Baltikum SWR Vokalensemble & Marcus Creed

• Maija Einfelde (b. 1939): 3 Poems by Fricis Bārda:
• 1 3 Poems by Fricis Bārda: No. 1, Vakars 04:26
• 2 3 Poems by Fricis Bārda: No. 2, Lūgšana 04:35
• 3 3 Poems by Fricis Bārda: No. 3, Debess 04:18
• Rytis Mažulis B. 1961): Canon solus:
• 4 Canon solus 04:56
• Pēteris Vasks (b. 1946): Litene:
• 5 Litene: I. — 04:13
• 6 Litene: II. — 05:54
• Veljo Tormis (1930 - 2017): 2 Songs After Ernst Enno:
• 7 2 Songs After Ernst Enno: No. 1, The Fairy Tale of the Young Summer) 03:12
• 8 2 Songs After Ernst Enno: No. 2, Barely Audible Somewhere the Home Country Is Calling 05:14
• Andris Dzenītis (b.1978): 4 Madrigals by e.e. cummings:
• 9 4 Madrigals by e.e. cummings: No. 1, unmeaning 03:07
• 10 4 Madrigals by e.e. cummings: No. 2, i carry your heart 05:06
• 11 4 Madrigals by e.e. cummings: No. 3, may i... 03:16
• 12 4 Madrigals by e.e. cummings: No. 4, who are you? 04:58
• Justė Janulytė (b. 1982): Plonge:
• 13 Plonge 10:31
• Arvo Pärt (b.1935): And I Heard a Voice:
• 14 And I Heard a Voice 06:46
• Total Runtime 01:10:32

Info for Baltikum

The folk music of the Baltic peoples can be traced back to pagan times whereas the development of their art music did not start until around 100 years ago. Every country has its own founding fathers where music is concerned: the Estonians admire Heino Eller and the Latvians Jazeps Vitols as the founder of their respective national music culture. Arvo Part was one of Eller’s students. The founding figure of Lithuanian art music and art is Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, who created fugues and sonatas as well as symphonic poems, music for piano, and choral works. This is the ninth and last installment of the SWR Vokalensemble series dedicated to musical portraits of different countries and the last release with its chief conductor Marcus Creed. The SWR Vokalensemble is internationally renowned as one of the best choirs for modern a cappella repertoire, its performances are characterized by exquisite mastership.

SWR Vokalensemble
Séverine Ballon
Marcus Creed, conductor

SWR Vokalensemble
A spirit of musical research, a passion for experimentation, a wide range of style and perfect singing – these are the hallmarks of the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart. For many years now, it has been counted among the top international ensembles for contemporary music, and in the course of its seventy-year history has sung more premieres than any other chorus. Conductors, composers and organisers hold the musical intelligence of the chorus members in high esteem, as well as their professional treatment of the difficulties of contemporary scores, and their constructive open-minded attitude toward today’s utopias. Apart from new music, the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart also devotes itself to the more demand¬ing choral works of earlier periods – their concert programs often set the old and the new into an evocative contrast. Musical directors Marinus Voorberg, Klaus Martin Ziegler and Rupert Huber have each put their mark on the SWR Vokalensemble in the past. Voorberg and especially Huber molded the sound typical of the SWR Vokalensemble, characterised by slender, straight-edged vocalisation, and an equally great perfection as regards intonation and articulation. Many of the more than 250 performances noted in the chronological history of the SWR Vokalensemble were conducted by Rupert Huber. Marcus Creed has been artistic director since 2003. His interpretations combine a sure sense of style, a beautiful sound, technical expertise and musical dynamism, and have met with great admiration from audiences and professional journals alike. The SWR Vokalensemble is a welcome and well-liked guest on international concert stages and at renowned music festivals at home and abroad. Its concert programs are recorded for radio and many are then released on CD. International record prizes confirm the quality of these recordings, including the German Music Critics’ Award, the Echo Klassik Prize, the Diapason’dor and the Grand Prix du Disque.

Marcus Creed
was born and raised on the south coast of England. He began his studies at King’s College, Cambridge, where he had the opportunity to sing in the famous Chapel Choir. Further studies took him to Christ Church, Oxford and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Marcus Creed has been living in Berlin since 1977. In the city, he has worked at the Deutsche Oper as an operatic coach and chorus director and at the University of the Arts as lecturer on Lieder, as well as with the Gruppe Neue Musik and with the Scharoun Ensemble as a pianist and conductor. From 1987 to 2001 Marcus Creed was artistic director of the RIAS Chamber Choir. In 1998 he accepted the position of professor of conducting at the University of Music in Cologne.

Since 2003 Marcus Creed has been artistic director of the SWR Vocal Ensemble in Stuttgart. His particular mission with the ensemble is to revive outstanding compositions from recent history, including works by Luigi Nono, György Kurtág, Wolfgang Rihm and Heinz Holliger. Marcus Creed regularly makes guest appearances at international festivals, giving performances of both old and new music. Since 2014 he has been music director of the Danish Radio Vocal Ensemble in Copenhagen.

His work is documented on numerous CD recordings with the SWR Vocal Ensemble, which have received many international awards, including the German Music Critics’ Award of the Year, the Edison Classic Award, the Diapason d’Or, the Echo Klassik Award and the Cannes Classical Award.

Booklet for Baltikum