GALINA GRIGORIEVA (b.1962): Choir Concerto "Svjatki", GABRIEL JACKSON (b.1962): Cantus Maris Baltici, PETERIS PLAKIDIS (b.1947): Symphony for Choir "Destiny", VACLOVAS AUGUSTINAS (b.1959): Tau Bet Kokios Sutemos Sviesios, Hymne à St. Martin, MINDAUGAS URBAITIS (b.1952): Lacrimosa.

Description: More superb examples of the rich tradition of sonorous, tonal, emotionally satisfying choral music that evolved in the Baltic states. The two pieces by Augustinas are richly diatonic with a gently rocking motion provided by ostinato movement. Urbaitis' affecting Lacrymosa has even more of a minimalist pulse underlying delicious lyrical patterning in the harmonic texture. Plakidis' five-movement Symphony is really that - a fully argued symphonic structure; in fact one could imagine that if it were transcribed for conventional orchestral forces it would fit very nicely into the Russian symphonic canon. Elements of folk melody inflect the melodic structures of a contrapuntally intricate, tonal idiom, with propulsive ostinati, luminous chorales and exceptionally inventive choral 'orchestration'. Grigorjeva's concerto has the most in common with the Russian liturgical and Renaissance polyphonic traditions of any of the works here, with rhythmically ingenious elaboration of the complex yet bright, clear textures. Jackson's tribute to his Baltic colleagues has more of the English cathedral tradition about it, and its few modernist inflections are from a different background; it provides a pleasing alternative perspective from which to view its northern and eastern forebears. Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian-English texts. National Youth Choir of Great Britain; Mike Brewer.