21st century sounds with echoes from the past

 Erkki-Sven Tüür: Symphony no. 10, "Aeris"; Phantasma; De Profundis

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

    to my cry for mercy.
- Psalm 130, A song of ascents

This new CD, due to be released on May 23, 2025, contains a major new symphony by the great Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür, his Tenth, subtitled "Aeris" and written in 2023. As well, there are two additional substantial works for orchestra, Phantasma, from 2018, and De Profundis, from 2013.

This music is by no means avant-garde; it's mainly in the modernist idiom of the mid-20th century, atonal but as accessible as the best orchestral film music. Indeed, its expressive, highly diversified sounds have the richness of John Williams or Howard Shore's best scores, or even those of Bernard Herrmann. This is music written for virtuoso orchestral players, and Olari Elts gets impressive performances from the Estonian National Orchestra. 

Tüür's 10th Symphony is written as a one-movement Symphony Concertante, with solo parts for four horns, played beautifully here by German Hornsound. This adds texture the Symphony, and the horn sounds provide echoes of the musical past - Mozart, Schumann, Von Weber, Wagner, Richard Strauss - to its 21st century soundscape.

The remaining two orchestral works provide some dramatic contrast to the mainly static Symphony. Phantasma is a brooding piece that makes use of micro-interval clusters. It was written as an homage to Ludwig van Beethoven, and is based on a theme from his Coriolanus Overture.

Tüür based De Profundis on Psalm 130; it's a kind of musical prayer which, like the Psalm, begins in the depths and ascends to a place of redemption.

ECM is doing a major service to music lovers with their series of recordings of the Estonian composer's work. I look forward to future releases.

I was surprised and pleased to learn more about Erkki-Sven Tüür's musical beginnings. In 1983, at the age of 20, he headed up the Estonian prog-rock group In Spe. This is in the pastoral style of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull and Gentle Giant. It's an impressive debut, and an interesting path that he began that's led him to become one of the finest contemporary classical composers.