Vasks: Viatore / Distant Light / Voices

The works by Pēteris Vasks on this album are written for chamber string ensembles: his first symphony "Balsis – Voices" (1991), the haunting violin concerto "Tālā gaisma – Distant Light" (1996/97), and the piece dedicated to Arvo Pärt, "Viatore" (2001) – the latter in an arrangement for eleven solo strings by the conductor, church musician, and arranger Stefan Vanselow. The beauty that Vasks evokes in his works would not be possible without the experience of violence and cruelty. He grew up in an unfree society and was exposed to the reprisals of Soviet cultural doctrine due to his faith and artistic convictions. In this way, Vasks developed a vision of freedom and subtle protest in his music. With the so-called "Singing Revolution," the countries of the traditionally choral-minded Baltic states initiated their independence from Soviet rule. The success of Pēteris Vasks and his contemporaries Arvo Pärt and Erkki-Sven Tüür is a late satisfaction against the Stalinist ignorance of the Soviet cultural apparatchiks.