Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre

Karol Kisiel

Vision of the artistic profile of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

represented by its chief conductors: Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and Daniel Reuss

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy (Music)

Supervisor: Prof. Toomas Siitan

Tallinn 2013

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Vision of the artistic profile of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir represented

by its chief conductors: Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and Daniel Reuss

Abstract

The research focuses on the impact of the chief conductors of the Estonian Philharmonic

Chamber Choir (henceforth EPCC) on the choir’s artistic profile. The author concentrates

mainly on the comparison of the conductors’ approach towards the EPCC’s sound and its

specifics.

The researchers point of view on what are the essential elements contributing to the

determining the quality of the choir’s sound serves as the methodological model. Based on

this, the author compares the conductors approach towards mentioned elements, and pictures

its general influence on the EPCC’s sound. Since the differences between the musical

background and artistic principles represented by all conductors are notable (due to their

different nationalities, education, technical skills etc.), it is valuable to observe the choir’s

response to their individual ideas.

An important part of the dissertation are the interviews done by the author with all of the chief

conductors of the EPCC, interviews with singers expressing their thoughts on each conductor

and his vision for the choir, and the comparison of the recordings of Kreek’s Psalms which

have been done by the EPCC under all of the artistic directors.

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Table of contents

1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................4

1.1. Aims of the research ...................................................................................................4

1.2. Background to the research ........................................................................................5

1.3. Research methods .......................................................................................................6

2. Elements deciding on the choir’s quality........................................................................8

2.1. Sound of the choir.......................................................................................................8

2.1.1. Blend of voices .......................................................................................................8

2.1.2. Intonation................................................................................................................9

2.1.3. Vibrato ..................................................................................................................10

2.1.4. Seating ..................................................................................................................12

2.1.5. Acoustics ..............................................................................................................14

2.2. Rehearsing ................................................................................................................15

2.3. Relations between conductor and ensemble .............................................................17

3. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir as a reflection of Tõnu Kaljuste’s, Paul

Hillier’s and Daniel Reuss’ musical ideas ....................................................................20

3.1. Sound ........................................................................................................................20

3.1.1. Blend.....................................................................................................................26

3.1.2. Intonation..............................................................................................................31

3.1.3. Vibrato ..................................................................................................................37

3.1.4. Seating ..................................................................................................................40

3.1.5. Acoustics ..............................................................................................................42

3.2. Rehearsing and performing ......................................................................................43

3.3. Auditioning and choosing new singers.....................................................................50

3.4. Repertoire .................................................................................................................52

3.5. Recordings ................................................................................................................57

4. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................61

Primary sources ........................................................................................................................65

Bibliography .............................................................................................................................66

Töö lühikokkuvõte....................................................................................................................68

Appendix 1. Biographies ..........................................................................................................74

Appendix 2. The EPCC’s discography under Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and Daniel Reuss..79

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1. Introduction

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir was celebrating its 30th anniversary in

2011. During those thirty years the choir was led by a relatively small number of chief artistic

directors: Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and Daniel Reuss – three highly professional conductors

with strong personalities, clear musical ideas and widely differing visions of the choir sound.

The choir is a specific reflection of conductor’s ideas and musical taste. Every artistic

director, while working with any ensemble, may see the result of his touch in the sound

produced by his singers. It is fascinating for me to observe the work of these inspiring

conductors and learn how much and in what way one can model the choir’s sonority.

For me as an aspiring conductor, the following research is of great importance,

because thanks to it I have established a close relationship with one of the best chamber choirs

in the world. During my first appearances at the EPCC’s rehearsals I was truly astonished by

its volume, beauty of sound and perfect intonation. I could not find any feature to complain

about, which on one hand was exciting, but also gave me a reason to think about my artistic

imagination and musical skills. After some time I started to understand more of the structure

of this particular choir, its needs and desires. I came to understand where the weaker points of

the group were and which features should just be maintained in their perfection.

The conductor’s “instrument” is a choir or an orchestra. This type of instrument is

special, because consists of people who usually express their opinions about their leader

rather freely. Therefore it is essential for any conductor to understand the needs of his

instrument and to be able to adjust quickly to the particular character and demands of the

choir and orchestra he happens to work with.

1.1. Aims of the research

The main area of my research is the evolution of the artistic profile of the Estonian

Philharmonic Chamber Choir under chief conductorships of Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and

Daniel Reuss. Since their musical backgrounds and artistic ideas are noticeably different, I

intended to discover what features of their artistic approach dominated their tenure and if they

were able to establish a reasonable balance between introducing their individual vision of the

choir’s sonority and general outlook, and respect the native features characteristic for this

particular choir.

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I intend to describe concrete factors related to choral singing and conducting craft, in

order to illustrate how much of the choir shape depends on conductor’s vision. I would also

like to picture the choir’s reactions (positive and negative) to decisions made by the artistic

directors.

Since the process of choir development, forming its common sound, balance, blend,

and technical abilities etc. can be considered only in longer time periods, in my dissertation I

will concentrate only on the chief conductors of the EPCC assuming that many, but short

projects with guest directors may not have particular influence on a general state of the choir.

The possibility of rehearsing frequently, having close contact with the singers and observing

their development and vocal evolution placed Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and Daniel Reuss in

comfortable situations while introducing their own visions to the choir.

1.2. Background to the research

The essential theoretical ground for my dissertation was studying literature

documenting research on the choir performance with particular emphasis on the specifics of

the sound. I needed to investigate what elements create the overall sonority of the choir and

developing which features allow the conductor to develop and to shape the sound according to

his own vision. An additional task was discovering if, and to what extent these features are

changeable.

An important aspect where a majority of researchers seem to represent similar

approach, is the choir intonation. They agree (study by Per-Gunnar Alldahl is worth

recommending) that the best intonation in a choir is achieved by using several tuning systems

since the same notes may tune in different ways, depending on the harmonic and melodic

context. Researchers also mention a sparing use of piano during rehearsals (and letting the

singers atune to and listen to each other rather than to the instrument) as one of the means to

reach proper intonation. From the third chapter one will learn though that the conductors

approach is based more on practical experience than theoretical investigations and their point

of view may be very different to the mentioned researches.

In studying the material I realized that researchers represent surprisingly varied

approaches to the matter of vibrato, which may be declined in choral singing by some

authorities while others (especially the younger generation, Shirlee Emmons and Margaret

Olson among them) claim that vibrato (being under conscious control) is often a sign that the

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muscles involved in the production of the sound are well coordinated.

Another area where visible differences of opinion occurs between researchers, is

regarding the placing of the choristers (definitely one of the most detailed and influential

studies in this field has been done by Robert Dale Tocheff). There are several methods of

organizing the singers in a choir and each of them is more suitable for different kind of music,

level of the choir or acoustic conditions of the concert venue. What is maybe the most

striking, is that eventually there is hardly any evidence that these changes are easily audible.

The chief conductors of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir confirmed it when asked

about their practical experiences.

In general it was very valuable to analyze professional studies focused on elements of

choral singing and to compare them with what conductors say. Thanks to such background I

could better understand the conductors’ rehearsal choices and solutions applied during their

work with the EPCC, and become more familiar with the techniques of modeling the sound of

the choir.

Another part of my theoretical investigation was trying to find the best rehearsing

strategies, both from purely technical as well as a psychological point of view. After my

research I could analyze the working style represented by the EPCC chief conductors, their

effectiveness and the singers’ response.

1.3. Research methods

In order to get essential information specifically related to the area being of my

research, the following means of investigation were:

� interviews with all three chief conductors of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber

Choir. With Tõnu Kaljuste (the interview took place 11th and 14th of February 2013, in

Tallinn) and Daniel Reuss (1st of February 2013, Tallinn) I have spoken personally,

and Paul Hillier responded to my questions by email (26th of February 2013);

� individual interviews with 5 singers who performed as contracted members of the

EPCC under all three chief conductors;

� analyzing Estonian and international reviews of the EPCC performances and

recordings;

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� comparison of recordings of Kreek’s Psalms which have been done by all the EPCC

chief conductors. I have analyzed three chosen psalms: �o. 104, �o. 141 and Õnnis on

inimene. The recording realized under Kaljuste was released on LP in 1987 by

Melodija. Paul Hillier included Kreek’s Psalms in the first volume of the cycle titled

Baltic Voices (issued by Harmonia Mundi in 2002) while Daniel Reuss conducted

Kreek’s Psalms in the program of his first recording with the EPCC (and being their

own production) released in 2009;

� attending the EPCC’s rehearsals and concerts.

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2. Elements deciding on the choir’s quality

2.1. Sound of the choir

To have a beautiful sound from his choir is the desire of every choral conductor. But it

is necessary to define “beauty” as a feature of the sound. On one hand it will be subjective to

describe the perfect choral sound because it depends on one’s taste, musical education,

cultural environment, traditions of the country or region from where the choir comes and

other elements. On the other hand, there are several factors related to producing and receiving

the sound which are measurable and therefore make it possible to specify what the desired

sound needs to have. The most essential elements determining the nature and quality of the

choir’s sound are blend, intonation, vibrato, positioning of the singers and acoustics of the

venue. Also of importance is diction and vowel production, which partly depends on the

native language of the choir.

2.1.1. Blend of voices

Blend is usually one of the main factors that one uses to measure choir quality. It is

also one of the elements of choir features, that is easily recognizable by a listener. Well

matched voices with proper resonance are desired by all choral conductors. Achieving such

quality needs sustaining work in several areas: vocal technique of each singer, unifying colour

of choir sections, establishing a suitable range of vibrato or eliminating voices not fitting in

the general choir’s sound.

Shirlee Emmons and Constance Chase point out such elements relevant to the process

of achieving satisfying blend:

[…] positioning of the singers, upgrading the resonance of weaker voices, teaching the singers to use forte without lack of ease and focus, training all singers in vowel modifications and the appoggio (Emmons 2006: 150).

According to Christopher Raynes, the blend is relevant as a term meaning more a

collection of potential problems related to choir singing rather than a term itself, something

that needs particular definition. The issue of blend comes whenever some vocal features

determining the quality are missing. Raynes systematizes the origins of the blend problems

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into four categories: physiological (aural or vocal disabilities), musical (mostly rhythmical

inaccuracy), spatial aspects (placing the choristers in order to provide them opportunity to

hear each other well and to let the sound waves “travel without being absorbed by the next

singer”), vocal problems (vowel, dynamic imbalance, pitch and tone quality, with the

strongest emphasis on vowels) (Emmons 2006: 152).

2.1.2. Intonation

According to Gerald F. Darrow, intonation:

[…] denotes the degree of adherence to an established pitch. It may be established by an instrument with fixed pitch […] or it may be conceived in the mind of the singer and listener […] (Darrow 1975: 72).

Darrow divides potential intonation problems in choir singing into two general types:

gradual change of the pitch while singing and inaccuracy of selected elements (interval,

phrase, correspondence between particular voices) (Darrow 1975: 72).

Nils Eric Fougstedt points out additional divisions of the intonation problems (in choir

singing) concentrating on the source of the problem. To the first group he counts all the

deviations from the pitch caused by factors related to the vocal technique, tiredness, and lack

of concentration. In the second group he collected all the issues related to the tuning nature

itself and its various types (Fougstedt, after Alldahl 1990: 1).

Per-Gunnar Alldahl devotes a major part of his study to the nature of the sound and the

specification of acoustics. To the main points of his analysis belong differences in tuning

between several instruments and especially between voices and instruments (here mostly

piano), as well as a variety of tuning characteristics coming from several tuning systems.

From his analysis he explains that the voice has a particular ability to adjust the pitch to the

demands coming from concrete tuning, tonality or even the function of the note in a particular

chord. Furthermore, Alldahl emphasizes the “difference between harmonic and melodic

intonation” due to “several nuances which deviate from each other” depending on the musical

context and the meaning of the note (harmonic or melodic) (Alldahl 1990: 9). But even the

same notes in the same context may differ from each other if tuned in different systems. Also

Earhart refers to this topic, stating that only the root of the chord may be played on piano for

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the choir, all the other notes should be tuned a cappella (Earhart 1937: 13, after Darrow 1975:

81). Ehmann supports the idea of untempered tuning, claiming that:

A good “listening” choir does not sing with the tempered tuning of a mechanical keyboard instrument; between the e as the tonic of E major and the e as the leading note in the key of F and the e as the third of the key of C, there is a distinct difference which can be recognized by the ear (Ehmann 1968: 76, after Darrow 1975: 81).

After describing all the tones of tempered scale (including for example pure fourth

compared to “Lydian fourth”), Alldahl turns to the problems related to tuning in chromatic

passages. The small differences in tuning may be difficult or impossible to distinguish, yet

“one cannot disregard that a pure diatonic semitone (112 cents) must be intonated differently

than a small chrome-step (70 cents)” (Alldahl 1990: 29). In conclusion, Alldahl states that it is

the practice, that should decide usage of particular intonation. It comes as follows:

just intonation (triads from the harmonic series) should be used in harmonic intonation, rest,

relaxation, pure thirds, consonant chords, triads and early music

equal temperament (the octave divided into 12 equal semitones) is relevant in ambiguous chords,

Impressionism and twelve note music

Pythagorean intonation (pure fifths) finds its place in melodic intonation, movement, tension,

leading tones, melodic expression, chromaticism, alteration, late Romanticism (Alldahl 1990: 37).

2.1.3. Vibrato

Many choral conductors share the opinion that in choir singing vibrato is not desired.

They feel it is supposed to be reserved for solo singing because vibrato makes the pitch

unclear, prevents voices from blending etc. But demanding from a singer a “pure tone”,

especially in his initial level of accomplishing the vocal technique, may cause undesired

tension of muscles and throat. Margaret Olson:

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A strident tone can fatigue the voice, and fatigue can cause the pitch to drop in concordance. Because strident tone lacks vibrancy, the laryngeal muscles may contract abnormally, resulting in pitch that can sound flat or sharp as a result (Olson 2008: 562).

A well trained voice (with proper position, breath and with suitably relaxed laryngeal

muscles) will produce a sound with a certain range of vibrato, fluctuating approximately 5 to

7 times per second (Vennard 1968: 204, after Olson 2008: 561). Obviously, the vibrato-free

voice may also be produced consciously, with proper muscle engagement. But this demands

already highly developed vocal skills. Singing with or without vibrato, should accompany a

well practiced technique and be in the singer’s “technical repertoire”.

Vibrato is an indication of good muscle balance and a vibrato-free voice might mean that the person has good balance but they disengaged it somehow. But it could also mean that they are totally out of balance with their muscles (Titze 2000, after Olson 2008: 563).

Emmons also writes:

When a vibrato is neither too slow nor too fast, neither too wide nor too narrow, then the listener hears as the intended pitch one that is exactly halfway between the two outside pitches. Under these circumstances, and barring any other technical difficulties, it will be a just intonation. To blame the existence of a vibrato for its disturbing qualities is to assign blame to the wrong element. A faulty vibrato is the result of other failures – usually breath, tension, or vowel formation – not the cause (Emmons 2006: 138).

Actually, many conductors and researchers claim, that there is no need of insisting on

a straight tone (non vibrato tone), even in early music. Although a majority of interpreters

would probably say that in early music pure tone is mandatory, there are several contradictory

opinions, represented by, among others, Dennis Stevens:

[contemporary] People thought that the vibrato was a very lovely addition to the voice. Those sixteenth-century pieces… say quite clearly that they should have a touch of vibrato (Stevens, after Sirbaugh 2004: 299, after Emmons 2006: 143).

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and G. Moens-Haenen:

[…] a vocal sound without vibrato was an ornament, which suggests that a well trained baroque voice normally used minimal vibrato (Moens-Haenen 2003, after Emmons 2006: 143).

It is possible to establish very clear and precise intonation with stable, controlled and limited

vibrato. The vibrating sound is enriched by overtones that straight voice lacks and therefore

the sound of the choir is missing the color. Also the blend, which for many conductors is a

ground for achieving a satisfying choir sound, may be easier to reach with well controlled,

vibrating voices. It is because straight tone demands a sort of breathing tension which,

achieved wrongly, provides several vocal dysfunctions disturbing the overall choir’s sound

and of course being unhealthy for the singers.

2.1.4. Seating

The placing of singers has an undeniable influence not only on the choir’s sound, but

also on the singers’ feeling in the ensemble, their ability to listen to each other and to

themselves as well. Being surrounded by singers may affect the volume and quality of the

sound one produces. This situation is called the Lombard effect (after the French

otolaryngologist Lombard, who discovered it), when aural feedback during choral

performance leads to singing louder. The Lombard effect is just one example showing how

important for the singing quality is the conscious choice of placing the choristers.

This task has been researched by numerous authorities and has led to establishing

several theories on how to organize singers in order to achieve best results. The researchers

focus mostly on two basic ways of placing the singers: block seating and mixed seating. The

first one relies on placing together singers with the same voice type (a block of basses, block

of tenors etc.) while the second one distributes the voices around, so that each singer is

surrounded by those, who sing other parts.

Block formation provides a better environment for singers to achieve proper intonation

and to learn the material quicker. It is also considered to be more efficient while performing

Baroque music (Sneed 2002, after Wang 2007: 5), due to numerous fugal passages appearing.

Among the minuses of the block seating, conductors and researchers mention: weaker singers

become dependent on the stronger ones (Diercks 1961, Garretson 1975, Gordon 1989, after

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Wang 2007: 3), difficulties in achieving a proper blend (Busch 1984; Roe 1983; after Wang

2007: 3) and a greater potential negative influence of one singer on the entire section (Diercks

1961, Busch, 1984, after Wang 2007: 3).

Mixed formation is generally considered to be one which enhances musical

development. It inspires singers to listen to each other and makes it easier to understand the

structure of the composition. It also increases the awareness of individual singer’s

responsibility for the performance level (Keyne 1992: 7). If the level of the choir needs

improvement (especially concerning the time it needs to master the material), mixed seating

provides good stimulation. On the other hand, while singing loud, it is more likely that some

voice will be separately audible, affecting the overall blend of the choir; and the loudness of

the entire group might get diminished. Also, it is more difficult to work on the concrete sound

produced by a particular group of voices and to correct intonation inaccuracies caused by

weaknesses in vocal technique.

One of the most profound research studies about choral seating has been done by

Robert Dale Tocheff. In the second chapter of his work one may follow a general summary of

the results of the survey Tocheff has disposed to several conductors:

A. There was equal opinion as to which formation was most effective in achieving the best overall sound.

B. A sectional formation was favored the majority of the time for rehearsal and performance

C. A sectional formation was strongly favored for contrapuntal music

D. A mixed formation was preferred for homophonic music

E. A mixed formation was strongly favored with singers of moderate or high vocal ability, and sectional formation with singers of low ability

F. A sectional formation was preferred for large ensembles, and a mixed formation for small ensembles

G. A mixed formation was preferred for the improvement of intonation

H. Surprisingly, respondents indicated that choir members prefer a sectional formation

I. Results indicated that music is most quickly learned in a sectional formation

J. Responses indicated that the musical growth of singers is best served in a mixed formation (Tocheff 1990: 5).

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Apart from mixed and block seating, one finds another factor determining the way of

organizing the singers in an ensemble, respecting character of the individual singer’s voice.

The “character” of the voice is a collection of several features including loudness, colour,

vibrato etc.

Some researchers, like Christiansen (mentioned by Knutson 1987/88, after Tocheff

1990: 37), or Lamb (Lamb 1988, after Tocheff 1990: 37) support the idea of building a section

of strong voices inside the choir as a sort of foundation. Singers with strong voices should be

surrounded by the weaker ones. But the opposite opinion is represented by Johnson (Johnson

1978; after Tocheff: 37), who claims, that this solution makes singers with stronger voices

lose their individuality, since the aural feedback (this what they hear while singing) does not

encourage them to produce a sound of full volume.

The way of matching stronger voices with the weaker ones is one of the basic

disagreements among conductors and also choral researchers. It includes other features of

singing craft like experience, singing prima vista, intonation, etc. For some, a more effective

solution is connecting skilled singers together, so that they can produce the strong and

convincing sound, but others suggest that better results come from mixing choristers

representing different levels, where the better ones support and inspire those who need help.

2.1.5. Acoustics

Acoustics play a big role in supporting or hindering achieving a desired sonority,

intonation, blend and above all, artistic performance. It may support or make it more difficult

for the singers to listen to their own voice and to each other. In ideal acoustic conditions it is

much easier to sing in tune and to control the balance and blend. Finn claims that:

[…] it may be established with certainty that in small halls or in larger halls with flat and low-studded ceilings, the polyphony of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries is difficult of performance, except by a small group of singers, proper attention being given to the selection of the pitch, the tempos, the decibels of quantity used, and the dynamic undulations.

[…] Polyphonic music needs headroom to assure the floating about the partial tones of many involved and interlaced lines […] (Finn 1939: 78, after Darrow 1975: 88).

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According to Fuhr:

[…] a room with low ceilings and poor acoustical properties, or an overheated auditorium may cause the tone to flat, whereas a large, echoing auditorium is almost sure to produce sharpness (Fuhr 1944 65: after Darrow 1975: 88).

While researchers seem to be much concerned about finding suitable solutions to deal

with difficult acoustic environment, conductors are quite often limited to a few quick

solutions, mostly changing the placing of the singers and adjusting articulation, and less often

tempo and other performance elements.

2.2. Rehearsing

One discovers the true character, quality and ability of the conductor not during the

concert, but while observing his rehearsal methods. It is the preparation process that reveals

what skills a particular conductor possesses. The final performance may reveal something of

the conductor’s temperament, musicality, and technical precision, but the observer does not

know how many rehearsals the conductor had, if there was an assistant working with the

group, or whether the conductor who performed in the concert replaced somebody else at the

last moment.

Being able to observe a conductor working on a repertoire for a concert reveals his

talent, skill and ability to prepare. In many instances a choir or orchestra will have higher

regard and appreciation for a developed working strategy, rehearsing flexibility, decent pitch

and communicative skills rather than for superb conducting technique. On the other hand,

being a director with interesting ideas, but lacking proper technique needed for implementing

them, may lead to confusion between the group and their leader. Not without reason, one

often hears that performers need only a very short time to realize what kind of conductor they

are working with.

One of the most important factors during rehearsing is a proper working pace. It is not

only imperative for the proper preparation of the performers (especially if the time for

rehearsing is limited), but also keeps their attention, the interest of the musicians and a sense

of progress being made with the rehearsal. As Pfautsch states,

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The pace of a rehearsal depends on the frequency of pauses and interruptions, which have the potential danger of lengthy discourses by the conductor or conversations among singers. Group conversations can be thwarted by a pace and momentum that never allow time for such exchanges (Pfautsch 1988: 82).

Marek Janowski in Michel Follin’s movie about conducting:

There’s a very general rule everywhere, the less you talk, the better. The more you do with gestures, the better. You occasionally need to explain, but very succinctly, the philosophical or poetic ideas that you find behind a musical phrase. You must develop a feeling, an attentiveness, and a sensitivity which are absolutely perfect, and which react at once if you get the impression that a section of the orchestra is dozing off. Don’t talk, let them play, correct, correct the notes, stop immediately, continue… It always begins at the back, like a little virus it spreads, and once the front desk falls asleep, the conductor has lost, it’s all over (Follin 2011).

Also Simon Carrington strongly advises being constantly focused and taking care of his

singers’ concentration:

There is a danger that chorus can suffer from too much rehearsal, which leaves them sounding stale beside their nimbler orchestral colleagues. I can’t stress highly enough the importance of creating an atmosphere in the choral rehearsal where each choir member sings with an element of spontaneity each time a phrase is repeated (Carrington 2012: 291).

It is generally profitable (but according to some conductors, questionable as a

rehearsing strategy) to give instructions while the choir is singing. It not only makes the

rehearsal go much faster, but also provides a strong connection between the leader’s

instruction and the direct feeling of realizing it while singing. Max Rudolf warns against

overusing this method while working with the orchestra, probably having in mind, that the

volume of the orchestra is much bigger than the choir’s, therefore the players might not hear

the conductor’s comments (Max Rudolf 1969: 387-388, after Chuang 2005: 44).

In order to provide sufficient pace in rehearsal, the conductor has to plan a working

strategy in advance. Such preparation helps to spot potential technical difficulties in the

program, figure out the best solutions and limit the number of tiring repetitions. In Choral

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conducting symposium we read:

The choral conductor must never forget that the human voice is more easily strained and fatigued than the lips, fingers, and arms used in instrumental performance. Excessive repetitions and drilling in rehearsals can be dangerous (Pfautsch 1988: 99).

It seems profitable to divide the rehearsal time into smaller parts. According to

Emmons:

Research has proved, that there are but two quality times in practice period – the beginning and the end. These are the moments of the highest retention (Emmons 2006: 256).

Pfautsch represents a similar understanding, and tends to divide working on longer

composition into smaller sets and have rehearsals start from the most difficult and

complicated parts. One should be aware though, that constant work on demanding material

may lead to frustration, therefore the complicated parts should be accompanied by easier ones

(Pfautsch 1973: 72, after Chuang 2005: 41). A strategy of dividing the work into smaller

blocks is also profitable for the condition of the voice which gets needed rest between every

part of practice.

2.3. Relations between conductor and ensemble

The success of a rehearsal has very much to do with the atmosphere accompanying the

work. The connection between the conductor and the ensemble depends on both parties, but

the major part of the responsibility for establishing and maintaining a productive working

atmosphere falls on the conductor. In order to gain the performers’ respect, the conductor

must establish a general trust in his artistic vision and musical decisions. It is particularly

relevant to young conductors, who despite being possibly extraordinarily talented, having

sufficiently prepared for their work and having working experience, often have difficulties in

rehearsing with older musicians, who have played or sung under more seasoned artists.

In these tough moments, the conductor’s personality and ability to lead others comes

to the forefront. Emmons mentions the “charismatic potential” as one of the various

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leadership qualities, followed by: speaking skills, command of influence tactics, intelligence

level, personality traits and experience level. Considering a conductor’s behavior, she divides

it into two categories: consideration (friendliness, support of the singers) and skill-related

behavior (goal setting, motivational skills, resolving conflicts) (Emmons 2006: 237).

Gustavo Dudamel took over as the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at

age 28. In the New Yorker article by Alex Ross the author mentions features of Dudamel’s

craftsmanship:

[…] an infectious emotional energy that tends to win over jaded souls in audiences and orchestras alike. Not for him the stone-faced mask of seriousness; his bright eyes and wriggling features suggest that he revels in what he does (Ross 2009).

Being so young, one has to posses something special in terms of character and

charisma in order to attract and wholeheartedly involve members of an orchestra or choir who

played under the greatest conductors ever.

In 1935 Yevgeny Mravinsky was going to conduct The Leningrad Philharmonic

Orchestra (it was not his first appearance with this famous and at that time best orchestra of

the USSR). The program included Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto (with David Oistrakh) and

Zhivotov’s Dance Suite. At that time Mravinsky was 33, and the LPO:

[…] was led by the council of principals – at its head was Ilya Iosifovich Brik, a middle-aged man and quite bald […]. Brik was the most lively conductor hater and loved to proffer his own guidance to conductors […]. Everyone knew that if Brik began to wipe his forehead, then one should ignore the conductor and Brik would direct the tempi tapping his desk with his bow […]. Mravinsky was invited to give a concert, and Brik as usual began to wipe his forehead, yet Mravinsky would not allow the orchestra to depart from him tempi. Brik attempted to tap the music stand with his bow; however, Mravinsky instantly gripped his bow with his free hand, and would not let go. This was a genuine augury for Brik! (Tassie 2005: 57-58).

Eventually Mravinsky became the principal conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic

and held this position for 50 years.

These examples show, that besides possessing all the necessary professional skills, the

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conductor should have a strong confidence in his own abilities to lead and command respect.

Marek Janowski in the Follin’s movie said:

One shouldn’t ignore the human’s elements in the relationship between an orchestra and a conductor. But one mustn’t question a natural authority. And you can’t manufacture that, you can’t fabricate it by saying: “I want that authority now”. It either comes to you or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t come, you should stop working with that orchestra. If it doesn’t come anywhere, you’d better give up this profession (Follin 2011).

This rather strict approach to what authority is, comes from a very experienced and

renowned conductor, who knows that only the entire devotion of players may lead to

satisfying results. But Janowski does not exclude the necessity nor negates the profits of

staying in at least moderate personal relationship with the orchestra members:

Musicians are grown-up people, some of them younger, some older. I try my best, when they have everyday problems, or sometimes personal problems, to behave decently with them”. If many of them also confide in me on a quite personal level, then of course I’m not unhappy about it (Ibid.).

The task of achieving a good quality choral sound is complicated and time consuming.

Several elements contributing to building the overall sound of the choir need to be controlled,

coordinated, and properly balanced. The knowledge and skills of the conductor play the most

important role in this process, but having talented and flexible singers is also necessary.

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3. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir as a reflection of Tõnu Kaljuste’s,

Paul Hillier’s and Daniel Reuss’ musical ideas

One should not forget about the individual side of the choir sound, and that it is a

result of a delicate balance between elements affecting the choral sonority mentioned in the

second chapter. It is left to the conductor to decide which factors related to shaping the

character of the choir will be emphasized. The personal touch of the artistic director who

works with his ensemble for a longer time will be clearly reflected on the quality and the color

of the sound produced by the choir.

3.1. Sound

In order to understand the nature and origin of the sound of the Estonian Philharmonic

Chamber Choir, it is necessary to go back to the time when it functioned as a chamber choir

called Ellerhein. The Estonian choir singing method was at that time already a mixture of

influences from several surrounding cultures. The elements absorbed from the Russian school

was a high level of emotions in the performance and sound rich in vibrato. When Tõnu

Kaljuste took the choir over, he had his own vision of shaping the choir’s sonority. Besides

maintaining the emotional side of the sound, he wanted to change the way of producing it,

towards softer pianos, smoother voice, using more and tighter legato, and careful shaping of

phrases. Additionally, he intended (and it became the main goal of the initial period of his

tenure with the choir) to strengthen the native roots of the sound, so that Ellerhein (and later

the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir) would get its own, distinctive color.

Kaljuste chose two parallel ways to achieve the goal: one was widening the choir’s

repertoire (with certain emphasis on Estonian music) and the second – developing the singers’

skills. Those who could not follow the rapid changes happening in the choir and for whom

choral singing was more a hobby than something truly challenging, were replaced by new

members. This strategy was continued over the years and appeared to bring very good results.

The only criteria for being present or absent in the choir was the musical quality represented

by a singer.

Kaljuste wanted the sound of the choir to be easily recognizable as truly Estonian, and

therefore numerous pieces by Tormis (whose music contains native and folk factors) were

rehearsed and performed. Working on music by Tormis was just the starting point for the long

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and adventurous journey of shifting the level of the choir. With the time passing Kaljuste

introduced several new compositions to the repertoire, but even then he did not withdraw

Tormis from the program. It is in his music, where the choir could search for its individual

and special timbre, color and character of sound.

What are the features of the EPCC’s sonority? They can sing with intensity and vibrato

of range typical to the eastern choirs, while being able to establish the blend and precise

tuning characterizing the choirs from the west. Eventually the EPCC’s sound could be

therefore classified as a “Baltic” one. The mixture of several elements characteristic for choirs

originating from different regions of eastern, western and northern Europe might be the main

feature that has attracted conductors and audiences working with or listening to the EPCC.

The sound of any choir improves greatly when the singers listen to each other while

performing. It is partly connected to the Lombard effect described in the second chapter

(2.1.5.). This refers not only to the concert situation, but also to the rehearsing period, because

the process of establishing this skill is time consuming. In order to improve the listening

ability of the EPCC members, Kaljuste decided to limit conducting the group during

rehearsals to a minimum and to sing together with them when preparing a new repertoire. He

continued this process for several weeks in order to build into the choir the inner

understanding of each other, the feeling of being one, united organism.

Besides performing Estonian music, Kaljuste set specific blocks of time for practicing

various music styles. One of the means by which he helped achieve his goal was introducing

the music of Bach into the repertoire. Kaljuste found the style challenging for the EPCC and

providing needed opportunities to progress with mastering other elements valuable for the

choir pursuing the highest performance level: the understanding of the polyphony, singing in

German and adjusting the choir sound to the style requirements. The periods of working on a

specific music genre were longer than preparing a program for one concert only. There were

several weeks devoted exclusively to the Baroque, classical or for example French music. The

choir knew precisely what is the purpose of undertaking such repertoire and this helped

enormously to achieve the goal, which most usually was establishing suitable sound and

performing style for specific music demands. But the EPCC still did not exclude Estonian

music from their program. There were several concerts with classical compositions in the first

part and Estonian (mostly Tormis) music in the second, often performed in traditional clothes.

When I asked Kaljuste about repertoire which is not very suitable for the EPCC in

terms of the kind of sound it requires, he mentioned Russian music. In his opinion singers

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from the Swedish Radio Choir, mostly because of their volume, perform Russian music better.

With the EPCC he would often invite Russian guest singers, especially very deep basses. In

spite of the obvious problems related to the pronunciation of Russian language, Kaljuste finds

his recording of All-�ight Vigil by Rachmaninoff with the Swedish Radio Choir as one of his

favorites. What he tried to achieve there, was bringing a new insight to the piece coming from

following precise tempo markings of the composer. As a result, the recording is approximately

6 minutes shorter than the average.

Kaljuste’s critical remarks about the EPCC’s ability to perform Russian repertoire

appear to be even more interesting in confrontation with Hillier’s point of view, who has

always been very interested in exploring Russian music with the EPCC during his tenure (and

performed All-Night Vigil several times including making a CD recording, highly acclaimed

by the critics). It is probable though that Hillier was more inspired by the singers’ ability to

sing in Russian than the “Russian” nature of the sound they offered (Roman, 2004).

In my interviews with the conductors I began with a question about the character of

the EPCC’s sound. While Tõnu Kaljuste might feel too close to the EPCC to have an

objective perspective, Paul Hillier does not hesitate to consider its sound very much different

from the other choirs. Asked about the possible reasons for such exceptional tone from the

Estonian choir, he mentions the cultural context: “I feel it is still somehow related to the

choir’s origin as a youth choir – many years ago now – and more generally to the

Baltic/Scandinavian choral culture”. Additionally, he points out that there are/were numerous

singers with quite strong voices thanks to whom the volume potential of the group was

impressive. Continuing on searching the possible reasons for this outstanding color, he

suggests Estonian language as well, which “has some dark deep sounds and yet resonates very

strongly”. Not without importance, in his opinion, is the fact that the choir has already quite a

long history and this experience is crucial in creating the distinct sound of the choir.

Not only conductors, but also critics and choral music lovers often refer to the nature

of the EPCC’s sound. Anneli Ivaste touched the topic in one of the issues of Music in Estonia:

Both – conductors and critics have attempted to analyze the phenomenon of the EPCC and think their success lies in the unique sound. Robina Young, the leading producer at Harmonia Mundi, the major record company of classical music, who has worked with hundreds of musicians, said: “For me, the secret lies in the choir’s sound that is extremely rare and characteristic only to them. A choir sounds good, if the voices and voice groups are in good

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balance, their tone is juicy, rich, full of nuance and expressive. I like working with the EPCC immensely, since in addition to their great sound, they work very professionally, have flawless intonation and excellent articulation.” (Ivaste 2009).

It seems that Hillier truly liked how the EPCC sounds and his own words confirm this

assumption: “I wanted to use the sound basically as it was, because I admired it. It was

inevitable that, working together over time, the sound would develop some new

characteristics – but I wanted to add to the sound, not to change it”. In another interview

(Hilary Finch, 2002) he expresses a similar opinion calling the EPCC sound “focused, tuned,

without vibrato, nonetheless resonant”.

But it took some time for Hillier to get used to the specifics of the EPCC’s sonority. At

the beginning he tried to shape it more in the way he was usually familiar with, more in the

western style – focused on the blend, brighter tone, more transparency (“brighter and lighter”

belonged to the most frequently used terms to the singers). But he quickly realized that this

was not the direction to follow. This situation was one of the occasions for Hillier to prove his

flexibility as a musician. He was able to depart from his own preferences that had developed

in a very different environment. His singers appreciated it strongly, because they felt

respected and did not have to delineate from their natural way of singing, which was of course

very important to them. Hillier’s respect to the native color of the EPCC’s sound and adding

more of the body contribution in the process of producing it, found its response in critics’

comments on their stage appearances. The most frequently referred to is choir tone and blend.

Paul Horsley:

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir has built its fame on a unique sonority of pristine brilliance and diamond-hard clarity. Don’t look for the warm, rounded English sound or the sensuous French approach here, much less a gregarious American choral sound. The program was a chance to hear some of the less-current unaccompanied works (or works with organ alone) by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935), whose austere, repetitive music is ideal for the choir’s gleaming, unflinching sonority (Horsley 2006).

It was under Hillier when most of the singers felt the greatest ease while singing. They

started using their vocal technique consciously which was a very positive influence on the

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EPCC’s overall tone quality.

Similarly to Hillier, Daniel Reuss represented a different approach concerning choral

sonority than what the EPCC offered him when he started his tenure. While studying reviews

written after Daniel Reuss’ concerts with the EPCC abroad, one can see that the ensemble’s

sound still belongs to the dominating features that impress the audience. This is Kate

Molleson’s critique:

Pärt wrote the piece [Kanon pokajanen] for this choir, and it’s hard to imagine it sung by anyone else. Their sound is warmer and more warbly than that of a British church choir, and hints at the characteristic Russian subterranean bass without overegging it. Daniel Reuss conducted with surprising exaggeration considering the overall calm of the thing, but clearly got the desired effect: balance between the voices was sublime, as was the sense of phrasing and, crucially, space; timings were perfectly judged to let the sound fill and fade naturally in the acoustic (Molleson 2011).

I have asked Daniel Reuss to help me with understanding the phenomenon of the

EPCC’s sonority. He pointed out what was maybe their most unusual tone feature, the

“warmth”. He connects this somehow with the blend, but could not precisely describe where

this warmth comes from. Possible factors playing a role he mentioned “singing culture and

traditions in Estonia, education and growing up as a singer”. He cannot find this feature in the

sonority of Western choirs he has worked with.

Ivaste’s research on the EPCC’s sound echoes Reuss’ opinion, which I also heard

when interviewing him:

Speaking of the EPCC, Reuss has said he is impressed by their sound that is very rich, full and warm: “The sound of the EPCC clearly has a very human component that always touches the audience (Ivaste 2009).

Back to my interview, Reuss began to touch on technical aspects which have a strong

influence on how the choir sounds. He mentions sopranos’, which in his opinion are

extraordinarily full in their first octave. He describes their sound as “very powerful, full-

bodied and with a great dynamic potential”. Reuss finds it much different than Western choirs’

sound which often miss volume and power in sopranos lower octave. The side effect of the

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sopranos’ features described is that they lack volume in higher registers. Compared to

sopranos from Cappella Amsterdam (CA, professional chamber choir having Reuss as a chief

conductor) they are generally more powerful, but do not have enough control in higher

registers (Reuss brings the example of sopranos from CA who can achieve beautiful piano

even on higher notes in the second octave).

Focusing on the overall quality of the sound, its color and richness, Reuss is very

satisfied with what the choir offers him. But when it comes to other aspects of choral singing

and especially to the intonation, his pitch sensitivity presses him to change some elements,

making the sound purer and clearer. Reuss started changing the EPCC’s tone quite a bit in

order to provide better tuning, leading to noticeable results. The main direction of the

development, Reuss described as transparency and purity. Indeed, singers are more careful

with tuning and controlling their voices, but at the same time they lose some of their natural

character. It seems that they are missing part of the “human component” which Reuss

mentioned previously. From the singers’ point of view the biggest problem is that the changes

of the sound are done in an artificial way. They are asked to make the voice brighter, but

without being thought “how”. Only a few singers of the current collective are able to follow

these requests in a technically correct way, but even these have problem with the voice

appearing tired. Reuss’ focus on achieving transparency results in diminishing the flexibility

and freedom in singing which eventually leads to the moment where the choir starts to lose its

original strength, deep sound and little vibrato. Since sopranos are the most audible voices in

the choir, they were also the most affected by changes (because they mainly contribute in the

creation of the overall sonority).

Another side effect of the implemented changes is a difficulty for some singers to

perform solo parts written inside of the choral compositions. There are several pieces where

periodically the solo part appears, which should be sung by some of the choir members. In

such cases, quick changes from singing in a way that is “focused on blending, transparency

and intonation” to singing solo voice which needs to come out of the choir sound is

practically impossible.

I asked some of the EPCC singers what happens when Tõnu Kaljuste makes a project

with the choir as a guest conductor (what happened several times recently). My question was

precisely referring to their ability to come back to the sound he wants to have. They told me

that it is absolutely possible and actually not very difficult because Kaljuste’s approach is

more natural for them. But it also depends on the program. If they perform repertoire they

26

have sung previously, it is easier, since they can concentrate more on the sound, than they can

with fresh pieces.

It is interesting and in my opinion very fortunate for the choir that they happen to have

worked with chief conductors representing very different point of view regarding sound. With

Kaljuste they developed something original and natural. Hillier initially wanted to change it to

his own taste but he felt that he would be asking the choir to depart too far from their roots.

Eventually, he decided to improve some elements, especially to work on the vocal production

issues and thanks to this, the choir achieved better quality while keeping the features of their

exceptional sound. I personally think this was a good solution. With Reuss the evolution of

the sound went much farther and at that moment I think the singers realized what their sound

truly was. They had occasion to try different ways, more focused on tuning, pureness and

transparency which apparently did not convince them entirely. Reuss’ approach is probably

the most distant from Estonian cultural and native context, and that is perhaps why the choir

does not always feel completely comfortable during performances.

3.1.1. Blend

Kaljuste seems to be very sensitive about the timbre of the individual voice. When it

comes to creating the tone of the whole group he starts from each separate singer. That is why

he does not like the classification of vocal production dividing solo from choral singing.

Instead, Kaljuste tries to underline the importance of an individual’s skills, technique and

flexibility. He gave me an example of Mati Turi, the Estonian tenor, a well known soloist who

also performs opera repertoire (currently turning to Wagner) and sang for some time with the

EPCC (as a choir member). A minor problem arises only when a singer with a big volume

voice is unable to control it in order to blend with rest of the choir members. But generally

Kaljuste claims, that solo singers should be able to perform in a choir and vice versa.

One of his ways of motivating singers to work on their vocal skills was organizing

concerts (in autumn and springs) during which each choir member had to perform solo.

Kaljuste always emphasizes the importance of encouraging singers to perform like soloists:

“finding ‘choral singers’ to the choir is not a right way to act in. You have to find singers with

well trained voice, able to sing solo and to produce convincing sound. Only then the whole

group will have the deep, full bodied and well grounded tone”.

Kaljuste’s care for individual singers comes out again when talking about the character

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of the voice: “Voice should be respected. If the singer has particular loudness of voice, it

should be developed within its nature. The voice needs time to develop and also to get a

bigger volume”. Kaljuste mentions numerous great soloists who started in choirs and are

famous now as opera singers. For instance Anne Sofie von Otter, who has sung contemporary

programs as a member of the Swedish Radio Choir is now one of the most recognized mezzo-

sopranos on the opera stage.

The same situation occurs in the choir’s blend: “in order to achieve it, you can’t expect

singers to control themselves all the time, because it impedes the sound to appear in its

fullness. Additionally, it is not healthy for the singers”.

Kaljuste’s approach sounds very reasonable and convincing, but the strategy to

underline the timbre of each singer brings a risk of occasional imperfection in the overall

blend. Such a situation happens in Miller’s opinion:

Antonio Vivaldi’s “Beatus Vir” was a surprising choice for a big finale, and its segmented nature did not show the group at its best. The blend within sections was imperfect, with individual voices sticking out too frequently for a group of this stature. It is to be hoped that Cathedral Concerts will bring them back, but with a stronger, more balanced program (Miller 2008).

I find it quite natural that occasionally (and especially during the live concerts in the

venues that the choir and conductor do not know) the blend is affected by some individual

voices sticking out in a choir, where everybody has to contribute fully in order to produce the

volume and rich sound, the EPCC has always been famous for.

Hillier adds another dimension to the definition of blend. For him, besides a balance

of voices, it comes as a result of “singing together over a period of time”. The time together,

apart from skilled singers, is what an ensemble needs in order to achieve satisfying blend. He

already articulated this point of view while talking about the EPCC’s sound. A sound

individuality grew up to his mind over years. What he is searching for, is creating a personal

sound for each section and simultaneously working on the ensemble’s ability to adjust the

sound to the demands coming from a particular repertoire.

Although Hillier thinks that choral singers should pursue solo singing qualities, he

admits that this is rather a dream and does not happen often during every conductor’s life.

Therefore his way of achieving blend differs strongly from Kaljuste’s. Instead of

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concentrating on the voice of every individual singer, he prefers working on the group as a

whole, shaping the sound built by all the singers together. This difference in approach to the

blend is described very visually by Mike Brewer and Liz Garnett:

Blend is an intriguing word, and we would suggest that there are two kinds, as maybe in coffee. There can be a bland blend which takes away the sharp tastes and produces what might be termed an ersatz choral sound, or a combination of tastes which together produces something more characterful than the individual ingredients, which is an exciting blend of their differences (Brewer 2012: 260).

I would consider Kaljuste supporting the second, and Hillier favoring the first idea.

One of the choir’s highlights in terms of blending was singing piano. In very soft

passages singers were showing their ability to listen to each other and mix the voices in order

to produce quiet and coherent sound. Daniel Schlosberg described his impressions about the

EPCC’s performance in these words:

Throughout the evening, the choir sang with control, precision and care. It is not a group that relishes overt drama, and Hillier favors blend and balance over a larger emotional palette. Indeed, the most affecting moments were often the most quiet, where a barely perceptible sound demonstrated the group’s magnificent sense of ensemble. The chorus barely seemed to move, which reinforced the reserved, grave nature of the music (Schlosberg 2003).

Reuss, when asked about blend admitted that it belongs to the most important

elements he focuses on while working with any choir. He expressed his concern about the

current situation in the choir due to some personal changes in the ensemble which affect the

overall sound of the group. In virtually every section there is an occasional or temporary

absence of some of the voice leaders, among them Tiit Kogerman in tenors, Allan Vurma in

basses, while Kaia Urb moved from first to second sopranos.

To achieve the proper choral blend Reuss stresses the importance of establishing unity

of the vowel production. From his experience with the EPCC he recalls a slightly different

way of shaping the vowels observed while comparing the higher and lower voices. Although

it is natural that the lower ones will produce darker sounds, Reuss claims that it went a little

29

bit beyond the standard. Of course, one should not forget the nature of Estonian language

which in itself makes the vowels sound rather dark. In order to improve the blend, Reuss tries

to provide more brightness of the vowels in alto and bass and to reduce some of the light from

the higher voices.

I asked Reuss what he considered an ideally blending choir and he did not mention

any specific one. Generally he considered the British choirs as the best in mixing the voices.

On the other hand, in Reuss opinion, their ability to do this is dampened when blending with

foreign singers or choirs.

While talking about blend, Reuss naturally turns to the topic of solo and choral

singing. Furthermore, he gives the same example as Kaljuste, the case of Mati Turi. This

recognized tenor performed as an EPCC member for many years and possesses the skill of

blending his voice with others with the exception those of very loud dynamics, when his voice

stands out noticeably. As one can understand from this example, Reuss has similar opinions to

Kaljuste and tends to consider solo and choir singing to be very close to each other. A problem

tied to distinguishing soloists from choral singers is often the lack of the musical preparation

of the former. He pictures the German traditions as exemplary in developing thoroughly and

professionally prepared singers: “Not only it is easier to work with them due to their deep

musical knowledge and understanding, but they are much more skilled in blending as well”.

The better one is prepared for the performance (including sight reading skills and theoretical

knowledge), the easier it is for him/her to concentrate on listening to the others. The extent of

Reuss’ involvement in the choir blend has been underlined in opinions and reviews expressed

by numerous critics. Alexandra Coghlan:

With the expressive homophony of Sibelius’s Rakastava (more familiar in its string transcription), we were listening to a new ensemble. The blend which is at the core of the EPCC’s sound became all-important – the platform on which Sibelius’s more colourful descriptive effects could rest securely. A sort of miniature folk cantata, Rakastava is inflected with charming modal and textural touches. Passing the melodic conch to the men, Sibelius embroiders their storytelling with a repeated refrain “ei-laa” in the women’s voices, multiple melodic cells circling insistently, held in impeccable balance by director Daniel Reuss.

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And in the same review we read:

There is no doubt of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir’s quality, nor of their differences to an English equivalent ensemble. Favouring a rooted, collective texture, it was the counterpoint of the Mendelssohn that perhaps exposed their weakness, a tendency to prioritise blend over all other concerns. Last night was not, I suspect, this choir at their very best, but as ambassadors for arguably the most exciting choral tradition currently emerging from Europe the EPCC are still an impressive force (Coghlan 2011).

As one may understand from her review, prioritizing blend as a feature of choral tone

may have some negative influence on the polyphonic music performance, although in the case

of Reuss I would not expect lack of attention towards contrapuntal structure of the material.

The case mentioned above may be the result of what performing live involves in itself, which

is a certain level of spontaneity, changing acoustic conditions, etc. and the choir’s ability to

adapt to it for better or worse on any given day.

Reuss himself told me that he appreciates the flexibility the choir offers during concert

performances. He admires singers’ ability to adjust their voices freely to the demands of the

acoustics and also of the program. What satisfies him greatly is their response to the

conducting gesture and to the performance conditions. He regrets only, that while there is still

some potential to develop these skills, it is impossible to work on them during rehearsals due

to the poor acoustics of the venue they use to gather.

Apparently conductors differ strongly with their vision for the blend and overall sound

of the choir. It is also clearly noticeable on the recordings they have made with the EPCC. For

example, the sound of the choir in the recordings of Kreek, reveal the conductors different

approaches. In Kaljuste’s performance one may recognize the idea on blending which I

described earlier, and reliance on building the whole choir sound from each individual singer.

There appear some minor side effects of the implemented strategy, mainly affecting the male

section. For instance in some phrases of Õnnis on inimene sung high and in forte it makes

some tenors protruding out from the overall sound of the section. On the other hand the

sonority of the choir is very rich because each voice participates strongly in creating the

sound. One should not forget that Kaljuste’s recording of Kreek’s Psalms is a vinyl and this

might affect the overall sound quality.

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In Hillier’s recording, prioritizing the general blend over shaping the sound of each

voice is noticeable. This makes the sound very consistent. In the parts sung tutti with parallel

lines of melodic importance, he brings up the lower one. For example in Psalm 104 there is a

phrase with long crescendo from mezzo forte to fortissimo sung by sopranos and tenors in

octaves, with harmonic surrounding of the other voices. Hillier underlines the tenors’ line

more, so that they can match the volume of sopranos singing in much higher register. Thanks

to his approach there is no strict dominance of sopranos over the rest of the voices and the

choir keeps the full-bodied sound in every dynamic.

I find the best blend in recordings of Kreek done by Reuss. Due to his attention

towards vibrato and holding slightly back with dynamics, the matching of all voices is

exemplary. But this has a negative impact on the sound quality of the parts separated from the

harmonic context. When a particular voice has a melodic function and the accompaniment is

soft, one can easily hear that the voices are being strictly controlled and therefore lacking a

measure of freedom. Even the vibrato appearing seems to be unintended. But when there is a

rich harmony surrounding melodic lines and performed with balanced dynamics, the EPCC’s

blend under Reuss is fascinating.

3.1.2. Intonation

Kaljuste recalls that most of the intonation problems, especially during the earlier

period of his work with the EPCC, he experienced with altos (it is clearly audible in the

recording of Kreek’s Õnnis on inimene). While having truly beautiful voices, they were often

not able to clearly focus the sound, in order to intonate correctly. Similarly, but maybe less

frequently, the problem was touching basses as well. I suppose that some features of the

Estonian language make the lower voices sound darker. Additionally, the intonation depends

on the amount of vibrato applied in the sound. This issue will be described deeper in a

separate subchapter, therefore I only allow myself to briefly touch on Kaljuste’s opinion about

it: “I do not try to exclude vibrato from the choral tone, the same like one generally does not

avoid vibrato in string instruments”. He describes that when one learns to play violin, initial

avoiding vibrato provides greater consideration and sensitivity for the intonation. After

mastering playing in tune, adding a reasonable amount of vibrato is desired.

I find this comparison not very compelling, because from recent research – including

Olson’s article mentioned in the second chapter (2.1.3.) – done by some voice specialists, the

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initial period of learning how to sing should not hinder the voice from having a “healthy”

vibration. However, what Kaljuste tries to express is that the control over the vibrato is

mandatory in order to produce a sound with precise pitch.

One of the critics who admired Kaljuste’s concern for detail in intonation was Charles

T. Downey:

The choral intonation was so true that it made the most dissonant harmonies, such as those stacked up in the Lacrimosa [from Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Requiem] movement, glisten (Downey 2008).

From my conversation with Kaljuste I had the impression, that he has a quite, as I

would call it, “natural approach” to the matter of intonation. He does not seem to be

exceedingly involved in the theoretical background in this matter, researching the tuning

systems (many of them mentioned in the 2nd Chapter and deeply researched by Alldahl), but

rather using his musical ear, taste and experience to achieve the precision. Every singer I have

interviewed, mentioned that Kaljuste does not belong to the group of conductors who possess

exceptionally sensitive pitch, but he relies more on the natural feeling of what is in tune and

what is not, as opposed to measuring the frequencies and analyzing the function of each note

in the musical context.

Hillier seems to me to represent another approach based on his involvement in

performing both early and contemporary music. Although these genres divide centuries, the

issue of intonation makes a bridge between them with their particular stylistic demands.

Hillier’s previous musical involvement certainly influence his vision and imagination of the

choral sound. Music of Arvo Pärt is one of the most transparent examples picturing the

connections between the early and the new music. Paul Hillier explores it intensively, making

several concerts and recordings with music of this prominent composer.

Hillier classifies in his own way the music coming from different époques, as a ground

to it setting harmonic practice and expressive ideal. As a result, he finds common paths

connecting early music with contemporary compositions, mainly their freedom from tonal

system, including its “triads and carefully systematized dissonances”. In such thinking, one of

the most prominent tasks to master becomes “exact intonation”. Hillier’s analytical approach

concerning intonation finds its reflection in some of his essays about music performance, here

is an excerpt from one of them:

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Many today’s composers are particularly responsive to matters of intonation, of a return to some of the “pure” sounds and harmonies of the past. I’ve talked with Arvo Part about this at great length, and he feels that the problems in performing his music are the same as the demands in Thomas Tallis or Josquin Desprez – a matter of returning to the pure harmonies as they existed before all tuning compromises that came in about the time of Bach. The question of vibrato is part of this problem as well. Use too much of it and you inevitably end up with smudged harmonies (Hillier after Rich 1997: 8).

Considering the EPCC, Hillier explains that intonation problems were usually

appearing when one of the voices, while having some technical difficulties, would dominate

the others. This often resulted in flatting. While working with choirs on a cappella repertoire

he bases on precise tuning of octaves, fifths and fourths.

Consistency of pitch and tone are this choir’s [the EPCC] hallmarks. With tenacity it can sustain a pitch at any volume without altering the vowel or the tonal quality. Yet a hard-edged quality proved a liability in the first half, where Poulenc’s G-major Mass was at times pushed — with the “Agnus Dei” seeming more penetrating than lush or beautiful (Horsley 2006).

Establishing the pitch precision is a time consuming process and I wanted to

understand what is Hillier’s way to achieve proper tuning, therefore I asked him if he uses

piano during rehearsals: “Yes, though I prefer not to. I give pitches rather than chords, though

again it depends on the musical context and what I feel the singers need at any given point. In

concert I generally give only single pitches, and with a pitch pipe”. This approach sounds

reasonable bearing in mind the researchers opinions described in the second chapter.

When Reuss started working with the EPCC he concentrated his efforts on improving

the tuning and tone clarity. He told me that it felt like there was a little bit too much concern

regarding vocal qualities than focus on the precision and intonation. Being recognized as a

conductor with a very sensitive and precise pitch, as well as one with enormous demands, the

process of developing the EPCC’s tuning was long lasting.

Intonation seems to be also one of the main qualities in the choral performance Reuss

is concentrating on (even when asked for a general opinion about some of his concerts or

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recordings, he mostly refers to the intonation matters and on this, he bases his assessment). I

asked him if he feels he has achieved all that he desired in any of the recordings with the

EPCC. He mentioned a recent recording with music by Rudolf Tobias and Max Reger as one

of his favorite CDs. He finds this recording as one where they managed to achieve really good

tuning.

Reuss is known for being familiar with several tuning systems and choosing them

according to the particular repertoire demands. To my question about what kind of tuning he

uses with the EPCC, he explained that working with soloists he chooses the meantone

temperament (which is based on the clear tuning of thirds and fifths), but while working with

a choir, he finds it too complicated and turns towards tempered tuning.

Reuss has nothing against using piano during rehearsals and he uses it himself, but

practically never for accompanying the choir. It is used more for exemplifying musical

problems or presenting some harmonic progressions. Also while giving the pitch for the choir

to start with, he plays the whole chord (not only the ground note like Kaljuste and Hillier do).

He asserts that the temperament tuning is “not bad” and the choir is able to tune very rapidly

so that the chord sounding precisely on piano and sung by the choir has the same quality.

It sounds paradoxical that the conductor who is the most careful with intonation issues

of all mentioned here, uses piano quite intensively, performs some music parts, and while

giving the tonality to the singers he plays the whole chords. These are practically all strategies

that the others claim to avoid. I would surmise that all research results about intonation (and

especially Alldahl’s work) are good for setting some background, but it is the conductor’s

decision, as to which particular way of achieving decent tuning will bring best results. There

is no one success-promising recipe. But to my mind, singers prefer to tune to a voice rather

than to a piano and they would also prefer to tune to each other than to an instrument. Maybe

that is why the work on intonation with Reuss is usually rather painful for them, and in order

to succeed they have to drastically change their sound.

Reuss counts maintaining the bass line perfectly focused as one of the most important

factors in building the intonation. This gives a stable foundation for the rest of the harmonic

tones and he spends considerable time working on it. Additionally, he admits being very

sensitive to the vertical harmonic tuning, therefore persisting that virtually each chord is full

of the aliquots. This is indeed time consuming and certainly tiring for the singers, but Reuss is

absolutely convinced that this amount of work is worth it if, as a result one gets fixed chords

making the harmony shining, while providing strong and clear resonance.

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It is not difficult to imagine, that the singers’ point of view is quite different than

Reuss’. They would admit that precise intonation is a very important quality which every

professional choir should pursue. But they do not quite agree with Reuss’ way of achieving it,

namely the advanced level of changes to the choir’s sound.

The picture coming to me, after my interviews with several EPCC members (those

who have sung under all three chief conductors) is as such: there has to be “life in the voice”

and if it sometimes means a little dose of incorrectness, it has to be so. There needs to be a

healthy way to establish precise tuning, which is respectful of the nature of the human’s voice.

Reuss’ method of making the sound much brighter than it is in the EPCC’s nature makes the

singers tired, because they have to control themselves all the time and sing in a different way

they are accustomed to and have been trained. Fortunately there is no necessity to choose

between precision and the beauty of the sound. If in achieving the latter one would have

occasional pitch imperfection, it is a price worth paying. The basic pursuit of the EPCC

singers is having the voice “alive” and this is one of the choir’s hallmark which they are afraid

to lose now.

I think that it would be much easier for Reuss to achieve his goals with choirs closer to

the western singing culture, where the blend and tuning is prioritized over the sonority and

richness of the sound. During my interview with Reuss he praised the EPCC for the beauty of

its tone, but also compared it to the western choirs and expressed the need to match their

tuning capabilities.

In general I find Hillier’s and Reuss’ cases very similar with regard to their initial

difficulties with accepting what kind of sound the EPCC offers them. They both grew up in

Western choral traditions and their musical taste is shaped by this environment. However,

Paul Hillier showed a higher degree of flexibility in adapting himself to the new conditions

and decided to use it to his advantage. He made it a challenge for himself and decided to

search for repertoire suitable for the EPCC’s sonority. In my opinion this is the best one can

do in such a situation and the numerous recordings done with Hillier confirm it.

There are several ways of making a choir sing in tune. Does vibrato disturb the

intonation? I do not think so, except if the range of vibration is not exceeded. Can fortissimo

be sung in tune? Absolutely yes, if it is produced with proper technique and focus. In my

opinion one does not have to compromise the emotional side of the performance in order to

maintain the pitch precision. In virtually each case where the pitch is endangered, there may

be applied solutions which are not affecting the emotional side of music making.

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For me, the conductor who is able to achieve a high performance level while not going

against the nature of the voice, is Hillier. His skills include the enormous vocal knowledge

and sufficient pitch sensitivity. Therefore he is capable of connecting impressive sound

quality with very good intonation.

It has been mentioned before that Hillier builds the blend working on the general

sound of the choir, not on the individual singer’s sound. On the other hand this does not

minimize the importance of training the individual singer’s vocal skills. Therefore despite the

fascinating sound of the choir as a whole, when it comes to solo performances, the same vocal

quality is maintained. This makes the intonation (with few exceptions) stable and convincing

both in tutti and solo passages.

There is a certain lack of vocal quality in Kaljuste’s and Reuss’ performances,

although the reasons for it in both cases are very different. Kaljuste’s imagination and

charisma are not always enough for the singers who also need precise technical advice.

Sometimes their voices come out of control which directly affects the intonation. This is very

clear at the beginning (and all following similar phrases) of Õnnis on inimene. The melody

being sung by altos lacks precision and although the pitch is sustained horizontally through

the whole piece (only thanks to the stable accompanying notes from basses and tenors), the

vertical intonation leaves much to be desired. The fact that it is in the melodic lines where the

intonation suffers most, is clear evidence of the technical issue being apparent. The

accompanying notes usually are well tuned, which shows the singers’ ability to listen to each

other and take care of the pitch.

One encounters the opposite problems in the recordings done by Reuss. His pitch

sensitivity is so strong that singing in tune is one of the main elements of the choral craft he is

focused on. This approach, mixed with a different (“western”) understanding of sound leads

him to change the choir and singers’ vocal habits quite strongly. From the first notes of any

Psalm one hears perfect tuning and blending in every detail. The harmonies are shining and

there are aliquots, which can appear only in the clearest chords (like in perfectly matched

wind instruments). But when the harmony support is less evident and it is the separate line

playing an important role, the magic slightly disappears. This is why Psalm 104 and Psalm

141 sound beautifully tuned, but in Õnnis on inimene, where the accompaniment is limited,

one can hear with what technique, in which way, and with what effort Reuss establishes the

pitch precision. Withdrawing the vibrato and searching for brightness and transparency causes

the sound to find its additional source in the throat, instead of being mainly supported by

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diaphragm. It affects the sound quality strongly (for example in the first entrance of sopranos

in Õnnis on inimene, where the quick notes are done quite artificially and the voices sound

strained) and paradoxically also the intonation, because tensed throat leads to voice tiredness

and therefore difficulties in precise tuning.

There are some imperfections in the intonation in Hillier’s recordings, but the balance

established between the pitch precision, emotion, vocal and sound quality is the most

convincing.

3.1.3. Vibrato

As it has been explained in the previous chapter (2.1.3.), the issue of vibrato is

intensely discussed among conductors and choral music researchers, and appears to be of a

very subjective nature. It would not matter much (because this might have been left to one’s

taste) if not for the fact, that the absolute rejection of vibrato may have a negative influence

on the condition of the singer’s voice. I asked Kaljuste if he tries to avoid vibrato in the

choral sound. One recalls that he supports the idea of connecting solo and choral singing. We

are not surprised then that Kaljuste is not at all against vibrato in the choir. But he directly

adds: “It has to be reasonable. This means considering vibrato as an additional color, not the

main feature of the sound.” He compares it to the sound of string instruments which need

vibrations as well (of course respecting requirements of different musical styles). Kaljuste

accepts vibrato in early music as well, which for instance in pieces by Gesualdo may be used

as a particular mean of expression.

Definitely the Kaljuste’s overall vision on the vibrato in choral singing comes from his

varied musical experience which was initially shaped during his studies in Tallinn and

Leningrad. It was further enriched by experience he gained while working with Swedish and

Dutch choirs. The Russian and later the Estonian singing school of the 1980’s and 90’s was

strongly influenced by Italian traditions. As a result, the exaggerated and not controlled

vibrato was widely apparent. This method of emission of the sound was not very suitable for

chamber choirs and for the chamber choir music literature. Therefore Kaljuste decided to mix

some elements of Russian singing style (high level of emotions in performance and vibrato in

the sound) with the features typical for western traditions (precision, blend, accuracy, clarity

and purity of tone).

While not being against a limited amount of vibrato in the choral sound, Hillier

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expects that the choir will be able to produce a pure tone and not feel uncomfortable about it.

For Hillier “[..] vibrato is a part of pitching and intonation. I like a choir to be able to sing

without vibrato if asked, and not to feel that they are doing something weird. But a small

vibration can often be fine and even help free the sound - or smooth over the edge of an

intonation problem!”. He finds uncontrolled, “operatic” vibrato, dominating most of the notes

in the same way as the most dangerous for the choir sound. This eventually turns into singing

without concrete pitch and rather “boring musical expression”. The following thoughts are

from the former EPCC’s alto Iris Oja and choir members, regarding Hillier’s approach to

vibrato and choir tone:

We have been continuously working together with former main conductor Paul Hillier. Many people say that he has managed to find us a new sound. We can’t really sense that as we have been inside this transformation. The new sound took quite some time to develop, Hillier wanted a kind of western European sense of sound as opposed to our Russian kind. Although to be precise we thought ourselves to be more "Baltic". We even gave him a shirt that had "no vibrato" written on the front and "brighter & lighter" on the back - that often did he use these phrases. Over time his taste became more "Baltic" and our tone grew closer to western traditions in a good way. Excessive vibrato is not reasonable in choir singing and more precise intonation never hurt anyone (Oja 2008).

Such opinions show that even a choir with an already established reputation,

experience and its own “performing style” may be open and welcome for fresh ideas even if it

costs the singers a lot of effort and hard work. I think that the choir members felt these

improvements were added to the choir’s sound quality while not changing the overall

character of the sonority. Hillier expressed his approach with emphasis while answering my

question about the EPCC’s sound. Considering the case of vibrato in solo singing, he advises

the singers to constantly work on developing their skills: to those who suffer lack of vibrato

he suggests finding a way to establish it and those who possess too much of it – search for

focusing the tone and making it more pure. It is always a matter of one’s taste and also the

repertoire requirements, but Hillier rather clearly states that he prefers pure tone both in early

and contemporary music: “In early ensemble music – and again, in a great deal of new music

– the only way to get the music to sound in tune is to minimize vibrato” (Hillier; after Rich

1997, 8).

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What is intriguing though, is that in some the EPCC concert reviews, the topic of

vibrato is touched quite often and in some critics opinions the amount of vibrato in the choir

sound is too big. Piret Väinmaa:

Declamation with a more straight (pure, without vibrato) voice doesn't exclude the sincerity and intensity, which is coded into Pärt's works. Isn't this kind of subtle, hypnotic influence very characteristic to a lullaby, which a mother sings to her child? Abundant vibrato adds dramatic dimension, but in case of overdoing it, also artificiality. In the case of choir-practice the overdone dramatic vibrato means a danger to the sound/colour evenness of the voices and the reliability of intonation. Of course we can't deny, that already in the schooling phase rightly dosed vibrato gives the voice strength, power and colour. It's not only the problem in Pärt's music: using abundant vibrato makes the piece abruptly more subjective (Väinmaa 2005).

It sounds out of place when a conductor who declares trying to implicate vibrations in

a very careful and strictly limited way, is being called out for overusing them in his

interpretations. I think the problem lies in defining the difference between the not controlled

vibrato and a healthy vibrations of the voice which is producing sound with the proper

technique. Already under Kaljuste there is a recognizable amount of vibrato in the EPCC’s

sound and I do not find the sound of the choir under Hillier noticeably more vibrating. What

Hillier brought to the choir is his enormous vocal knowledge and singing experience and it

resulted in relieving the singers’ voices, bringing comfort and flexibility. This could lead to

the conclusion that vibrato in the EPCC’s sound increased, which is not the case.

During my conversation with Reuss we also touched the topic of vibrato. At first he

made a comparison between RIAS Kammerchor (Berlin) and the EPCC. He said that RIAS’

sound is softer, not so vibrating and more clear, but missing the emotional factor that the

EPCC has, due to the latter’s little vibrato. While not being a big advocate of extended vibrato

in the choir, he does not try to avoid it entirely. If not exaggerated, it lends, in his opinion,

character to the sound. Too much vibrato badly affects the intonation and for this reason he

finds the sound of RIAS clearer but on the other hand their sound lacks the EPCC’s

exceptional character. The repertoire in which Reuss minimizes the usage of vibrato is

definitely early music.

Some singers mentioned that occasionally Reuss was not consistent with his approach

towards vibrato. During the preparation process he would try to minimize it while during the

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final rehearsal (in the concert venue already), due to some difficulties with acoustics, he

would insist on more volume and more vibrating sound. This was difficult to follow for some

of the singers who were not skilled enough to adjust the sound so quickly.

Comparing recordings of Kreek’s Psalms it is the performance under Daniel Reuss

where the EPCC establishes the purest sound and seems to use vibrato only as a mean of

expression in carefully chosen places. The larger amount of vibrato naturally appears in the

melodic lines and phrases sung with big volume and full voice. In these places one may notice

that singers (especially female voices) try to hold back dynamically and therefore the voice

seems a little bit tense, engaging too much throat to produce a clear sound. In moderate

dynamics and harmonic places it works very well, but not in the melodic, solo or very

expressive lines.

In Hillier’s performances it is mostly the leading voices (mainly altos) singing with

noticeable vibrato. For example in the beginning of Psalm 104 or in all the melodic phrases of

Õnnis on inimene. The overall range of vibration in Hillier’s version is similar to the

Kaljuste’s performances (and definitely bigger than in Reuss’ interpretations), but it seems to

be better controlled by the conductor and singers.

3.1.4. Seating

Placing of the singers should differ according to the repertoire being performed. The

traditional solution for Kaljuste is female voices in front (sopranos on the left and altos on the

right – from conductor’s perspective), with male voices behind (tenors on the left and basses

on the right). But if tenors do not sound convincingly, he moves them to the right in order to

provide them support from altos. If the choir is going to be divided into two, for example for

the performance of the Mass for double choir by Frank Martin, Kaljuste places altos together

(from both choirs) because of the correlations between these voices in the score. But, for

example in Bach’s B-minor Mass he would put sopranos together and basses behind, so that

the foundation sound is stable. He makes a mention of orchestral performance practice, where

numerous experiments with placing of the players have taken place. And while it is

occasionally interesting to hear the sound produced by the ensemble in a different setting, the

most convincing and natural for Kaljuste is the traditional placement, “as with a piano, where

you just can not replace the keys or reorganize them”.

There is a common practice to diminish the number of singers for early music

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performances. I asked Kaljuste if he does that as well. He said that usually he does not,

although occasional appearances as a guest conductor with other choirs may require him to

limit the number of singers if he is not satisfied with the performance level of the whole

group.

Seating in blocks is Kaljuste’s favorite way of organizing choir voices, but for learning

purposes and developing the choir sound or singers’ ability to listen to each other, he uses

mixed seating as well. Smaller ensembles are the place where he experiments more with

placement. “Placing should be an effect of what one imagines, what one wants to hear before

the music is performed. If you’d like to have sopranos mixed with other voices, do it”. But for

the polyphonic music certainly he prefers block seating.

One of the examples of choosing a different than standard way of organizing the

singers on stage was a concert in Norway with Swedish Radio Choir. They were performing

in a small church, which when filled up by the audience, did not leave enough space for the

choir. Eventually Kaljuste decided to place the singers around the listeners creating a large

circle and making the audience the centre of the event.

For Hillier the topic of placing the singers does not seem to be paramount. He uses his

favorite block setting and does not experiment with it, especially while working with bigger

choirs. He takes a slightly different approach towards vocal ensembles which reflect much

stronger and more direct any changes in seating. With ensembles Hillier allows himself to be

more spontaneous, trying different methods.

Reuss usually places sopranos on the left and altos on the right, then basses behind

sopranos and tenors behind the altos. But it also depends on the repertoire, for example in

Rachmaninoff’s Vespers with its numerous octaves between tenors and sopranos, he might

decide to change the order, so that these voices are close to each other. Another solution in the

same piece is placing basses before tenors so that they are in the front line. This idea

originated because of the low, very deep parts for basses which needed support to make them

audible.

It was interesting for me how Reuss placed the singers for the recording of Frank

Martin’s Golgotha which has been done with the EPCC and Cappella Amsterdam. Reuss

described it as a long lasting and deeply thought out procedure. The placement of each singer

was chosen consciously, respectfully to her/his timbre, range, voice volume etc. It did not play

a role from which choir the singer comes, they were all mixed around. Reuss found that

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singers from both choirs blended very well and the relation between them was very good. He

was happy with the final result and this could be one of the reasons to record another CD with

the same performers and music by Poulenc (Stabat Mater and Répons des ténèbres).

3.1.5. Acoustics

One of the most demanding tasks in a conductor’s craft is dealing with conditions

accompanying the choral (or orchestral) performance, and especially acoustics of the venue. I

asked all of the conductors if they have some special strategy concerning this issue and how

far they can go in compromising their musical ideas or interpretation in order to accommodate

acoustics demands.

If the acoustics are not favorable, Kaljuste tries to adjust the elements of performance

(mostly tempo and dynamics) to the conditions of the hall. As he says, “we are just humans,

so there is a different mood, abilities and shape to us every day, like with the weather. This

reflects the music and the way to perform it”. But in order to avoid too many stressful

surprises, he often investigates the venues the choir is going to perform in.

Hillier told me, that if one conducts a choir in a difficult acoustic surrounding, it is

easier to deal with dry acoustics because there is not much one can do with it. The highest

priority is concern about voice production (avoiding unnecessary tension, making as close

legato as possible), but generally he tries to perform normally. When the acoustic is strongly

resonating, there have to be some tricks implemented, which might help in dealing with the

echo, but not changing the overall performance idea too much.

I asked Reuss to choose his favorite concert venue in Tallinn and it appeared to be the

United Methodist Church, which strongly supports blending of voices. Reuss is always very

sensitive towards choir blend, especially since the EPCC never achieves what is satisfying to

him during rehearsals due to poor acoustic conditions of rehearsal venue. He likes St. John’s

church in Tartu as well, and also the “Estonia” Concert Hall in Tallinn, if there are not too

many performers involved (and the dynamics are under control since he finds the fortissimo

in “Estonia” quickly becoming rather tiring).

For performing polyphonic music Reuss definitely prefers larger halls and a smaller

ensemble. This is very much in agreement with Finn’s (vide second chapter, 2.1.6. about

acoustics) approach in this matter. Therefore one of his most favorable choices for

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Renaissance music performances is St. Nicholas Church in Tallinn (a venue with a big hall

and long echo). The recent the EPCC concert with music by Josquin (23rd of March, 2013)

took place there.

If the acoustics are difficult, Reuss does not try anything special to deal with it. One of

his priorities is avoiding any changes in tempo. He is aware of the problem of the public’s

reception, but to compromise his musical ideals for it is not a solution for him.

3.2. Rehearsing and performing

Before the EPCC became a professional ensemble, there were usually three rehearsals

a week. The work was quite intensive, more than in other amateur choirs. Initially, the period

of time needed for preparing the program was longer, in order to achieve the highest possible

performance level. This was an important factor that differentiated the choir from professional

groups, which were often overloaded by quickly changing repertoire and sometimes dealing

more with the size of the program than with the level of performance. Kaljuste’s idea was

directly introduce to the singers a professional approach to the musical performance. When

the EPCC transitioned into a fully professional ensemble, the singers and conductor were

meeting every day for three hours. Therefore working on expanding the repertoire was much

easier and faster.

The detailed preparation process consisted mainly of section rehearsals before meeting

tutti. It was quite common to sing in quartets and only later that to rehearse together. Thanks

to this, each singer felt his individual role in the collective, which also had a huge influence

on improving the quality of performance.

On the other hand, Kaljuste was rather demanding on the singers concerning their own

work on the vocal technique and producing the desired sound. Although having some

experience in singing in a choir, Kaljuste is not a professional singer himself and he had to

establish another way of realizing his ideas related to sound or vocal effects. This was one of

the reasons for his preferences to work with talented singers, from whom he could expect

flexibility in dealing with their voices. This was especially important while performing music

written by Veljo Tormis, where one finds numerous directly quoted folk songs. Tormis would

not like them being sung in a “classical” way. Achieving this kind of timbre that could imitate

the original way of performing folk songs needed intensive work and flexibility from the

singers. When the result came, the EPCC’s interpretations of Tormis’ music became

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practically definitive. Veljo Tormis was often present himself at the rehearsals, helping

performers to understand the meaning of his music and to find the way of performing it.

According to what some of the singers present said, Kaljuste was not very good at

spotting crucial technical problems during rehearsals, and due to his lack of technical

knowledge about the vocal production, it occasionally happened that his musical request was

difficult to understand or follow. But usually the singers or players knew what he wanted, so

they could try to achieve the desired effect even if they had to figure out a solution

themselves. As a compensation for this disadvantage, Kaljuste had a natural talent of “feeling

the voice”. He understood quite well what the singer needs in order to feel comfortable while

performing.

Kaljuste is fond of turning each concert into a true event. He always has special,

concrete ideas on the repertoire and the way of ordering each part of the program. There is

some kind of invisible script that singers (and after them the audience) are following.

Sometimes it happened, that while finding a problem with creating logical continuity between

each fragment of the program, Kaljuste would prefer to make two breaks (so as to divide the

performance into three parts). He tries to avoid traditional concerts, during which everything

is predictable, ordered and standard. Instead, he pursues creating a story, so that the singers

and the public would stay concentrated at all times. There are no unnecessarily long breaks

between the pieces and especially between the movements of one bigger composition.

Kaljuste wants to keep the attention of the listener and to offer him a continuity of events.

One such “concert designing” example was a performance of Veljo Tormis cycle Vepsa

rajad (Vepsian Paths). This is a collection of children songs, each of them (based on folk

melodies and texts) describing a short story referring to the life of Vepsians, their traditions

and culture. For the concert performance Kaljuste, together with the singers, invented a sort of

a choreography, which would help to picture a story or situation one finds in each song. Every

movement had its connection with the next one, so that the “story telling” did not stop and

made the listener focused and continually interested. It is important to mention that not

everything that happened on stage during concerts was prepared. There were always surprises,

which Kaljuste kept in secret until the last moment (even for the singers).

In order to save rehearsing time or better picture his musical ideas, Kaljuste used to

experiment with conducting gestures. This helped him avoid too much talking and be more

inspiring. But he was also aware of certain risks involved that the precision of the movement

may gradually decrease if such way of conducting became a habit.

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Kaljuste favors unifying technique for orchestras and choirs, but including the

understanding of their specific demands and needs. The technique should be a support and aid

and the preparation gesture should include all needed information, but never to the detriment

of precision. Occasionally Kaljuste was not clear with his conducting gesture, which from

time to time would affect the precision of the performance during concerts or recordings.

Given the choice, Kaljuste prefers to rehearse in the mornings because of the mind’s

freshness and higher level of concentration. The most desired situation is of course when

singers come immediately after initial warming up and freshly familiar with the music

material. He does not like making warm-ups himself and appreciates when the chorus master

takes care not only of the singers’ vocal preparation for the rehearsal, but also their technical

development.

In the case of Hillier it is his vocal skills and knowledge that come out directly when

he starts rehearsing. Hillier is a widely recognized soloist and what is even more important for

a choral conductor he knows how to share his vocal experience and introduce the elements of

vocal technique to the singers. It is much easier to picture a musical idea while presenting it

with one’s own voice so that everybody can hear and experience it, than to describe it merely

with words. It also makes the conductor sure of what he can do with the choir and how much

he can ask, while being respectful to the limitations of the voice as an instrument. In his own

words: “For me conducting is an extension of singing, so when I conduct I never stop using

what I learned as a singer”.

From some EPCC members I learned that it was very comfortable to sing under

Hillier’s direction because his conducting technique was respectful to the voice and

supportive of the vocal performance. On the other hand, this rather “vocal” conducting

approach did not work well while rehearsing orchestras. To me some of the choral

performances contain imprecise moments, but these are limited mostly to some entrances

tutti.

Spotting technical problems at a glance is Hillier’s valuable gift according to some of

his singers. Thanks to it, his rehearsal process was very productive; and despite his calm and

patient attitude, the preparation of the material went flawlessly. Hillier was able to find quick

solutions in order to overcome most of the problems appearing while rehearsing new material.

In comparison with Kaljuste, his way of working was more peaceful and better organized,

therefore choir members felt more relaxed during rehearsals. Sometimes his intellectual

rehearsal approach was dominant over the emotional side, negatively affecting concert

46

performances.

Hillier’s concern for the choir was reflected in the singers’ performance comfort. Even

after long rehearsals, numerous repetitions of difficult passages or working on intonation, the

voices were not overused. This inevitably influenced the choir sound, which was warm, full

and resonating, yet all these features were achieved in a natural (vocal) way.

Paul Hillier introduced to the EPCC numerous interesting ideas. This opinion was

repeated by several singers I have talked with. They liked his musical approach, being able to

catch the character of virtually all kinds of music and to inspire the singers to perform his

way. It was also impressive for them how quickly Hillier adjusted himself to the demands of a

particular language he had to work with, even if he did not speak this language himself.

Paul Hillier is the one who favors afternoon rehearsals over morning ones. As he says,

he is ready to have rehearsal any time and always finds energy and concentration for it. He

tries to reserve his mornings for studying and writing, but numerous choirs prefer rehearsing

early, including the EPCC. Hillier prepares every rehearsal in his mind in advance. Although

it often happens that he needs to improvise or act spontaneously, he always has the framework

of the rehearsal as a foundation – the consciousness of what needs to be done in a specified

amount of time.

As far as doing concerts is concerned, there is a big difference between Hillier’s and

Kaljuste’s visions. As mentioned before, Kaljuste always had ideas on how to develop

ordinary concerts into special events. In Hillier’s case, concerts were less sophisticated. They

were a natural consequence of the rehearsing process and one would not experience

something unexpected. In addition, one might occasionally feel a lack of emotion in the

concerts. This might have something in common with his tendency toward an intellectual

approach rather than an emotional one while rehearsing.

Another issue, which sometimes confused the choir members, was the manner of

organizing concert tours. It happened, that several concerts in corresponding days were

prepared with exactly the same program. This was sometimes tiring for the singers. One

example of this was a tour of Germany, where for one week, every evening, the choir was

performing Pärt’s Kanon Pokajanen.

Considering rehearsing time, Reuss is a strong supporter of starting work early in the

morning, which demands good vocal preparation and complex warming up, but on the other

hand provides better concentration and therefore more effective work.

47

Reuss is a singer himself although he did not study singing as a profession. He has

cooperated with and learned from many soloists and was also a choral singer himself for

many years. But he does not try to be a “vocal coach” since he finds it the singers’ duty to be

able to adjust their voice to the conductor’s demands. He may only describe exactly what he

expects from them, what type of color, shape of the sound or the vowel he needs. Instead of

singing he explains what he wants.

Usually when asking about anything related to the conducting craft or choral singing,

he is precise and quickly turns toward technical issues. A similar situation happened while

discussing diction. At first he expressed his admiration for the EPCC’s sound while singing in

French. It made him very satisfied with the recent CD recording with music by Poulenc. But

singing in French involves lots of diction adjustments, especially in proper shaping of the

vowels. The same situation appears while performing music with German texts. Both of these

languages cause troubles with shaping the vowels (mostly “e” and “i”) correctly. On the other

hand, Reuss finds the EPCC able to adjust to English more efficiently. Their main problem of

singing in English is finishing a word with a proper consonant, which is harder and need more

attention than singing in Estonian. While rehearsing Estonian repertoire (with the native text),

he notices naturally coming better blend caused by more careful and unified vowel formation.

Reuss uses a strategy of sending verbal instructions to the performers during

conducting. The opinion of the singers interviewed is that it only works, if the conductor’s

gestures support the instructions. It is not always easy to hear the conductor’s comments while

singing, therefore suitable gesture would help to avoid confusion. I am not at all against

talking to singers without stopping the music, because there are several minor issues one can

solve very quickly, with only one or two words. It is a very valuable way to save time and also

to maintain the singers’ focus during rehearsals. But I agree with Rudolf’s (quoted in second

chapter, 2.2. about rehearsing) opinion that one should not overuse this method.

Reuss possessed a rare skill to be able to sing quartertones. He uses this when working

on intonation and when it is needed to picture tuning imperfections. It also stimulates singers’

pitch sensitivity, because it is much easier to understand the lack of tuning precision if it is

shown vocally rather than on piano. Nevertheless Reuss likes using piano during rehearsals

especially for intonation purposes. He often asks singers to listen to the particular phrase

played in order to understand its intonation difficulties and the proper pitch. He could play

one voice or the entire chord, one note or a longer phrase (one may compare this approach

with the researchers’ point of view pictured briefly in the second chapter about intonation,

48

2.1.3). As mentioned before, in working with a choir he finds tempered tuning very suitable.

What he avoids is accompanying the choir and the only purpose for playing piano is giving an

example of how things should sound.

As far as conducting technique is concerned it seems that Hillier’s one was the most

suitable for the singers (which does not always mean better). They liked his “vocal” approach

and sensitivity to the voice which was sometimes missing in Reuss’ case. On the other hand

Reuss deals perfectly well with the orchestra and I would not blame him for a lack of vocal

thinking in his conducting. The voice is one of the instruments, with its own needs but one of

them is precision as well. The recordings of Kreek are most precise under Reuss. He feels that

the technique used for choir and orchestra should be the same and I agree with that.

Thanks to Reuss the EPCC greatly improved their singing skills in different languages.

They recorded and performed a large repertoire written in German (Brahms, Mendelssohn,

Tobias, Reger just to name a few of the composers). But when it comes to getting acquainted

with the nature of a less familiar language, he needs more time than Hillier. For this the EPCC

sometimes felt uncomfortable while performing Rachmaninoff’s All-�ight Vigil or Pärt’s

Kanon pokajanen, the pieces composed with Russian texts and therefore needing deep

understanding of the color and structure of the language in order to be performed reliably.

While performing older music Reuss likes engaging smaller numbers of singers, to

build ensemble rather than a choir. The solution of limiting the number of performers one

could experience during on of the last projects. There has been music performed by Josquin

and due to the lower than usual soprano part, Reuss decided to leave only one soprano in the

section, supported by two altos. The rest of the altos were disposed either to their own part, or

to support the sound of the tenors’ line.

Currently the EPCC’s working strategy is based upon two weeks of preparing a new

program for an upcoming project. The initial part of rehearsing is most often done by the

chorus master (at first, for many years it was Mikk Üleoja, after him Heli Jürgenson took the

position). While interviewing singers I met with a complaint of sorts that Reuss concentrates

too much on details or short fragments and performers do not have a chance to grasp the

character of the piece as a whole. Additionally, in the concert performances there is an

occasional lack of emotion, which slightly resembles Hillier’s traits. I think that Reuss

realized that singers expect more excitement from the concerts, because he started asking

them how they find his interpretations and if there is anything they would like to change. This

happened while working on Pärt’s music, which stylistically is not very close to his taste.

49

One can see therefore that sometimes the technical issues (in Hillier’s case it was the

blend usually, in Reuss’ intonation and transparency) may dominate the musical

performances. The EPCC singers are very sensitive in this matter, because their singing

traditions are always full of emotions, passion and excitement. That is why I have often heard

their opinion that the interpretation should touch the listener, the whole audience, because the

concerts should be intended for them. Technical perfection will impress those who are more

familiar with choral music and its rules, but the average listener will search for something

touching his soul. In this case Kaljuste’s approach was truly admired by the EPCC and they

often miss his passion and charisma (features that let them forget some minor technical

disadvantages he had).

Recordings of Kreek’s Psalms reveal clearly different technical approaches and

priorities of the conductors. The most precise and accurate performances are those under

Reuss. Perhaps his technique does not allow the singers to produce their sound in a natural

way, but it certainly provides precision. Kaljuste and Hillier had some difficulties in achieving

accuracy because of mispronunciation or mistimed consonants. Especially confusing is the

beginning of Psalm 104 under Hillier, where the male voices do not start together and

imprecision continues for a few bars. When the altos join, the consonants are not pronounced

at the same time. Kaljuste had similar problems with consonants which were produced

without enough attention to detail and therefore pronounced at different moments by different

singers.

Other differences in interpretations are with dynamics and articulation. Kreek’s Psalms

are mostly very short and there is no place or need to build any dramaturgy inside of them.

But certainly there are several possibilities to use the whole dynamic potential of the choir.

One of the clearest examples is very simple – from a structural point of view – Psalm 141.

The first page contains only two dynamic markings: mezzo forte and forte (with a short

crescendo between them). Hillier is the only conductor who truly realizes this crescendo and

therefore achieves forte in a way that respects the composer’s intentions. Kaljuste does not

make the crescendo but starts the second phrase with immediate forte. In Reuss’ case there is

no crescendo and barely audible difference between mezzo forte and forte. In the other pieces,

the most remarkable point is that Reuss does not decide to use the full dynamic potential of

the choir. Although there are several beautiful and perfectly balanced pianos (for example in

the middle part of Õnnis on inimene: Teenige issandat…), forte (and also fortissimo) is much

less powerful than in Hillier’s interpretations (for example in E minor chord in Psalm 104 in

50

bar 45). It seems that Reuss is perhaps afraid of going too far with spontaneity in order to not

lose the control over the blend, vibrato and intonation. Kaljuste is probably the most free with

realizing dynamic markings, but sometimes it is clear that the singers had yet to acquire

technical finesse to fulfill his requirements.

This refers not only to dynamics but also articulation and control of the voice. The

biggest disadvantage concerning articulation is a frequent lack of legato in melodic passages.

For instance in the female voices in Õnnis on inimene. But much more noticeable are

occasional weaknesses in voice control, especially in the male section in forte. They tend to

overuse throat in order to produce chords and passages with intensive volume. Other

conductors generally manage to establish better legato, but there are some exceptions. In

Hillier’s case it is clear that sometimes he is using some tricks to provide better connection

between notes, for example in the baritone part of Psalm 104 the singers are pronouncing

consonants passively in order to support legato coming from tightly connected vowels. In

Õnnis on inimene male voices manage legato much better than females, most probably

because their part is clearly easier technically. One observes similarities in performances

under Reuss. Additionally, a specific problem appears with sopranos and altos who clearly

have difficulties with singing legato melismas which demand specific action and support from

the diaphragm. Otherwise the notes are not properly connected. This is probably another side

effect of searching for a satisfying blend and intonation in the exaggerated brightening of the

sound; because as one may observe in the EPCC singers case, they are trying to achieve it by

changing the singing technique and eventually involving too much throat while producing the

sound.

3.3. Auditioning and choosing new singers

While describing all the elements related to the choir sound, one may eventually forget

about the most important factor, the standard and vocal qualities of the singers. All chief

conductors of the EPCC are very careful with accepting new members to the ensemble. I have

experienced myself some auditions where nobody was accepted. This is understandable

considering how specific the EPCC’s sound is.

Kaljuste told me that one of the main features he is searching for in voices is

flexibility, and ease to adjust to different circumstances and demands. This includes variety of

the repertoire, ability to change the color of the sound for different styles, or control of the

51

vibrato. It is similar to the statement of Philip Lawson, former King’s Singers baritone, about

auditioning:

You often get the feeling that somebody is going to be right when something goes wrong in the audition. Not necessarily a wrong note, but a wrong kind of sound. And you say: look, can you just do this in this way, and if they can do it straight away, they can mentally understand immediately what you’re getting at, they can change their voice, then you know you’ve got somebody flexible and that’s really the keynote in this job, the flexibility (Lawson, after Cullingford 2010).

Other feature Kaljuste truly admires is a “natural tessitura”, as he calls it. He

describes it so: “most of the aspects related to vocal production are possible to develop, like

technique or volume (to some extent of course), but the tessitura and the color of the voice

(‘the natural beauty’) are either there or not, and these are very important factors deciding on

the sound of the choir”. As a complement to this he adds voice flexibility, which lets the singer

adjust his voice to different demands (for example to singing with- or without vibrato).

While choosing a new singer, Kaljuste is demanding about the particular sound of the

individual’s voice. He is building the choir’s blend from the careful choosing each singer and

only then creating with them the sound of the whole. He was always passionate about the

beauty of the voice, searching for this feature in the new singers’ qualities. When he was

inviting a potential singers to the choir he was checking if their voice blends well with the

others. The candidate was asked to sing with chosen choir members: one person, a few or then

the whole section. Only when Kaljuste was sure that the singer fits the group in several

dimensions, could he be accepted.

Hillier is looking for singers with good voices who are also sensitive to other singers

and able to adjust their voice to different needs. This again shows Hillier’s sensitivity to the

blend. This demands that the singers listen to each other, with the ability to adjust their voices

respectfully to various requirements.

For the auditions Hillier was usually inviting some of current EPCC’s singers, one or

two representatives of each section and was consulting with them. Usually the choices he

made were generally well accepted by the others.

Besides vocal skills, having a musical and theoretical preparation (which has already

52

been mentioned in the subchapter related to the blend) is what Reuss expects from the

singers. He likes to work with people who quickly grasp not only the general music ideas but

also all the other issues related to professional music making (like understanding the musical

form, harmony, being able to listen to the other singers etc.).

All three conductors agree that the skills in sight reading are very desirable but not

essential. That ability obviously makes the preparation process faster and seamless but it is the

sound of the choir which finally comes to the audience and no one knows or is interested in

how long it took to prepare the repertoire. Therefore if there has to be a choice between a fast

learning singer lacking vocal technique and a slower in learning one but with a beautiful and

controlled voice, the latter will be most likely chosen.

3.4. Repertoire

During the first decade of the EPCC’s existence as well as the times when Kaljuste

was conducting Ellerhein, there were political pressures as to what kind of music the artists

were performing. Although becoming a professional choir in and of itself did not bring any

pressure from the authorities (which were providing funds), singing religious songs,

especially in Estonian was not welcomed. It occasionally happened that politically correct

compositions needed to be included.

Kaljuste was always interested in social life, politics, and in general what was

happening around him. He was always keen to change something, to improve, go forward.

The EPCC was a very good tool for it because through the choir he could realize his ideas,

both musical and social. That is one reason why he was so involved in the work with the

choir, so passionate and emotional.

The closest Estonian contemporary composers to Kaljuste and the EPCC were Veljo

Tormis and Arvo Pärt. Thanks to numerous and quality level performances of their

compositions, the EPCC became well recognized internationally. In the second half of

Kaljuste’s tenure, the EPCC had most of the important compositions by Pärt and Tormis in

their repertoire. Music by Pärt was performed together with Bach several times. One could

often hear during one concert Magnificat written by both composers.

Under the direction of Kaljuste the purpose of choosing a particular repertoire has

always been clear. As the creator of a new choir, he had long – term vision regarding its future

53

development. Therefore they have performed pieces written in several languages and

representing very different genres. From the classical composers Bach, Haydn, Handel,

Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Schubert were included. The EPCC also performed

numerous pieces by Poulenc and Britten, therefore the choir already sung music in Estonian,

Latin, German, English and French.

Frequent cooperation between the EPCC and Toomas Siitan led to several

performances of early compositions by Machaut, Perotinus, de Rue, Ockeghem, Desprez,

Hassler, Lassus, Praetorius and others. Including Renaissance and early Baroque music in the

choir’s repertoire was one of the ideas of Kaljuste on developing the EPCC’s ability to

perform in various music styles. The choir was also active in performing music from the 20th

and 21st centuries, including from such composers as: Schönberg, Ligeti, Nystedt or

Lindholm.

An advantage of Kaljuste as the EPCC’s chief conductor was his careful choosing of

the repertoire for the choir in order to provide stable and constant development.

For Hillier it looked differently, because when he came to the EPCC the performance

level of the choir was already very high and the singers only needed artistic shaping and

improvement of the vocal abilities. After some time some singers missed Kaljuste’s approach,

because for them the character of Hillier’s tenure seemed more like that of a guest rather than

chief conductorship. Nevertheless the repertoire aspirations of the new conductor were

interesting enough to inspire the singers.

Paul Hillier is mostly known for performing early and new music, and for finding

common features between them. On one hand he explores Renaissance and early Baroque

repertoire by Thomas Tallis, John Taverner, Heinrich Schütz and on the other, he is premiering

new compositions by Arvo Pärt or commissioning one from David Lang. He used a similar

approach to the EPCC, as he announced it in his statement (see Appendix 1).

One of the ways of seeking new, interesting and challenging repertoire for the choir

was his cooperation with contemporary Estonian composers, performing their recently written

compositions or premiering them. Its pragmatic role was to enrich the choir’s repertoire, but

also to offer to the composers the highest level of performances of their music. To the

compositions premiered by the EPCC under Paul Hillier belong: Toivo Tulev – Songs, Liis

Jürgens (Viira) – Unelaul/Lullaby, Tõnis Kaumann – Meditation IV, Age Hirv (Veeroos) –

Detail (excluding the one written by Tulev, all those pieces were chosen by jury of the

54

composition competition to be performed in Tartu and Tallinn during Estonian Music Days

Festival in April 2005) as well as chamber opera It Is Getting So Dark by Helena Tulve, who

was the EPCC’s composer in residence during the 2001/02 season. Paul Hillier also premiered

pieces written by other than Estonian composers and these were: Christopher Bowers-

Broadbent’s 7 Words for chorus and organ, Craig Galbraith’s A Cradle Song and Justė

Janulytė’s Aquarelle.

In addition to this, Hillier was interested in exploring two areas of choral repertoire:

music written by composers living or born in Baltic countries and Russian orthodox music.

This musical research resulted in several new compositions included in the choir’s program.

They were performed during numerous concerts and eventually three very successful

recordings called “Baltic Voices” were released.

Cooperation with Estonian choir brought to Hillier great opportunity to realize his

desire for exploring orthodox music. EPCC’s singers have undeniable advantages: knowing,

understanding or at least being acquainted with Russian language: “It’s a repertoire we can't

do with singers who don't understand Russian or who don't have some feeling for what

Russian sounds like. You can't really teach it. Western European choirs are not very good at

that music. So it's a golden opportunity.” (Hillier, after Roman 2004). The results of Hillier’s

research were performances and recordings of Russian orthodox music, mostly coming from

17th and 18th centuries as well as The All-�ight Vigil by Rachmaninoff.

Hillier likes musical adventures and challenging his performers with unusual projects.

To this certainly belong such events as premiering chamber opera by Helena Tulve It

Is Getting So Dark or recording of Tarik O’Regan Scattered Rhymes (contemporary

composition strongly inspired by Guillaume de Machaut’s Messe).

Some of the EPCC members claim that the most exciting aspect of working with

Hillier is contact with international artists invited by him as guest performers. Among them

were stand outs Andrew-Laurence King (a remarkable harpist) and Christopher Bowers-

Broadbent (organist and composer).

Generally speaking, Paul Hillier has put great effort into widening the EPCC’s

repertoire and did so in a very clever way by exploring various contrasting musical worlds.

Thanks to this he managed to inspire singers for further development. They received valuable

knowledge about performing various music and as a result became more flexible in using

their voices. Hillier used to introduce pieces from nearly all époques, and extremely varied in

55

origin. He managed to establish and maintain healthy balance between using compositions

from abroad and performing music written by Estonian composers.

One of the more demanding tasks for a foreign conductor taking over conductorship of

the EPCC is finding a right balance between bringing his own musical ideas and exploring the

musical heritage of Estonia. The EPCC was always focused on cultivating strong choral

traditions in Estonia and promoting classical and contemporary Estonian music abroad. Paul

Hillier was very active in continuing this focus (initially shaped by Tõnu Kaljuste) by

including several Estonian composers in his concert and recording repertoire and by

commissioning new compositions from younger generation Estonian artists. A similar

approach was expected from the new upcoming artistic director. Reuss tried to fulfill these

demands as much as possible for a conductor who is not Estonian and who is involved in

numerous projects with another ensembles, especially Cappella Amsterdam.

When studying programs of concerts conducted by Daniel Reuss one observes

dominating Baroque and Classical music, as well as music from 20th (mostly second half) and

21st century. His first official concert as the EPCC’s new chief conductor reflects these

preferences quite clearly. The program of Reuss’ and the EPCC’s inauguration of season

2008/09 included Haydn’s Stabat Mater and one of the best known compositions by Arvo

Pärt, Magnificat for mixed choir a cappella. Including music by this prominent Estonian

composer was a sign, that Reuss is going to respect the choir’s origin and as his concerts

show, he also planned to reveal some music written by Estonian composers of younger

generation.

Already in the next project he premiered two compositions: by Galina Grigorjeva

(�ature Morte) and Ülo Krigul: Preces ad lucem. Music of Grigorjeva found a firm place in

the EPCC’s repertoire under Daniel Reuss.

Daniel Reuss shows a great interest in early music. The most important composers

appearing in the EPCC’s programs include Bach (motets, St. John’s Passion), Handel

(Messiah, Israel in Egypt; several excerpts from oratorios Saul, Solomon etc. and from opera

Giulio Cesare in Egitto performed in New Year concert 2008/09), Haydn (Te Deum) and

Mozart (Mass in C minor, Requiem).

In 2009, on Mendelssohn’s 200th Birthday Reuss honored him by introducing his

Psalms which were often performed together with Psalms by Cyrillus Kreek. This connection

appeared to be very successful and the same year was recorded on CD.

56

As far as 20th century music and composers are concerned, the most frequently

performed are Arvo Pärt (Magnificat, Sieben Magnificat Antiphonen, Berliner Messe, Kanon

pokajanen, Da pacem, Te Deum etc.), Frank Martin (Mass for double choir a cappella and

Golgotha), Erkki-Sven Tüür (Triglosson trishagion, Wanderer’s Evening Song, Awakening)

and Galina Grigorjeva (mentioned already her �ature Morte, �a ishod/On leaving and �ox

Vitae) are the most frequently performed.

Daniel Reuss is a great supporter of contemporary music as well, besides Krigul and

Grigorjeva, he premiered compositions written by Tõnu Kõrvits – Ääni, joka katosi and

Erkki-Sven Tüür – Awakening.

Music by another great Estonian composer, Veljo Tormis, was not frequently

performed by Reuss. Only Jaanilalulud (St John's Day Songs) was performed occasionally.

On the other hand his more favored composer from Estonia appears to be Rudolf Tobias,

whose music has been recently recorder, together with Max Reger.

Looking at the EPCC’s concert repertoire from a wider perspective reveals that great

part of it performed under Reuss included the same pieces. From approximately 110 concerts,

29 of them consisted of virtually the same program (of which some pieces usually were

omitted due to the length of the concert): Brahms’ Warum ist das Licht gegeben, Op 74 �o 1,

Mendelssohn’s Psalms, Pärt’s Magnificat and Sieben Magnificat Antiphonen, Kreek’s Psalms

and Religious folk songs, Tüür’s Triglosson Trishagion and Grigorjeva’s �ature Morte.

Occasionally Frank Martin’s Mass for double choir a cappella replaced some part of the

program. Additionally, the great majority of the repertoire the EPCC had sung previously

under another conductor. Certainly, it is impossible to introduce a large amount of new

material to a choir which performs roughly 70 concerts every year. On the other hand, one

might expect more innovation than Daniel Reuss offered.

The most frequently performed compositions (adding to previously mentioned

repertoire) are: Pärt’s Kanon pokajanen (performed 9 times), Rachmaninoff’s All �ight Vigil

(7 times) – both sung mostly abroad, and Frank Martin’s Mass for double choir a cappella (6

performances).

57

3.5. Recordings

Before recording CDs, Kaljuste recorded with the EPCC several LPs, some of them

are from the times of the chamber choir Ellerhein. The repertoire included several pieces by

Tormis; some selected Estonian choral pieces from the 19th century; songs by Mendelssohn

and Poulenc; Kreek’s Psalms (analyzed in this dissertation) and music by Monteverdi, Mozart

and Kokkonen. The last two LPs are done with music by Erkki-Sven Tüür and Kreek.

The first CD by Kaljuste with the EPCC was published in 1992. The recording was

Veljo Tormis’ cycle Forgotten Peoples. This composition is strongly influenced by folk music

coming from several small ethnic groups whose populations are decreasing: Livonians,

Votians, Ingrian Finns, Vepsians, and Karelians.

The next 9 years brought CDs with Estonian music exclusively. In 1993 it was Arvo

Pärt (Te Deum, Silouans Song, Berliner Messe, Magnificat) with the Tallinn Chamber

Orchestra; in 1994 a most beautiful collection of Estonian songs titled Kaunimad laulud came

forth; and in 1996 Kaljuste recorded mostly instrumental music of Erkki-Sven Tüür. The

exception was Tüür’s Requiem which needed the involvement of the EPCC as well. That same

year came two more recordings, one with Pärt’s Litany and one with Tormis’ Estonian

Calendar Songs and 3 Estonian Game Songs. The next two years are dominated by the music

of Arvo Pärt: first with several pieces including Missa syllabica, Beatus Petronius, 7

Magnificat Antiphonen and others, the second with Kanon pokajanen. In 1999 Kaljuste

recorded two more CDs, one with Tormis (Litany to Thunder and Curse Upon Iron among

them) and with chosen pieces of Estonian singspiels by Karl August Hermann, Raimo Kangro

and Leelo Tungal (performed by the EPCC in 1998 and 1999 in Tartu and Tallinn).

After this long period devoted entirely to recording Estonian music, the repertoire

became more varied included music by Paul Giger (issued in 2000), Mozart (2 CDs in 2000)

and Vivaldi (2002).

Kaljuste continued recording with the EPCC as a guest conductor when Hillier took

over his position. To these recordings belong: Lepo Sumera’s Mushroom Cantata (2005),

Kreek’s Requiem (2008), Pärt’s In Principio (2009) and Adam’s Lament (2012), recorded

together with the Latvian Radio Choir, Vox Clamantis, Sinfonietta Riga and the Tallinn

Chamber Orchestra.

The principal advantage of Hillier in recordings was his contract and very close

association with Harmonia Mundi label (US branch). This relationship was beneficial for both

58

parties because Hillier was completely free to pursue his musical ideas, with every recording

done by professional Harmonia Mundi engineers and was widely promoted by them. Thanks

to this the recordings were available worldwide and received numerous positive reviews and

finally awards as well.

The nature of the recordings realized by Hillier with the EPCC fully reflected his

musical interests and ideas in cooperation with the Estonian choir. One may observe two main

directions, in which Hillier intended to go: music written by composers living in Baltic

countries and orthodox music. If we add early music as well, which always is of importance

to Hillier, one gets virtually the whole view of the EPCC’s recording repertoire done under

him.

The idea of exploring Baltic choral repertoire, reflected in recordings called Baltic

Voices, yielded three volumes. The music was written by various Baltic region composers (the

path following the composers’ motherlands makes a circle around Baltic Sea): Estonian

(Cyrillus Kreek, Urmas Sisask, Veljo Tormis, Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Toivo Tulev),

Estonian/Ukrainian (Galina Grigorjeva), Latvian (Pēteris Vasks), Lithuanian (Algirdas

Martinaitis, Vaclovas Augustinas, Rytis Mažulis), Polish (Henryk Mikołaj Górecki),

Russian/German (Alfred Schnittke), Danish (Per Nørgård), Swedish (Sven-David Sandstrøm

and Finnish (Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kaia Saariaho, Erik Bergman). This critically acclaimed

project not only offered a very high level of choral a cappella music performance, but also

brought a special, concrete message to the audience, introducing great composers living in (or

being related to) a comparatively small area, the region around the Baltic Sea. This idea was

well received by the music world, and persons and institutions needed to support such projects

and bring them to life. It was definitely one of the highlights of Hillier’s tenure with the

EPCC.

The fact that several members of the choir are acquainted with the Russian language

inspired Hillier to perform and record orthodox music. As he described in an interview with

The Baltic Times:

[Russian music] is a repertoire we can't do with singers who don't understand Russian or who don't have some feeling for what Russian sounds like. You can't really teach it. Western European choirs are not very good at that music. So it's a golden opportunity (Steve 2004).

59

As a result there came three recordings: The Powers of Heaven (released in 2003),

Rachmaninoff: All �ight Vigil (Vespers) (2005) and A �ew Joy (2006). The first one includes

Russian orthodox music from the 17th and 18th centuries (Dmitri Bortniansky, Giuseppe Sarti,

Vasily Titov, Baldassare Galuppi, Nikolai Diletsky, Artemy Vedel). The second one stops in

20th century offering a very well received by critics (Classics Today, Gramophone) rendition

of Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece. The third one brings the listener to the 19th and 20th century

by a wide repertoire of orthodox Christmas music (written by Vasyl Barvinskyi, Georgiy

Izvekov, Alexander Kastalsky, Nicolas Kedrov, Mykola Leontovych, Arvo Pärt, Kyrylo

Stetsenko and Pyotr Tchaikovsky).

The order of release (one volume of Baltic Voices and one disc with Orthodox music,

each per year alternately) was finally broken by a CD titled Da Pacem with music exclusively

by Arvo Pärt. This recording was awarded a Grammy for the “Best Choral Performance”. It

received critical acclaim from Gramophone (Editor’s Choice), Classics Today, The New York

Times (listed in “Recordings of the Year”) and the Danish Music Award (2007). That Hillier is

a great admirer of Pärt’s music one can surmise, given the number of recordings he did with

the Hilliard Ensemble, the EPCC, and Theatre of Voices, both as a conductor and singer. He

also authored a personal and in depth book (issued by Oxford University Press), studying

Pärt’s compositions, with great emphasis on tintinnabuli style.

Reuss has a contract with Harmonia Mundi as well, but with the French branch. The

difference in his attitude toward recording in comparison with Hillier is noticeable. Only two

recordings under this label were done and neither of them with the EPCC exclusively nor with

music a cappella. In both CDs there appeared two choirs under Reuss’ chief conductorship:

the EPCC and Cappella Amsterdam. For the a cappella recordings (the EPCC’s own

productions) Reuss was bringing his own sound engineer, Florian B. Schmidt, who produced

very remarkable sound quality. One of the recordings done by Schmidt is Kreek and

Mendelssohn’s Psalms. The choir there sounds the best from all the recordings that I

compared here. Unfortunately this way of recording was very expensive for the EPCC,

because all costs involved had to be covered by the choir. Therefore publishing the CDs was

financially not viable for the choir, bringing mostly prestige.

Besides the CD with Kreek and Mendelssohn (it was initially recorded in 2009 and

reissued in 2012 by Ondine) three another recordings have been made: one is a recording

connecting the EPCC with Cappella Amsterdam – another choir being currently under Reuss’

leadership. These choirs, together with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and

60

soloists were gathered to record a monumental composition by Frank Martin, his Golgotha.

The recording was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011 in the category “Best Choral

Performance”. It received numerous positive reviews by Gramophone, The New York Times,

The Classical Review and BBC Magazine.

The next CD production is a recording of music written by Erkki – Sven Tüür. It

included three compositions, Awakening (Ärkamine, commissioned by Tallinn – European

Capital of Culture 2011 and the EPCC) for mixed choir and chamber orchestra, The

Wanderer’s Evening Song for mixed choir a cappella (composed for the EPCC’s 20th

Anniversary, dedicated to the Choir and its founder, Tõnu Kaljuste) and Insula deserta for

string orchestra. The recording is another example of what one may observe in Reuss’ concert

repertoire: his interest not only in vocal, but also a strong attachment to instrumental music

(vide released in 2009 CD with Ståle Kleiberg Violin Concerto and Double Bass Concerto

recorded with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra).

The last recording, recently issued, is a collection of music for choir a cappella written

by Rudolf Tobias and Max Reger. As one may see, it is already the second CD connecting

pieces written by Estonian and German composers. The recording is again the EPCC’s own

production.

61

4. Conclusion

During the curse of 30 years of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir’s existence

on the musical stage, its artistic profile changed noticeably. The essential influence on the

EPCC’s sonority was from the chief conductors: Tõnu Kaljuste – the founder of the choir,

Paul Hillier and Daniel Reuss. The native idiom of the sound the choir acquired during its 20

years of relationship with Kaljuste who at the beginning was searching for its roots in the

Estonian repertoire (mainly music by Veljo Tormis). The position of Estonia allowing the

choir to be influenced by several different choral singing traditions, is an important factor in

defining the particular sound of the EPCC, which results in rich and distinctive mix. The

Estonian language, particularly the vowels making the color of the sound a little darker than

that of other choirs, played an additional role in shaping the choirs sonority.

Due to influences mentioned above, the performing style of the EPCC is unique and

therefore provides a challenge for any guest conductor working with them. As it appeared,

Hillier and Reuss who spent long years with the EPCC, experienced difficulties in adapting

themselves to working with Estonian singers. I think that Hillier’s circumstances with the

choir, especially at the beginning, were very complex. He was the first foreigner to work with

the EPCC as a chief director. His imagination on the choir sound was definitely much

different from what he received in Estonia. For the singers, it was difficult to work intensively

under the guidance of a conductor who was not native, only knowing their language

superficially and also adding his own, very strong personal artistic ideas.

Initially, Hillier tried to model the choir in a western way, bringing several different

choral performance principles like overall blend, controlling or minimizing vibrato, and

making the sound “brighter and lighter”. But both sides quickly realized that this strategy

would not work, so instead of changing the choir’s nature, Hillier focused on adding valuable

elements to the general sound of the choir. The essence of the improvements was shifting the

vocal skills level. In this case, I find Hillier’s goals achievable, because his singers already

had noticeable experience (especially the male section, since there were not many personal

changes happening) and natural talent. What they needed mostly was professional vocal

training in order to produce the sound consciously and effortlessly. It was very different in

comparison with the times under Kaljuste, especially in the choir’s beginnings, when he

needed to get experience as a conductor. Kaljuste was not only brining new ideas to the choir,

but he was learning from the singers as well. So the early years of the EPCC were

simultaneously early stages of Kaljuste’s conducting career, therefore he was evolving

62

artistically together with his choir.

The singers’ vocal experience and Hillier’s knowledge led to noticeable improvements

in the choir’s blending and technical aspects of producing the sound. The voices became freer

and the sound was under better control. This is directly audible in the recordings of Kreek’s

Psalms where one can hear the high quality of the technical aspects of the performance. The

final effect of Hillier’s effort is the EPCC’s sound as rounded, alive, with moderate vibrato,

noticeable freedom, superb blending of voices and good intonation.

I find it very fortunate that Hillier implemented his musical ideas with respect to the

nature of the EPCC’s sonority. The same opinion comes from the singers who truly loved the

performance comfort (less appreciated by orchestra players missing the precision and

accuracy in Hillier’s conducting technique), rehearsing strategies, flawless pace of preparing

the program and his patience at work. The area where the EPCC lost a part of their former

qualities was in the emotional side of the performance which unfortunately became dominated

by intellectual and technical principles. Nevertheless, it was under Hillier’s tenure when the

EPCC received their only Grammy award. Several recordings released under the Harmonia

Mundi label were of invaluable quality reflecting what Hillier brought to the EPCC.

The unquestionable hallmark of Hillier’s tenure are numerous and highly acclaimed

recordings. It was only possible due to his artistically free relationship with the American

branch of Harmonia Mundi. As Hillier stated, he had many ideas regarding what kind of

program he would like to perform with the EPCC and also to record with them. There was a

great deal of contemporary music, especially coming from the composers related to the Baltic

States (collected in the Baltic Voices cycle consisting of three volumes), Russian (especially

Orthodox) and early music. Because of very favorable conditions the choir had while

recording for Harmonia Mundi (recording equipment, sound engineer and worldwide

promotion and distribution provided by the label) the EPCC was very fond of participating in

such projects. It is an invaluable mean of reaching a wider audience or potential partners for

the future projects, but also a way to bring to the public the picture of Estonian culture.

Regarding the disadvantages of Hillier’s work with the EPCC one should count his

“guest conductor” rather than “chief conductor” involvement, and therefore the singers had a

feeling that he was doing very interesting projects with them, but not having the overall idea

on the choir’s development. On the other hand it is almost unfair to demand such an attitude

from a conductor who is very active on the international musical stage and being the artistic

leader of several other ensembles simultaneously. Nevertheless it may have been better

63

organized, especially in connection with the EPCC’s former chorus master Mikk Üleoja

whose qualities were highly appreciated by the choir during their everyday work.

After six years of Hillier’s tenure both sides felt that this was time for change and the

new chief conductor became Daniel Reuss. Hillier would remain close to the choir as a guest

conductor. Reuss’ situation in the choir was similar to what Hillier initially experienced,

namely a strong difference in approach towards the choral sonority and performance ideals, in

comparison to the choir’s outlook and expectations.

The main qualities Reuss was missing in the choir was clarity and pureness of sound.

This may have been caused by the range of vibrato which was difficult for Reuss to accept.

Therefore he started to search for developing the missing elements and limiting those which

seemed to him to over dominate the sound.

As a result, Reuss developed a voice blend that was never previously achieved to such

extent by the EPCC. The intonation also improved remarkably thanks to the sound becoming

more transparent, more controlled and less affected by vibrato. While comparing the

recordings of Kreek, these features are the very first to be noticed. One’s initial impression is

absolutely in favor of the changes brought by Reuss. But after some time, when one’s ear gets

used to the polished harmonies, perfectly balanced blend and stunning intonation, there comes

an impression that something was lost.

At first, you notice the freedom of the voice, and its flexibility. But the control over the

way of producing the sound is audible. Especially in solo passages, when one hears the

separate sections not colored by the surrounding harmonies. The conductor’s care for perfect

intonation causes some tension in the voice, so it extends to the singers’ control over the

vibrato. Eventually the sound lacks the feature Reuss mentioned while describing the EPCC’s

extraordinary sonority, namely part of its warmth and even more of the “human component”.

Paradoxically, the fact that sometimes the voices do not tune as well as Reuss intended due to

the tiredness of the voice coming from strict control over it while singing. One should not

forget that the voice has its own limits, imperfections and needs, and as an instrument is

probably the most fragile, especially considering its overall importance.

I think that Reuss truly understands the nature of the voice. What might have escaped

his consciousness is the different way it is utilized by the EPCC singers as opposed what he is

used to. Therefore what might have been easily achievable with Western choirs was met with

strong self-defense from the EPCC singers.

64

From several interviews with the singers I learned that what they are most concerned

about is the lack of natural flexibility during singing in order for them to feel comfortable.

Another point is the need to be more spontaneous, sending the performance excitement more

directly to the public. The very positive result of Reuss’ work with the choir was improving

the tuning and performing music written to German and French texts. His very sensitive pitch

and insistence on achieving perfect intonation is remarkable. All the voices produce

fascinating aliquots and blend astonishingly well, but one may ask if this rather instrumental

approach goes together with choir performance principles? I would say both yes and no. On

one hand nowadays the competition between the best chamber choirs in the world is very

strong and therefore only performing at the highest quality level provides success. On the

other hand perhaps this is individual sound, vocal passion and expression, that in the crowd of

similar recordings of numerous chamber choirs could present something unique and a

hallmark of the EPCC? I would support the latter assumption because the EPCC has always

attracted listeners by its incomparable, distinctive and highly attractive sonority, not free from

vibrations, nor from occasional imperfections, but definitely full of life and emotion.

Sometimes, while speaking with the EPCC singers, I heard nostalgic voices that the

most passionate conductor of the choir was Kaljuste. They could forgive him his occasional

difficulties in mastering the technical elements of the performance, because his determination

in developing the choir and making it one of the most recognized chamber choirs abroad was

enormous and his emotional side was always very inspiring. The recordings of Kreek’s

Psalms reveal a great passion and commitment, but at the same time some amount of

technical issues, especially imprecise tuning, not entirely well balanced sound and occasional

lack of control over the voices of some individual singers. Also the rehearsal process could be

more effective considering strictly technical terms, for example involvement in the solely

vocal aspects of singing, focusing on the tuning issues or supporting the performance with

conducting precision.

This is probably why, as a certain counterpoint to the mentioned singers’ nostalgia,

there appear contradictory opinions voicing that the choir has to look into the future, seek for

the further development, and simultaneously maintain the close contact with the former

leaders in order to profit from their knowledge and skills, to stay true to their natural sound

which Kaljuste gave them, and at the same time reach new heights.

65

Primary sources

Web archive of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC):

http://www.epcc.ee/html/

The current EPCC’s website:

http://www.epcc.ee/

Interviews:

Hillier, Paul email 26.02.2013

Kaljuste, Tõnu 11.02.2013, 14.02.2013, Tallinn

Reuss, Daniel: 1.02.2013, Tallinn

Individual reviews with 5 singers who performed as contracted members of the EPCC under

all three chief conductors

66

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68

Töö lühikokkuvõte

1. Uurimisprobleem

Töös uuritakse põhiliselt muutusi Eesti Filharmoonia Kammerkoori (EFKK)

kunstilises profiilis peadirigentide Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillieri ja Daniel Reussi käe all. Kuna

nende dirigentide muusikaline taust ja kunstilised ideed on suuresti erinevad, on olnud väga

huvitav jälgida, millised kunstilise lähenemise aspektid olid nende töös kooriga määravateks.

Töö oluliseks aspektiks on küsimus, kas hilisemad dirigendid suutsid oma kujutluse ideaalsest

koorikõlast viia mõistlikku tasakaalu lugupidamisega konkreetsele koorile algselt iseloomu-

like omadustega.

Uurimuse neid tahke, mis puudutavad koorilaulu ja dirigenditöö kvaliteete, on

käsitletud näitamaks, kui suurel määral mõjutab dirigendi nägemus koori kõlatulemust.

Uurimuse teine oluline taotlus on olnud kirjeldada koori nii positiivseid kui ka negatiivseid

reaktsioone kunstiliste juhtide otsuste suhtes.

Kuna koori kõla, häälte tasakaalu ja ühtsuse ning tehniliste oskuste kujundamine on

aeganõudev ja pikaajaline protsess, võeti selles uurimuses arvesse ainult EFKK peadirigente.

Võimalus pidevalt harjutada, omada lauljatega lähikontakti ning jälgida nende vokaalset

arengut pani Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillieri ja Daniel Reussi võrreldes külalisdirigentidega

erilisse situatsiooni, sest nad said oma ideid kooritöös põhjalikumalt tutvustada ja läbi viia.

Sissejuhatusele järgnevas teises peatükis antakse lühike ülevaade koorilaulu

elementidest, mis määravad koori üldise kõlakvaliteedi (häälte sulandumine, intonatsioon,

vibraato, lauljate asetus ning saali akustika mõjud). Kolmanda peatüki eesmärgiks on võrrelda

EFKK kolme peadirigendi ideid koorist ja nende strateegiaid kooritehnika elementide vahel

õige tasakaalu saavutamiseks. Neljas peatükk sisaldab kokkuvõtet ja autori materjali

analüüsist tulenevate isiklike kogemuste analüüsi.

2. Uurimismeetod

Selleks, et koguda uurimisteema jaoks olulist ja spetsiifilist informatsiooni

• intervjueeriti kõiki kolme EFKK dirigenti; Tõnu Kaljustega (11. ja 14. veebruaril 2013

Tallinnas) ning Daniel Reussiga (1. veebruaril 2013 Tallinnas) vestles autor isiklikult,

Paul Hillier vastas küsimustele meili teel (26. veebruaril 2013);

69

• intervjueeriti individuaalselt viit lauljat, kes on lepingulisena töötanud kõigi kolme

EFKK peadirigendi käe all;

• analüüsiti EFKK esinemiste ja salvestuste arvustusi rahvusvahelises ja eesti pressis;

• võrreldi Cyrillus Kreegi „Taaveti laulude“ salvestusi, mida on juhatanud kõik EFKK

peadirigendid; lähemalt analüüsiti kolme neist: psalme nr. 104, nr 141 ja „Õnnis on

inimene“. Kaljuste poolt juhatatud salvestus on ilmunud LP-plaadil 1987. aastal firma

Melodija vahendusel, Paul Hillier kaasas Kreegi „Taaveti laule“ plaaditsükli Baltic

Voices kavadesse (Harmonia Mundi, 2002), Daniel Reuss juhatas Kreegi „Taaveti

laule“ oma esimesel salvestusel EFKKga (EFKK omaproduktsioon 2009);

• külastati ja analüüsiti EFKK proove ja kontserte.

3. Kokkuvõte

Eesti Filharmoonia Kammerkoori kunstiline profiil on 30 tegutsemisaasta jooksul

märgatavalt muutunud. EFKK kõlakultuuri on peamiselt vorminud koori kolm peadirigenti:

koori asutaja Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier ja Daniel Reuss. Oma algse kõlalise iseloomu sai

koor oma 20 aastat väldanud koostöös Tõnu Kaljustega, kes otsis koori kõla algseid juuri

Eesti repertuaarist (eriti Veljo Tormise muusikast). Eesti asend, mis on võimaldanud kooril

olla mõjutatud mitmest erinevast koorilaulu traditsioonist, mängib olulist rolli ka EFKK kõla

defineerimisel – tulemuseks on rikkalik ning omalaadne segu. Eesti keel, eriliselt just selle

täishäälikud, teevad koori kõla pisut ümaramaks kui teiste maade kooridel ning see mängib

kõlas täiendavat rolli.

Tänu ülalmainitud mõjutustele on EFKK esituslaad ainulaadne ning pakub erilise

väljakutse igale külalisdirigendile, kes selle koori ette kutsutakse. Nagu ilmnes, oli Hillieril ja

Reussil, kes töötasid kooriga palju aastaid, tõsiseid raskusi kohanemisel Eesti lauljatega. Eriti

keeruline oli Hillieri situatsioon koori peadirigendina, eriti algusaastatel. Dirigendina pidi ta

välja vahetama Tõnu Kaljuste ning ta oli esimene välismaalane, kes töötas EFKK

peadirigendina. Tema ettekujutus koorikõlast oli kindlasti teistsugune, kui see, mis teda Eestis

ees ootas. Samuti oli lauljate jaoks raske intensiivselt töötada teisest rahvusest dirigendi käe

all, kes tundis nende emakeelt vaid pealiskaudselt ja kes tõi kaasa oma väga isikupärased

kunstilised ideed.

70

Esialgu püüdis Hillier kujundada koori läänelikul viisil, tuues sisse mitmeid erinevaid

kooritehnika põhimõtteid, mis puudutavad häälte üldist sulandumist, hääle valitsemist,

vibraato vähendamist ning püüdes muuta kõla kergemaks ja heledamaks. Siiski said mõlemad

pooled kiiresti aru, et see strateegia ei toimi, ning selle asemel, et muuta koori loomust,

keskendus Hillier koori üldkõlale oluliste elementide lisamisele. Tema taotlused olid eelkõige

suunatud vokaalsete oskuste taseme tõstmisele. Sellistena osutusid Hillieri eemärgid

teostatavaiks, sest lauljatel oli juba märkimisväärselt kogemusi (eriti meeshäälte osas, kus

isikkoosseis ei olnud oluliselt muutunud) ja loomulikku annet. Mida lauljad peamiselt vajasid,

oli professionaalne hääleseade, et tekitada kõla teadlikult ning sundimatult. See aspekt erineb

ajast, kui Kaljuste juhtis koori, eriti koori algusaegadest, mil tal oli vähem dirigendi-

kogemusi. Kaljuste mitte ainult ei toonud uusi ideid koorile, vaid ta samuti õppis lauljate

kõrvalt palju. EFKK varased aastad langesid Kaljuste dirigendikarjääri algusaegadega, seega

arenes dirigent kunstiliselt koos oma kooriga.

Lauljate varasem vokaalne kogemus ja Hillieri teadmised viisid häälte sulandumise ja

koorikõla tehniliste aspektide märkimisväärse paranemiseni. Hääled hakkasid helisema

vabamalt ja kõla oli parema kontrolli all. Edasiminek esituskvaliteedi tehnilistes aspektides on

selgelt kuuldav näiteks Kreegi „Taaveti laulude“ salvestustes. Hillieri panuse tulemuseks on

EFKK ümar, elav, mõõduka vibraatoga, märkimisväärse vabadusega, suurepäraselt sulanduv

kõla ja hea intonatsioon.

Võib pidada väga positiivseks, et Paul Hillier rakendas oma muusikalisi ideid

lugupidamisega EFKK iseloomuliku kõla suhtes. Seda arvamust jagavad ka lauljad, kes väga

nautisid esituse mugavust (vähem pidasid temast lugu orkestrimängijad, kes tundsid puudust

Hillieri dirigeerimistehnika täpsusest ja koolitatusest), proovitöö strateegiat, kavade

ettevalmistuse läbimõeldud tempot ja tema kannatlikust tööl. Valdkond, kus aga EFKK kaotas

osa oma varasemast kvaliteedist, oli esituse emotsionaalne pool, mille üle said kahjuks

domineerivaks ratsionaalsus ja tehnilised aspektid. Ometi sai EFKK just Hillieri ametiajal

oma seni ainsa Grammy auhinna.

Suur hulk hinnatud salvestusi, mis peegeldavad Hillieri poolt EFKKsse toodud

kvaliteete, on ametiaja vaieldamatuks kvaliteedimärgiks. Need said võimalikuks tänu tema

vabale loomingulisele suhtele Harmonia Mundi Ameerika Ühendriikide haruga. Nagu Hillier

väitis, oli tal palju häid ideid seoses repertuaariga, mida EFKKga esitada ning ka salvestada.

Suur osa oli selles kaasaegsel muusikal, eriti Balti riikidega seotud heliloojate loomingul

(kolm CD-d sarjast Baltic Voices), vene (eriti õigeusu) muusikal ning varasel muusikal. Tänu

71

väga soodsatele tingimustele, mis valitsesid Harmonia Mundile salvestades (salvestustehnika,

helirežissöörid ja salvestuskompanii poolt tagatud ülemaailmne reklaam ja levi) oli EFKK

sellistes projektides osalemise üle väga õnnelik. See oli hindamatu võimalus küündida laiema

publiku ning potentsiaalsete tulevikupartneriteni, aga samuti viis, kuidas viia eesti kultuuri

kuvandit laiema avalikkuseni.

Mis puutub puudustesse Hillieri töös EFKK juhina, siis võiks rääkida tema seotusest,

mis meenutab pigem külalis- kui peadirigendi oma: seetõttu oli lauljatel tunne, et Hillier tegi

nendega väga huvitavaid projekte, kuid tal puudus koori arengu üldisem kava. Teisest küljest

ei pruugi aga olla kohane nõuda seda dirigendilt, kes on rahvusvahelistel lavadel väga

aktiivne ning samaaegselt paljude teistegi ansamblite juht. Siiski oleks olnud arengut võimalik

paremini kavandada, eriti koostöös EFKK tolleaegse koormeistri Mikk Üleojaga, kelle

töökvaliteet oli koori poolt nende igapäevatöös kõrgelt hinnatud.

Pärast Hillieri kuue aasta pikkust ametiaega tundsid mõlemad pooled, et on aeg

muutuseks ning uueks peadirigendiks sai Daniel Reuss. Hillier jäi kooriga seotuks

külalisdirigendina. Reussi esimene kogemus sarnanes Hillieri omaga: nimelt tundis ta suurt

erinevust koori kõla- ja esitusideaalide osas võrreldes koori perspektiivide ja ootustega.

Peamised kvaliteedid, millest Reuss koori puhul puudust tundis, olid kõla selgus ja

puhtus. See võis tuleneda vibraato kasutuse määrast, mida Reussil oli raske aksepteerida.

Seepärast hakkas ta otsima võimalusi arendada puuduvaid kvaliteete ja piirama neid, mis

näisid kõlas ülemäära domineerivat.

Tulemusena arendas Reuss välja häälte sulandumise, mida EFKK polnud varem

saavutanud. Tänu kõla suuremale läbipaistvusele paranes märgatavalt ka intonatsioon, hääled

on paremini kontrollitud ja kasutavad vähem vibraatot. Võrreldes Kreegi salvestusi, on need

jooned kohe selgelt märgatavad ja see esmamulje toetub ilmselgelt muudatustele, mis Reuss

kaasa tõi. Kuid mõne aja pärast kui kõrv on harjunud lihvitud harmoonia, täiuslikult

tasakaalustatud ja sulanduva kõla ning imelise intonatsiooniga, tekib mulje, et midagi on

kaduma läinud.

Esmalt võib märgata vokaali vabadust ja paindlikkust, sest selgesti on tajutav kontroll

hääle tekitamise üle, mis eriti hästi tuleb esile erinevate häälerühmade soololiinides, kus

harmoonia ei toeta meloodiat oma värvinguga. Dirigendi nõuded perfektse intonatsiooni osas

põhjustavad hääles pingeid, nagu ka kontroll ülemäärase vibraato vältimiseks. Tulemusena on

koori kõlas puudu komponendid, mida Reuss on ise esile tõstnud kõla kirjeldades – soojus

72

ning inimlikkus. Paradoksina tekivad kohati ka intonatsiooniprobleemid just hääle liigsest

kontrollist tingitud väsimuse tõttu. Kindlasti ei tohiks unustada, et igal häälel on oma

vajadused, puudused ja ka piirid ning et hääl on tõenäoliselt kõige hapram instrument, eriti

arvestades selle olemuslikku tähtsust kasutajale.

Reuss mõistab tõeliselt hääle olemust, vahest pole ta aga endale päriselt teadvustanud

erinevusi, kuidas EFKK lauljad seda kasutavad, võrreldes sellega, millega ta on harjunud.

Seetõttu on tema nõuded tekitanud EFKK lauljate vastuseisu aspektides, mis oleks paljude

teiste lääne kooridega kergesti saavutatavad.

Intervjuudest EFKK lauljatega ilmnes, et kõige rohkem on nad mures vähese vokaalse

paindlikkuse pärast, mis võimaldaks neil end lauldes mugavalt tunda. Teiseks probleemiks on

aga vajadus enama spontaansuse järele, mis suunaks esituse sõnumi vahetumalt publiku

poole. Reussi töö väga positiivne tulemus on olnud häälestuse parandamine ning rikkalikud

kogemused saksa- ja prantsuskeelsetele tekstile kirjutatud muusika esitamisel. Tähelepanu-

väärsed on tema väga tundlik kuulmine ning täiusliku intonatsiooni taotlus. Hääled loovad

ülemhelide imetlusväärseid kooskõlasid ning sulanduvad hämmastavalt hästi, võib aga küsida,

kas see pigem instrumentaalne lähenemine sobib selle koori esituspõhimõtetega? Vastata või

nii jah kui ei. Ühelt poolt on tänapäeva maailmas konkurents parimate kammerkooride vahel

väga tugev ja seega tagab edu ainult kõrgeim kvaliteet. Teiselt poolt on see aga just

individuaalne kõla, vokaali emotsionaalsus ja väljenduslikkus, mis suure hulga kammer-

kooride salvestuste hulgast võiks pakkuda midagi unikaalset ja oleks EFKK firmamärgiks.

Töö autor kaldub just viimase hoiaku poole, sest EFKK on alati paelunud kuulajaid oma

võrreldamatu, erilise ja väga atraktiivse kõlaga, mis pole vibraatota ja milles on tehnilist

ebatäiuslikkust, kuid mis on kindlasti täis elu ja emotsiooni.

EFKK lauljad on töö autorile väljendanud ka nostalgiliselt, et koori kõige kirglikum

dirigent on olnud Kaljuste. Nad andestavad talle tema mõningad puudused esitustehniliste

probleemide lahendamises, sest tema tahtejõud koori arendamisel üheks silmapaistvamaks

kammerkooriks kogu maailmas on olnud tohutu ja tema emotsionaalsus on alati väga

inspireeriv. Tema salvestused Kreegi „Taaveti lauludest“ ilmutavad tõelist kirge ja

pühendumust, samal ajal esineb neis aga ka tehnilisi probleeme, nagu ebatäpne intonatsioon,

häälte mõningane tasakaalustamatus ja ka ebapiisav kontroll üksikute häälte üle. Lauljad on

ebapiisavana nimetanud ka proovide puhttehnilist efektiivsust, näiteks vokaaltehnika

aspektides või häälestusküsimustes, ning lavaesituse toetamist täpse dirigeerimisega.

73

Koos mainitud nostalgiatundega on ilmselt seetõttu jäänud kõlama vastuolulisi

arvamusi, kuidas koor peaks vaatama tulevikule ja edasistele arengutele, ühtaegu säilitades

tihedat kontakti seniste dirigentidega, kasutamaks nende oskusi ja andeid, jäädes truuks oma

algsele kõlale, mille Kaljuste kujundas, kuid saavutades ka uusi kõrgusi.

74

Appendix 1. Biographies

Tõnu Kaljuste – biography

Tõnu Kaljuste is the conductor who founded the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber

Choir (the EPCC) (1981) and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra (TCO) (1993). He has been a

regular Grammy nominee and the winner of several prizes for recordings (Diapason d'Or de

l'Annee 2000, Cannes Classical Award, Edison Prize).

Kaljuste has been a lecturer at the Tallinn Conservatory and a conductor of the

Estonian National Opera. He has worked with many orchestras and choirs all over the world.

During the 1990’s, next to his work with the EPCC and the TCO, he was also the principal

conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir. Since 2001 he has

worked internationally as a freelance conductor. He has been appointed a member of the

Royal Music Academy of Sweden and has been awarded the Japanese ABC Music Fund

Award, the International Robert Edler Prize for Choral Music and the First Prize of the 2004

Estonian Cultural Fund.

Kaljuste has dedicated a major part of his work to the music of Estonian composers

(Heino Eller, Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, and Erkki-Sven Tüür), whose compositions he has

recorded for the ECM Record label. He has also recorded all of the Vespers and Litanies of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as the church music of Antonio Vivaldi for the Carus

Verlag record label. He has worked in collaboration with composers such as Alfred Schnittke,

György Kurtag, Krzysztof Penderecki, Erik Bergman, Giya Kancheli, Sven-David Sandström,

Knut Nystedt, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Brett Dean, R. Murray Schafer, a.o.

In 2004, the new Nargen Opera project theatre began its activities under Kaljuste’s

direction. During the 2004-05 season, there were stagings of three of Joseph Haydn’s operas,

Jaan Tätte’s play “Lantern” and Veljo Tormis’ “Estonian Ballads”, the latter in a co-production

with the Von Krahli Theatre. The 2005-06 season of the Nargen Opera will include two

chamber operas by composer Tõnu Kõrvits.

International engagements during the 2005/06 season included appearances with the

Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Brabants Orkest, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen

Philharmonic and the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra a.o.

After: http://www.tonukaljuste.com/

75

Paul Hillier – biography

Paul Hillier is from Dorset in England and studied at the Guildhall School of Music

and Drama in London. His career has embraced singing, conducting, and writing about music.

Earlier in his career he was founding director of the Hilliard Ensemble, and subsequently

founded the Theatre of Voices. He has taught in the USA at the University of California

campuses at Santa Cruz and Davis, and from 1996-2003 was Director of the Early Music

Institute at Indiana University.

He was Principal Conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (2001-

2007) and has been Chief Conductor of Ars Nova Copenhagen since 2003. His recordings,

over a hundred CDs including seven solo recitals, have earned worldwide acclaim and won

numerous prizes.

His books about Arvo Pärt and Steve Reich, together with numerous anthologies of

choral music, are published by Oxford University Press. In 2006 he was awarded an OBE for

services to choral music. In 2007 he received the Order of the White Star of Estonia, and was

awarded a Grammy for Best Choral Recording.

In 2008 he took up the position of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the

National Chamber Choir of Ireland, and in 2009 was invited to form the new Coro Casa da

Musica in Porto, Portugal. In 2010 he won a second Grammy (this time in the small ensemble

category), for Theatre of Voices' recording of David Lang's 'The Little Match Girl Passion'

(which also won a Pulitzer Prize), together with a selection of choral works by Lang, sung by

Ars Nova Copenhagen.

After: http://www.paulhillier.net/index.html

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STATEMENT

about the EPCC

by PAUL HILLIER

The EPCC is today one of the most famous choirs in the world. Through its concerts,

tours, and recordings it has helped bring recognition to Estonia as a country in which music

plays a unique role in articulating the national identity. It is not just that a relatively small

country has produced some of the finest musicians and composers of our time, but that

Estonia is an example to other countries of what the proper function of art in society can be:

not as a mere ornament, or badge of honor, but as something which emerges organically from

the history and traditions of the country itself. Above all, the essence of Estonian music rests

in its powerful choral tradition, of which the EPCC are the recognized ambassadors.

The following is a list of future goals, many of which are natural developments of the

choir's present and past work under their founding director, Tõnu Kaljuste - and all honor

must go to him for the outstanding contribution he has made to Estonian culture and to the art

of choral singing at the highest international level.

1. We will maintain the commitment to the three Estonian composers Veljo Tormis, Arvo Pärt,

and Erkki Sven-Tüür. Equally, we will continue to co-operate on projects with the Tallinn

Chamber Orchestra, especially in the performance of classical and contemporary repertoire.

2. The choir will commission new works and provide opportunities for the performance of

music by younger Estonian composers.

3. The choir will make a series of CD recordings to be made over the next three years (for

Harmonia Mundi) called “Baltic Voices”.

4. The choir will seek foreign sponsorship to commission new works from major composers

around the world.

5. We will perform more repertoire from earlier periods (Renaissance and Baroque) and

develop ties with Estonian instrumentalists in these fields.

After: http://www.epcc.ee/html/statement.htmls

77

Daniel Reuss – biography

Daniel Reuss (born 1961) studied with Barend Schuurman at the Rotterdam

Conservatory. In 1990, he became director of Cappella Amsterdam, which he turned into a

full-time professional ensemble that is now one of the most sought after in the Netherlands.

In September 2008 he was appointed artistic director and chief conductor of the Estonian

Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In 2010, he was nominated for a Grammy "best choral

performance" for the CD he made with the above two choirs together (Frank Martin’s

Golgotha).

From 2003 until 2006 he was chief conductor of the RIAS Kammerchor in Berlin,

with whom he recorded a number of successful CDs. Their CD with works by Martin and

Messiaen (released by Harmonia Mundi) won both the "Diapason d'Or de l’année 2004" and

the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik". The CDs Les Noces, Le vin Herbé and Händels

Solomon have also been critically acclaimed. In summer 2006, at the invitation of Pierre

Boulez, Daniel Reuss taught and conducted at the summer 2006 Lucerne Festival Academy.

In February 2007, Reuss made his debut at the English National Opera, with Händel's

Agrippina. In 2008 he directed at De Munt/La Monnaie in Bruxelles, with the Dido &

Aeneas-production of stage director Sasha Waltz.

Daniel Reuss has been invited to conduct chamber ensembles and orchestras

throughout Europe. Among these may be mentioned the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin,

MusikFabrik, Scharoun Ensemble and the Radio Chamber Philharmonic.

After http://www.danielreuss.com/index.html

The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (the EPCC) is one of the best known

Estonian music groups in the world. The EPCC was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who

was the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor for twenty years. During 2001–2007 his work

was continued by English musician Paul Hillier. Since 2008 the Artistic Director and Chief

Conductor is Daniel Reuss from Holland.

The repertoire of the choir extends from Gregorian chant to late baroque and the music

of the 21st century. Ever special focus is on the work of Estonian composers (Pärt, Tormis,

78

Tüür, Grigoryeva, Tulev, Kõrvits, Tulve) and introducing such work to the world. Each season

the choir gives about 60–70 concerts in Estonia and abroad.

The EPCC has cooperated with several outstanding conductors and orchestras, such as

Claudio Abbado, Helmuth Rilling, Eric Ericson, Iván Fischer, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi,

Nikolai Aleksejev, Andrew Lawrence-King, Roland Böer, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Frieder

Bernius, Stephen Layton, Marc Minkowski, Christoph Poppen, Sir Colin Davis etc. and

Norwegian, Australian, Lithuanian, Prague and Stuttgart chamber orchestras, Mahler

Chamber Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Concerto

Copenhagen, Concerto Palatino, Salzburg Camerata, Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble and

of course Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.

The choir has been invited to perform at many renowned festivals, including BBC

Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Abu Gosh Music Festival, Moscow Easter Festival,

Bergen International Festival, The Salzburg Festival, Musikfest Bremen, Salzburg

Mozartwoche, Festival Aix-en-Provence, etc.

Another important aspect in the choir’s life is recording music (for ECM, Virgin

Classics, Carus, Harmonia Mundi), resulting in award-winning CDs, including Arvo Pärt. Da

Pacem (Harmonia Mundi 2006, conductor Paul Hillier) won a Grammy Award for Best

Choral Performance.

In the season 2012/2013 the EPCC gives concerts in Estonia in cooperation with

Nargen Festival, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.

The touring calendar takes the choir to Zermatt Festival in Switzerland, and Internationale

Cervantino Festival in Mexico. Concerts will be given in Vienna Concert Hall, in AMUZ in

Antwerp, in Essen, Cologne, Dortmund, etc. together with Mahler Chamber Orchestra and

Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble. The conductors are Daniel Reuss, Tõnu Kaljuste, Marc

Minkowski, Arvo Volmer, Eri Klas.

After: http://www.epcc.ee/en/history/

79

Appendix 2. The EPCC’s discography under Tõnu Kaljuste, Paul Hillier and Daniel

Reuss

Tõnu Kaljuste

Arvo Part. In principio; ECM 2009

In principio, La Sindone, Cecilia, vergine romana, Da pacem Domine, mein Weg, Für Lennart in memoriam

ERSO, TCO, EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Cyrillus Kreek. Requiem; 2008

Tõnu Kõrvits: Kreegi vihik; Cyrillus Kreek: Requiem c-moll

TCO, EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Lepo Sumera. Mushroom Kantata; Bis Records, 2005

Concerto per voci e strumenti, Kui tume veel kauaks ka sinu maa, Seenekantaat, Saare piiga laul merest

Janika Lentsius – flute, Kadri-Ann Sumera – piano, Madis Metsamart – percussion

TCO, EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Antonio Vivaldi. Gloria; Carus-Verlag, 2003

Kyrie RV 587, Gloria D-dur RV 589, Credo RV 591, Magnificat RV 610

Kaia Urb – soprano, Vilve Hepner – soprano, Anna Zander – alto, Mati Turi – tenor

TCO, EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Antonio Vivaldi. Salmi a due cori; Carus-Verlag, 2002

Beatus vir RV 597, Domine ad adjuvandum me festina RV 593, Canta in prato RV 636, Dixit Dominus RV 594

Soloists: Kaia Urb – soprano, Vilve Hepner – soprano, Risto Joost (ct) – alto, Mati Turi – tenore, Uku Joller – basso

TCO, ERSO, Tõnu Kaljuste

80

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Litaniae; Carus-Verlag, 2000

Litaniae Lauretaniae KV 109, Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento KV 125 e 243

Kaia Urb – soprano, Ave Moor – soprano, Juta Roopalu-Malk – alto, Tiit Kogermann – tenor, Mati Turi – tenor, Uku Joller – bas

TCO, ERSO, Tõnu Kaljuste

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Vesperae et Litania; Carus-Verlag, 2000

Vesperae solennes de Dominica Kv 321, Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339, Litaniae Lauretaniae KV 195

Kaia Urb – soprano, Ave Moor – soprano, Juta Roopalu-Malk – alto, Tiit Kogermann – tenor, Mati Turi – tenor, Uku Joller – bas

TCO, ERSO, Tõnu Kaljuste

Veljo Tormis. Laulu palju; Carus-Verlag, 2000

Zwei Lieder nach Ernst Enno, Drei Lieder aus dem, Epos "Kalevipoeg", Drei Arbeitslieder aus Setu, Vier Spiellieder von Sangaste, Sechs estnische Kinderlieder, Neun estnische Erntelieder, Dreizehn estnische lyrische Volkslieder, Liederhaufen

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Paul Giger. Ignis; ECM, 2000

Organum, Karma Shadub, Tropus, Alleluia, O Ignis

Paul Giger – violin, violino d’amore; Marius Ungureanu – viola, Beat Schneider – cello

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Veljo Tormis. Litany To Thunder; ECM, 1999

How Can I Recognize my Home, Singing Aboard Ship, Curse Upon Iron, The Singer’s Childhood, Songs OF The Ancient Sea, The Bishop And The Pagan, Litany To Thunder, The Lost Geese

Eve Härma, Kadri Ratt – soprano, Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann – piano

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Karl August Hermann, Raimo Kangro, Leelo Tungal. Eesti lauleldused (Estonian Singspiels); 1999

The best pieces of the Estonian singspiels "Uku and Vanemuine" and "Uku and Ecu"

TCO, EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

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Arvo Pärt. Kanon Pokajanen; ECM, 1998

Arvo Pärt: Kanon Pokajanen

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Grammy nominations: „Best Classical Contemporary Composition” – Arvo Pärt; „Best Classical Producer – Manfred Eicher“

Arvo Pärt. Beatu; Virgin Classics, 1997

Statuit ei Dominus, Missa syllabica, Beatus Petronius, 7 Magnificat-Antiphonen, De profundis, Memento, Cantate Domino, Solfeggio

Christopher Bowers-Broadbent – organ

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Veljo Tormis. Casting a Spell; Virgin Classics, 1996

Estonian Calendar Songs, 3 Estonian Game Songs

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Arvo Pärt. Litany; ECM, 1996

Litany, Psalom*, Trisagion*

*Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra,

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

*Saulius Sondeckis – conductor

Erkki-Sven Tüür. Crystallisatio; ECM, 1996

Architectonics VI, Passion, Illusion, Crystallisatio, Requiem

TCO, EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Grammy nominations: “Best Classical Producer” – Manfred Eicher

Kaunimad laulud (The Most Beautiful Songs); 1994

Selection of Estonia choral music form 19th – 20th century

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Arvo Pärt. Te Deum; ECM, 1993

Te Deum, Silouans Song, Magnificat, Berliner Messe, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

TCO, ERSO, Tõnu Kaljuste

Grammy nominations: „Best Choral Performance”

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Veljo Tormis. Forgotten Peoples; ECM, 1992

Livonian Heritage, Votic Wedding Songs, Izhorian Epic, Ingrian Evenings, Vepsian, Paths, Karelian Destiny

EPCC, Tõnu Kaljuste

Paul Hillier

Baltic Runes; Harmonia Mundi, May 2010

Jean Sibelius, Cyrillus Kreek, Erik Bergman, Veljo Tormis

the EPCC, Paul Hillier

Grammy awards 2011 nomination: “Best choral performance”

Toivo Tulev. Songs; Harmonia Mundi 2008

Der Herr ist mein Getreuer Hirt I; Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice!; Leave, alas this tormenting; Josques au printemps; Der Herr ist mein Getreuer Hirt II

TCO, the EPCC, Robin Blaze – countertenor, Paul Hillier

Scattered Rhymes; Harmonia Mundi 2008

Tarik O’Regan: Scattered Rhymes; Guillaume de Machaut: Messe de Nostre Dame; Guillaume Dufay: Ave regina celorum; Gavin Bryars: Super flumina; Guillaume de Machaut: Douce dame jolie; Tarik O’Regan: Virelai: Douce dame jolie

Orlando Consort, the EPCC, Paul Hillier

A Eew Joy; Harmonia Mundi 2006

Orthodox Christmas Music from Russia and Ukraine

the EPCC, Paul Hillier

Arvo Part. Da Pacem; Harmonia Mundi 2006

Salve Regina; Da Pacem Domine; Nunc dimittis; Littlemore tractus; Dopo la vittoria; Magnificat; 2 Slawische Psalmen; An den Wassern zu Babel

Christopher Bowers-Broadbent – organ, the EPCC, Paul Hillier

Grammy award: “Best Choral Performance”

83

Baltic Voices 3; Harmonia Mundi, 2005

Vaclovas Augustinas, Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Kaia Saariaho, Rytis Mazulis, Erik Bergman, Algirdas Martinaitis, Erkki-Sven Tuur, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki

Rascher Saxomphone Quartet, the EPCC, Paul Hillier

Rachmaninov All Eight Vigil; Harmonia Mundi, 2005

6 Vespers and 8 Matins

the EPCC, Paul Hillier

Baltic Voices 2; Harmonia Mundi, 2004

Urmas Sisask, Toivo Tulev, Per Norgard, Galina Grigorjeva, Alfred Schnittke

the EPCC, Paul Hillier

Grammy nomination: “Best Choral Performance”

The Powers of Heaven; Harmonia Mundi, 2003

Russian Orthodox Music of 17th and 18th Centuries:

Dmitri Bortniansky, Giuseppe Sarti, Vasily Titov, Baldassare Galuppi, Nikolai Diletsky, Artemy Vedel

EPCC, Paul Hillier

Baltic Voices 1; Harmonia Mundi, 2002

Ciryllus Kreek, Sven-David Sandstrom, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Veljo Tormis, Arvo Pärt, Peteris Vasks

TCO, EPCC, Paul Hillier

Grammy nomination: “Best Choral Performance”

Daniel Reuss

Erkki-Sven Tüür. Awakening/Ärkamine; Ondine 2011

Awakening (for mixed choir and chamber orchestra), The Wanderer’s Evening Song (for mixed choir), Insula deserta (for string orchestra)

Sinfonietta Riga

EPCC, Daniel Reuss

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Frank Martin. Golgotha; Harmonia Mundi 2010

Judith Gautier – soprano, Marianne-Beate Kielland – mezzo soprano, Adrian Thompson – tenor, Mattijs van de Woerd – baritone, Konstantinn Wolff – bas

ERSO, Cappella Amsterdam, EPCC, Daniel Reuss

Grammy nomination 2011: “Best Choral Performance”

Mendelssohn, Kreek. Psalms; Harmonia Mundi 2009 (reissued by Ondine in 2012)

Psalms by Mendelssohn and Kreek

EPCC, Daniel Reuss

Vivit; Ondine 2013

Choral works by Max Reger and Rudolf Tobias

EPCC, Daniel Reuss