Vasks: Distant Light / Voices

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The grand scale of Arvo Pärt and Giya Kancheli, some very striking climaxes, and the nostalgic strains of Latvian folk music seem to collide in the compositions of Peteris Vasks. Romantic, melancholic, and utterly enjoyable, Vasks sounds at times like Pärt for people with short attention spans--as glacial as his music can get, an explosive violin solo or familiar waltz is just around the corner. There's an unmistakable sadness that never escapes his work, obviously reflective of the tumultuous nature of his Latvian homeland. But this emotion-filled music seems tailor-made for violinist Gidon Kremer, who--accompanied here by his hand-picked KremerATA Baltica ensemble of young Baltic-area musicians--clearly embraces the works. Distant Light is a 30-minute single-movement concerto, where graceful string passages give way to soaring violin solos. Voices is a symphony for strings with quiet expanses, birdsong, and a tumultuous third movement. Simply put, these are gorgeous works. Vasks is clearly a composer to watch and Kremer, as usual, is brilliant. --Jason Verlinde

Tracks:

Distant Light (Tala Gaisma): Concerto For Violin And String Orchestra
Voices (Balsis): Voices Of Silence (Klusuma Balsis)
Voices (Balsis): Voices Of Life (Dzivibas Balsis)
Voices (Balsis): Voice Of Conscience (Sirdsapzinas Balss)

Amazon.com

The grand scale of Arvo Pärt and Giya Kancheli, some very striking climaxes, and the nostalgic strains of Latvian folk music seem to collide in the compositions of Peteris Vasks. Romantic, melancholic, and utterly enjoyable, Vasks sounds at times like Pärt for people with short attention spans--as glacial as his music can get, an explosive violin solo or familiar waltz is just around the corner. There's an unmistakable sadness that never escapes his work, obviously reflective of the tumultuous nature of his Latvian homeland. But this emotion-filled music seems tailor-made for violinist Gidon Kremer, who--accompanied here by his hand-picked KremerATA Baltica ensemble of young Baltic-area musicians--clearly embraces the works. Distant Light is a 30-minute single-movement concerto, where graceful string passages give way to soaring violin solos. Voices is a symphony for strings with quiet expanses, birdsong, and a tumultuous third movement. Simply put, these are gorgeous works. Vasks is clearly a composer to watch and Kremer, as usual, is brilliant. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Pettersson Lite.......2003-09-18

Vasks is typical of today's "spiritual minimalists" - sort of a blend of New Age "air pudding" with a very light sprinkle of "seriousness". Easy to listen to - you could put this on as background music, or to fall asleep to. And I realize that's what a lot of people seem to be looking for these days. But don't expect any soul-searching, or profundity. Slightly melancholic, wistful, not exactly "deep", but at least it isn't Yanni. If you've heard it once, there's not a lot to be mined out of it on repeated listenings.

If you'd like a more substantial musical experience, try the symphonies of Allan Pettersson. Start with his 7th.

Distant Light, Voices.......2000-10-16

Distant Light, a violin concerto by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks, is uperbly performed by violinist Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica ensemble. This Teldec CD also features Vasks' symphony for strings entitled Voices. Both works are permeated by a sense of melancoly created by rather soft dynamics, very simple textures, an estremely slow harmonic motion--often elaborating a drone or single harmony for a minute or more at a time, and beautifully expressive extended melodic lines. Vasks' music is very much in the tradition of more well-known Central European composers Henryk Gorecki and Arvo Part, even Alan Hovhaness. Indeed, several moments of both works on this CD are remarkably similar (one might even say uncomfortably similar) to sections of Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Vasks himself claims a strong influence from Polish avant-garde music, particularly that of Witold Lutoslawski. This influence is scarcely apparent in these pieces, however--they are for the most part extremely conservative, more reminiscent of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, with a touch of New Age sensibility.

Vasks is largely self-taught as a composer, although clearly not adverse to closely examining those he admires for models. His formal musical training is primarily as a double bass player, and his knowledge of stringed instruments is clearly seen, as he achieves wonderfully rich sonorities. The writing is beautifully complemented by the outstanding performance of the Kremerata Baltica ensemble, a group of young musicians from the Baltic States of Latvia, Lituania and Estonia. Intonation and expression are impeccable, but perhaps most noteworthy is the gorgeous depth of tone the ensemble achieves. Kremer himself presents a sensational performance, fluently navagating the technical and virtuostic difficulties while creating a remarkable variety of tone color. The cadenza of Distant Light leads to the climax of the concerto and shows not only Kremer's flair for the dramatic, but also one of the few passages in which the influence of Lutoslawski and the Polish avante-garde can be seen.

To my ear, the stylistic disparities here are too great to be completely successful in the context of the whole. The climax, described by Vasks as "aleatory chaos" represents only a few seconds of an otherwise almost entirely traditional composition lasting almost half an hour. It therefore seems more something artificially grafted onto the work than something achieved--a sort of Deus ex machina of evil rather than of delivery and redemption, if you will. Vasks' programmatic concern is the struggle of man for freedom from oppression--specifically the struggle of the Baltics for freedom from the Soviet empire. Oppression itself is not the subject of Vasks' attention, but nevertheless, that such oppression be represented by aleatory chaos is, frankly, cliched. This is the kind of gesture that beginning composition students make--and that it is wildly out of proportion to the rest of the work (and furthermore followed by a curious pastiche-updating of Liszt's Mephisto Waltz) makes it unconvincing and lacking in conviction. If only the oppression of the Baltic peoples by the Soviets were so short and readily abandoned. Vasks misses his chance to truly develop a meaningful climax out of the materials he has worked so successfully with up to this point. Having said this, though, it is the only miscue on the recording. Otherwise, performance and compositions are well worth repeated listening.

Compelling.......2000-01-11

Simply a "must hear" if you are a fan of Part and love the beauty of violins.

Excellent, Passionate!.......2000-01-10

If you enoyed this, check out Keith Jarrett's, "The Melody at Night with You" and John McArthur's, "HIDDEN."

Essential listening.......1999-12-02

Vasks' String Quartets and his Cello Concerto remain his best work to date. This disk contains music a Vasks aficionado would surely love. The only negative is the packaging. The soloist-- Kramer -- (who is, of course, an excellent violinist) is featured in a way gets in the way of appreciating Vasks. The booklet for the CD is an ad for Kramer, not other music of Vasks.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Hit & Run Holiday

Mozart: Symphony No. 40; Brahms: Symphony No. 2

Live: Real Deal [Live]

Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 2

Guitar Too, For Four (G2/44+x2)

R&B Soul

May I Come In?

Max Bruch: Oratorio Moses Op. 67

Magnificent Distance [Import]

Klassizische Moderne, Vol. 2

Late Date

Lo Aprendi de Ti

Historia Musical de Mexico, Vol. 3

For the Love of You

Voodoo