WATER ITSELF

ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR
CONDUCTOR - KASPARS PUTNIŅŠ

EXCERPT FROM THE CONCERT: ESTONIAN REPUBLIC 100.
ARVO PÄRT WEEKEND. TALES FROM ESTONIA

SOUND – FLAGEY CONCERT HALL
VIDEO – TAMMO SUMERA  

ÜLO KRIGUL
VESI ISE / WATER ITSELF for mixed choir and electronics (2015)

In 2018, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Estonia with a European concert tour. On 28 January, Ülo Krigul’s “Water Itself” (2015) for mixed choir and electronics was performed in Brussels at a concert of the Arvo Pärt Festival organised by the Flagey Concert Hall.

Ülo Krigul: “On an elementary level, it is a meeting between land and water. The tonal level of the work is based on the three main frequencies of the Earth (G – day, Cis – year and F – era) and the text arises from the inside of water. The part of the Earth was already there at the very beginning of the creative process, when I recorded the phonogram for the work with specially tuned gongs. The part of the choir is an accurate transcript of this improvised gong recording.

The water theme was added on later, when I was looking for a text for the partially finished music. “Water itself” got its text and title from Ilmar Laaban’s sound poem of the same name. I made the choice because of the similar intermediate state of Laaban’s composition: it is a message which follows its own logic, but is directed more by sensory sounds. I tried to follow Laaban’s logic – the mixed semantics born out of syllables – in arranging the text for the choir. The choir part uses only the first part of the original. I would like to thank Jaan Malin and Isidor Laaban for their useful advice in using the text. The gongs are recorded at Allikamaja of Esna Manor.

The source, nature and perhaps also the purpose of this work places it somewhere between a meditative journey and concert music.”

Read more: www.ulokrigul.com.