The rather novelistic title Kreek's Notebook refers to one Cyrillus Kreek, an Estonian counterpart to Bartók and Kodály who collected and arranged folk tunes, especially the unusual local genre of folk hymns. These were local chorale-like melodies for Protestant services, somewhat akin to American folk hymns. Kreek's arrangements remain popular among Estonian choirs, and it's not surprising that the centerpiece of this release is a collection of pieces based on his notebook, by contemporary composer Tönu Körvits. This is an ...
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The rather novelistic title Kreek's Notebook refers to one Cyrillus Kreek, an Estonian counterpart to Bartók and Kodály who collected and arranged folk tunes, especially the unusual local genre of folk hymns. These were local chorale-like melodies for Protestant services, somewhat akin to American folk hymns. Kreek's arrangements remain popular among Estonian choirs, and it's not surprising that the centerpiece of this release is a collection of pieces based on his notebook, by contemporary composer Tönu Körvits. This is an unusually successful work of its type, for the folk material is used in a great variety of ways and expresses the sacred texts in unusually direct and powerful ways. Sometimes it is close to Ives, sometimes to Copland, sometimes to Britten, sometimes to Arvo Pärt, sometimes to structures where a folk tune at the beginning furnishes a discrete set of pitches, and sometimes to nothing else at all, with unexpected influences from American blues and rock. The work touches off a series...
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