songs perhaps wishing for with a
more modernistic fractured ‘apparatus’?
Do you appreciate the long melancholy
lines of a Pettersson symphony but hanker
after shorter ‘paragraphs’ and more
variety? Do you enjoy the orchestral
works of Loris Tjeknavorian? Does your
collection bristle with Kancheli discs
from ECM. If so then do seek this out.
It's language is tough, up to a point,
but it casts a strong if contemplative
spell.
The disc is well presented
and documented and the sound is lucid
yet carries the mystery forward with
fidelity. So far as I can tell these
are superb performances from all concerned.
Rob Barnett
NYYD Ensemble/Olari Elts 
