I have been a big fan of Estonian music for a while now, and, comparing these pieces with Sumera’s symphonies and chamber music, I was pleasantly surprised by an even greater expressive freedom in his choral writing. Estonia has a very strong vocal tradition, and Sumera’s work on this CD engages very much with a direct, sometimes even confrontational manner of communicating text, though without quite the blood, sweat, iron and tears of Tormis.

Dominy Clements @ musicweb-international

A leading representative of ‘New Folklorism’, the Lithuanian composer Feliksas Bajoras conveys his interest in Lithuanian folk-music in a strikingly individual and personal voice. The Symphony-Diptych, which draws on themes from the composer’s opera Lamb of God, is notable for its characterful writing for wind instruments. The lyrical Violin Concerto ……