Ēriks Ešenvalds
Ēriks Ešenvalds’s choral writing favours luminous harmony, clear textures and a contemplative response to nature and sacred text. Works such as Stars show how carefully he colours the choir’s sound.
A former singer with the State Choir Latvija, he shapes vocal lines with an insider’s ear for breath, blend and sonority. Sacred words and images of the natural world run through much of his catalogue, which is built mainly for choir, whether a cappella or with instruments. Beside that core he also writes for other forces, and his music turns up in brass programmes as well as on choral discs. From 2011 to 2013 he held a creative fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge; he teaches composition at the Latvian Academy of Music.
Compositions by Ēriks Ešenvalds appear on
Victoria Brass Live
A top-class Australian brass band under Matthew van Emmerik in a full, varied programme of innovative repertoire: two world premieres, three Australasian premieres, and some well-loved classics.
Luminescence
Light is integral to colour, and musical integrity is often described in terms of its colour or luminescence. Celebrating Canticum’s 21st birthday, the programme seeks composers whose music shows a particular sensitivity to the choral instrument and to beautiful text.