Žibuoklė Martinaitytė
Aletheia; Chant des Voyelles; Ululations; The Blue of Distance
Latvian Radio Choir/Sigvards Kļava
Ondine ODE-1447-2 59:39 mins
Clip: Žibuoklė Martinaitytė - Chant des voyelles (Ondine)
These works go beyond words. This latest release from the superlative Latvian Radio Choir and conductor Sigvards Kļava explores the choral music of New York-based Lithuanian composer Žibuolkė Martinaitytė. Specifically, it presents four unaccompanied works, written between 2010 and 2023, that dispense with text. Having spent her formative years under the oppression of Soviet rule, music’s ability to express what words cannot is paramount in Martinaitytė’s creative explorations of identity and place. Especially so for Aletheia (2022), written as Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. Its deep emotions elicit a wall of choral sound within which there is living movement, Martinaitytė connecting with ‘the truth that can only be expressed directly through pre-verbal communication’.
Written a year later, Ululations sadly makes a natural partner to Aletheia, giving voice to the consequent mourning. Initially dolefully elegiac, the female singers’ coruscating outburst to halt the men’s rhythmic insistence is an extraordinary moment. Chant des Voyelles (2018) sustains a contrastingly positive sense of simply being, while the more quizzical The Blue of Distance (2010) ebbs and flows, objects drifting in and out of focus.
The extensive conceptual and technical challenges are negotiated with deceptive ease by the choir. While it is natural to present these four works together, their individual potency may be enhanced still further in a mixed programme. Nonetheless, this album presents a powerfully compelling, stunningly sung, hour of immersive listening to a distinctive and important musical voice. Christopher Dingle