Pēteris Vasks

Three orchestral works by the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, written between 2002 and 2009 and played by the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra under Atvars Lakstīgala. Two of them are for full orchestra, one for strings. Vasks rejects art for art's sake in favour of art for mankind, and calls music a language of the soul, closest to the divine.

Vasks was born on 16 April 1946 in Aizpute, in western Latvia, and spent most of his life under Soviet rule. The recordings were made at the Liepāja Latvian Society House: Credo on 8-9 January 2014, Sala and Musica appassionata on 20-22 May 2014. Normunds Slava was the engineer and editor, and Lutz Lesle wrote the booklet notes. The three pieces together last about an hour.

Sala (Island), a symphonic elegy from 2006, was commissioned through the Magnum Opus project by three California orchestras: the Marin, Santa Rosa and Oakland East Bay symphonies. The Marin Symphony under Alasdair Neale gave the first performances in January 2007. The conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony heard in it the sounds of nature, long fluid lines and modal melodies close to a Baltic folk tune. He also pointed to its asymmetric 3+2 rhythm and to echoes of Latvia's neighbours, Sibelius to the north and Shostakovich from Russia. Yet he found that its emotional immediacy gave it a language of its own. Musica appassionata (2002) for string orchestra begins, unusually for Vasks, loud and resolute. The agitated opening gives way to a calm pianissimo texture, then turns restless and threatening. After a general rest the strings rise to a collective climax that breaks off at its peak, leaving contemplation and a quiet prayer.

Credo (2009) was premiered in 2010. In his programme note Vasks described a central episode in two parts. A prayer of profound belief grows in power, then sharp attacks on the tom-toms open an accelerating climax. The piece is crowned by a hymn-like song of praise for the power of love, and fades away on a radiant melody. The disc belongs to Wergo's series devoted to Vasks.

CD, Wergo WER 7323 2, released in 2015.