April 2000

Tormis
Litany to Thunder
ECM New Series

By Josef Woodard

Tormis artfully traverses Estonian folk influence, without quoting it, on several pieces, closing with the disarmingly elemental piece for two sopranos and piano, "The Lost Geese." Like much of Arvo Part's music, the repetitions and respect for sonic space in this piece, alone, burrows into the mind's ear and seems to alter preconceptions of how to listen to music.