Estonian choral culture ready to debut with wide-ranging repertoire

Hong Kong audiences will be able to see a performance of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir for the first time at this year's Arts Festival.

'To introduce the best of Estonian choral culture to Hong Kong, we have music by Veljo Tormis and Cyrillus Kreek,' said Anneli Unt, general manager of the choir. 'And of course we have Arvo Part - the most famous living composer from Estonia.'

Often being compared with more traditional sacred music, some of Part's later choral works are based on sacred texts.

Described by Part as tintinnabuli, meaning bells, the compositional style comes from the composer's exploration and experimentation of chant music.

Written with a slow and meditative tempo, Part's music might seem quiet to classical music listeners. Despite that, Ms Unt said the composer's choral music had been well received by audiences in Asia.

The choir has previously performed Part's music in Japan, Taiwan and Macau. 'There is definitely an interest in Arvo Part in Asia,' Ms Unt said. 'At least in Japan, his music has been played by several orchestras in the past.'

Part's choral music will be featured prominently in the two-day programme: Bogoroditse Djevo, Dopo la Vittoria and Nunc Dimittis on February 26 and Magnificat and Da Pacem Domine on February 27.