2020 - Estonia
Modern Classical, Post-Minimalism
“Simplicity, imagination, and the connection to one’s inner universe”, these are the words used to define Kristjan Järvi’s first orginal work, a beautiful atmospheric album where the Estonian composer goes back to its beloved roots. The very first track, In Horizons, is the guiding introduction. The electro-acoustic sounds start resonating from an undistinct place, where everything’s meshed together, till we finally clear the horizon to see those numerous melodies and a female voice convoluting around each other. This is our entry to land of northern lights, all coming from far away in the sky, with their flavour of unknown. It’s Nebula. My favourite music piece of the album is centered on the fabulous violin play by David Nebel, finding notes we surely never thought of.
We become a spirit. Nature doesn’t bear a single obstacle for us, it all flows very gently and very quietly towards those genuine landscapes that we keep imagining throughout the song. We are a spirit on a journey towards something we haven’t found yet. But it surely is something that has to do with beauty. Because if we can feel a profound nostalgia on a track like Kirbu Epiphany, written for his childhood town Pärnu, there is no sadness. This orchestral and romantic minimalism quite reminiscent of some of the greatest melodies of Max Richter are coming to our ears so those landscapes do not feel cold. They don’t feel discordant either. They don’t feel unfamiliar. Because even if Järvi is writing his music while thinking about his country, what we see while listening to his music is nothing more but our own memories.
This is the kind of music that points at our brightest memories and fantasies. It helps your chest breathe in a sooting manner, calming you down till you finally reach Aurora, elevating your journey as an appeased spirit to new levels of serenity. But this is not an album denying reality. This is not an album hiding pain. This is an album focusing on light, where lies the motivation to go further, to explore your inner world and find the dark places where things need kindness. In a way, Nordic Escapes helps you find the lightest joy to deal with what might come next in your life. It helps you face pain by accepting it, because you have the sound of beauty by your side, and the only way to heal is to reunite with this feeling, in order to open your eyes wider and wider, till you finally meet your human self in all its splendour.
About Runic Prayer :
If there’s a song here that sounds the most ancient, it certainly is Runic Prayer, both timeless and spaceless. The first notes you hear convey that feeling of mystery while you enter this very old world that has open its gates. Liisi Koikson sings her hymn to nature and everlasting emotions. An otherwordly sanctuary has been found, and you can picture his thick walls and open door letting nature coming in, with green branches in the summer and heavy snow in the winter.
We become a spirit. Nature doesn’t bear a single obstacle for us, it all flows very gently and very quietly towards those genuine landscapes that we keep imagining throughout the song. We are a spirit on a journey towards something we haven’t found yet. But it surely is something that has to do with beauty. Because if we can feel a profound nostalgia on a track like Kirbu Epiphany, written for his childhood town Pärnu, there is no sadness. This orchestral and romantic minimalism quite reminiscent of some of the greatest melodies of Max Richter are coming to our ears so those landscapes do not feel cold. They don’t feel discordant either. They don’t feel unfamiliar. Because even if Järvi is writing his music while thinking about his country, what we see while listening to his music is nothing more but our own memories.
This is the kind of music that points at our brightest memories and fantasies. It helps your chest breathe in a sooting manner, calming you down till you finally reach Aurora, elevating your journey as an appeased spirit to new levels of serenity. But this is not an album denying reality. This is not an album hiding pain. This is an album focusing on light, where lies the motivation to go further, to explore your inner world and find the dark places where things need kindness. In a way, Nordic Escapes helps you find the lightest joy to deal with what might come next in your life. It helps you face pain by accepting it, because you have the sound of beauty by your side, and the only way to heal is to reunite with this feeling, in order to open your eyes wider and wider, till you finally meet your human self in all its splendour.
About Runic Prayer :
If there’s a song here that sounds the most ancient, it certainly is Runic Prayer, both timeless and spaceless. The first notes you hear convey that feeling of mystery while you enter this very old world that has open its gates. Liisi Koikson sings her hymn to nature and everlasting emotions. An otherwordly sanctuary has been found, and you can picture his thick walls and open door letting nature coming in, with green branches in the summer and heavy snow in the winter.