Tampere Vocal 2023 / Tampereen Sävel 2023 Vancouver Chamber Choir

”Concluding the programme, Veljo Tormis's riveting Raua needmine (Curse upon Iron, 1972) was heard in powerhouse outing under Markus Luomala, joined by Kaljuste on shaman drum. A timeless tableau, musing upon the inherent tendency of all human invention to boil down to tools and weapons, the music is rooted in anchient chants and magic charms, reinvented in twentieth-century choral context. Genuinely dramatic and profoundly ritualistic, the score is a feast of nuanced texture and harmonic color, calling forth relentless commitment and full-scale vocal agility. A befitting finale for a marvelous evening of choral masterstrokes, Raua needmine brought the house down.” (Jari Kallio 16/06/2023)