M/S ESTONIA IN MEMORIAM August 28

In September 1994, one of the biggest maritime disasters of our time took place. Ferry and passenger vessel M/S Estonia sunk on its way between Tallinn and Stockholm, and 852 people lost their lives. Almost exactly 25 years later, the Radio Choir and conductor Tõnu Kaljuste remember and honour the victims of the tragic accident in a numinous concert.

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Around 9.00 a.m. on Wednesday the 28th of September, 1994, the last survivors were saved from M/S Estonia, which had sunk in the middle of the night. Out of 989 passengers, only 137 survived. More than half were Swedish, almost 300 were Estonian, and there were Latvians, Finns, and people of nationalities from across the world. Three years later, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi had completed his choral piece Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae, “a meditation” as he describes the piece himself, but as such, very dramatic.

Three texts form the foundation of the piece: the Catholic funeral mass, the Book of Psalm’s hymn 107, and a news broadcast about the accident from Nuntii Latini, a programme that broadcasts world news in classical Latin on Finnish national radio. A soloist from the choir intones the news text against a thundering drone, a wordless melody that is reminiscent of an old sailor’s song, and with the requiem lyrics as the dirge: “May eternal light shine on them, Lord.” Fiery whispers mimic the murmur of the stormy sea, and of the communication radio of M/S Estonia that, 29 minutes past midnight, sent its final message. “Have mercy, Lord,” laments the choir.

The lyrics from the Book of Hymns take over with a restlessly billowing motif that follows most of the piece: “Others went on ships across the sea, and traded on the vast waters.” Sharp dissonances depict metal being torn and snapped, like the ship’s bow visor when it became an open, bleeding wound to the merciless sea. A rhythmical middle section like a Morse code SOS call: “They were thrown against the sky and the depths, courage failed them in danger.” In the end, everyone cries out their despair to God, who calms the sea again. But for the passengers of M/S Estonia, no safe port awaited, only eternal rest: “Requiem Aeternam.”

One of the pieces that Mäntyjärvi was inspired by was Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-night Vigil. It’s a setting to music of texts from the eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches’ night-time mass celebrated ahead of big festivals. Composers like Tchaikovsky and Rautavaara have written similar compositions, but Rachmaninoff’s is the best known, and many consider it among his best works. It was also Rachmaninoff’s own favourite, alongside choral symphony The Bells, and at his funeral, the fifth movement was performed: “Lord, now you let your servant go home in peace, as you have promised.” Of the 15 movements, the sixth, Bogoroditse Devo or Ave Maria, has also – not least in Sweden – become a beloved concert piece. The whole piece breathes a warm and fervent spirituality, trust and hope for all those who yearn and miss.

Text: David Saulesco

SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR

2019/2020

Participants

Swedish Radio Choir

32 professional choristers make up the Swedish Radio Choir: a unique, dynamic instrument hailed by music-lovers and critics all over the world. The Swedish Radio Choir performs at Berwaldhallen, concert hall of the Swedish Radio, as well as on tours all over the country and the world. Also, they are heard regularly by millions of listeners on Swedish Radio P2, Berwaldhallen Play and globally through the EBU.

The award-winning Latvian conductor Kaspars Putniņš was appointed Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir in 2020. Since January 2019, its choirmaster is French orchestral and choral conductor Marc Korovitch, with responsibility for the choir’s vocal development.

The Swedish Radio Choir was founded in 1925, the same year as Sweden’s inaugural radio broadcasts, and gave its first concert in May that year. Multiple acclaimed and award-winning albums can be found in the choir’s record catalogue. Late 2023 saw the release of Kaspars Putniņš first album with the choir: Robert Schumann’s Missa sacra, recorded with organist Johan Hammarström.

Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor

Tõnu Kaljuste är bekant för den svenska publiken efter sin tid som Radiokörens chefsdirigent åren 1994–2001. I november 2019 utnämndes han till hedersdirigent för Radiokören, en ensemble som fortfarande står honom nära. Han är konstnärlig ledare för Tallinns kammarorkester och Tallinn Philharmonic Society, chefsdirigent för Nederländska kammarkören och sedan 2004 konstnärlig ledare för estniska operafestivalen Nargen Festival. Kaljuste har bidragit starkt till att öppna de nordiska öronen för musik från de baltiska länderna. Han är en erkänd uttolkare av bland andra Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis, Alfred Schnittke och Krzysztof Penderecki och har arbetat nära flera av Europas främsta moderna tonsättare. Han grundade med drygt tio års mellanrum Estlands filharmoniska kammarkör och Tallinns kammarorkester, som båda blivit mycket framgångsrika och uppträder på världens stora konsertscener och festivaler. Han har gjort flera prisbelönade inspelningar som Grammy-belönade Adam’s Lament.

Marc Korovitch, Choirmaster

Chief conductor of the Jeune Choeur de Paris, he started a collaboration with the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart in 2013 (including a recording of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé), and also works regularly with the Chœur de Radio-France and the Choeur Accentus since 2014, for tours, radio performances, recordings, preparations and A Cappella concerts. He collaborates with many personalities, such as Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniele Gatti, Louis Langrée, Stéphane Denève, Daniel Harding, Laurence Equilbey, L. G. Alarcon… He has also conducted the WDR Rundfunkchor in 2016. In July 2016, he has prepared both the SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart and the NDR Chor for Berlioz’s Romeo et Juliette. In 2017, he has participate to the opening of the Seine Musical conducting the choir accentus and in 2018, he starts a collaboration with the Croatian Radio Choir. Korovitch works for many festivals: the Mozartwoche in Salzburg, Recontres Musicales d’Evian, the Festival de Radio-France in Montpellier or the festival Mozart in New York.