Valentin Silvestrov
To Thee We Sing
Sacred Choral Works
Sigvards Klava, conductor
Ieva Ezeriete, soprano
Agate Burkina, soprano
Dace Srautmane, alto
Karlis Rutentals, tenor
Rudolfs Bertins, tenor
CD / SACD
Released:
October 2015
Catalogue No.:
ODE 1266-5
EAN/UPC Code:
0761195126653
"It has the effect of a healing balm and I cannot recommend it too highly for those who require restoration from life’s vicissitudes".
Gramophone Editor's Choise, October 2015
Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937) is an important contemporary voice in vocal music. In this new release Silvestrov's hauntingly beautiful vocal works are performed by the Latvian Radio Choir under their director Sigvards Kļava.
During his artistic career Silvestrov has explored a number of musical styles and techniques, such as avant-guard, post-modernism, neo-classicism, dodecaphony, aleatoric writing and pointillism. The fall of the Soviet Union, however, allowed Silvestrov to eventually compose spiritual works, inspired and influenced by his love of the Russian Orthodox Church music which
Silvestrov imbues with his own unique sound and bursts of surprising harmonic moves. Silvestrov's compositions are invested with the composer's own unique personality, musical sensibility and sense of beauty.
Latvian Radio Choir's previous releases on Ondine have been highly successful. For instance, the recording of Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil (ODE 1206-5) was chosen as the Record of the Month, Editor's Choice and received a nomination in the Gramophone Awards in 2013.