Suvine Vihm 'Summer Rain' (2006)
Legatissimo (2011)*
Tanto gentile (2010)
I said, Who are You? - He said, You (2007)
Flow, my tears (2007)*
Magnificat (2013)*

*World Première Recording

Mix in a cup of Arvo Pärt, add a quarter cup of Eriks Esenvalds, a teaspoon of Valentin Silvestrov, just a pinch of Jan Garbarek and stir everything well, and you get a small taste of what the music of Estonian composer Toivo Tulev (b. 1958) sounds like, although Tulev is not as stark as Pärt and not as elaborate as Esenvalds. The booklet notes state that Tulev considers the city of Istanbul, which bridges East and West, a kind of numinous (spiritual) 'second home' and the inspiration for much of the music on this recording.

Toivo Tulev's texts are based on words or verses by Mansur Al-Hallaj (c. 858-922), John Dowland, T.S. Eliot, Dante, St John's and St Luke's Gospel, so all impart a deep sense of ancient spirituality. Tulev's highly original harmonic language lends everything a penetrating glimpse into the contemplation of matters that elude explanation. The inclusion of a variety of sonic elements including the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, a countertenor, percussion, saxophone and organ, also adds the appropriate extra textural layer each work needs to further enhance the words. This music is simple, almost primitive, as if its source spanned millenniums, but at the same time highly complex and forward looking. It eludes immediate elucidation and analysis, just like the texts it is based on. Something all choral music fans should explore.

The audio recordings which took place in old churches in Latvia and Estonia, lend everything a spacious, unfathomable character more than appropriate for this type of music.