Estonian National Symphony Orchestra performs Vellum (2020)
Repečkaitė’s composition Vellum (2020) will be performed by Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under the baguette of Clement Power during at Baltic and Estonian Music Days on the 26th of April, 2024 in Tallinn and on the 28th of April, 2024 in Tartu.The latter will be live broadcasted by Klassikaraadio, LR3 Klasika, LRT Klasika and transferred across Europe through the EBU (European Broadcasting Union). Vellum will be performed again this year at Paris Philharmonic by Orchestra Pasdeloup. Commissioned by the festival Gaida, Vellum was premiered by Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anu Tali on the 30th of October, 2020 in the Congress Hall, Vilnius.
The Estonian National Symphony Orchestra presents poignant new orchestral works from Estonia and the Baltic countries. The concert is conducted by the British conductor Clement Power, who is well-known for his interpretations of contemporary music, the soloist is an outstanding Estonian cellist Valle-Rasmus Roots.
PROGRAMME:
Margo Kõlar – …just one word… (1999)
Liisa Hõbepappel – New Work (2023, world premiere)
Age Veeroos – New Work for cello and orchestra (2023, world premiere)
Linda Leimane – Enantiomorphic chambers
Justina Repečkaitė – Vellum
Marius Baranauskas – New Work (2023, world premiere)
René Eespere – Cantus (2003)
Estonian Music Days is the most important continuously held contemporary music festival in Estonia. Over the decades it has become undeniably the most significant platform for Estonian composers, new musical creations, and artistic growth. What makes the festival unique is the abundance of premieres of Estonian composers’ newly commissioned works.
In 2024 Tartu is the cultural capital of Europe. Therefore the festival Estonian Music Days will join forces with three neighboring countries to become a larger event that unites Baltic and Estonian Music Days. In addition to recognized Estonian ensembles and soloists, musicians from Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland are also expected.
The Festival Baltic and Estonian Music Days is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.
Vellum (2020) for orchestra
Program note
Vellum is a “membrane” or animal skin, – a parchment to write on, widely employed in the medieval ages. In the composition, vellum material symbolizes the drum membrane, as the vibrational modes of percussive instruments are utilized to craft a harmonic structure, akin to writing a manuscript on vellum. The vibrational modes of untuned percussion, employed for harmony in the orchestra, are prolonged and pulsating in accordance with their frequencies, contrasting with the more noisy-percussive and whispering expressions. The distinctive composition parts are fading in and out until the arrival of the climax where whole sound of the hybrid instrument is illuminated. Untuned percussive instruments take the lead in the composition with sustained sounds. Metal instruments are prepared by coupling them with drums, enhancing the overall sound and altering the material itself. It is an allusion to a written word transforming a piece of parchment into a manuscript.
Justina Repečkaitė
Read reviews on Vellum HERE.
