Swedish Radio Choir, Peter Dijkstra - Nordic Sounds 2 (2012)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time - 76:10 minutes | 1,72 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time - 76:10 minutes | 1,32 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Digital booklet
Following on the success of their Nordic Sounds release, Peter Dijkstra and the Swedish Radio Choir return with a second volume of music in the series, this time focusing on the use of traditional Swedish folk songs in contemporary choral music. The disc's repertoire ranges from Jan Sandstrom's arrangements of improvised folk songs of the Sami people - whose singing is among the earliest continuing vocal traditions of Europe - to recent works such as the sixteen-part Kosijat by Jaakko Mantyjarvi, one of the best-known contemporary composers in Finland. The disc concludes with Anders Hillborg's twelve-minute Muoayiayaoum which explores a phonetic sequence of vowels that open and close. The level of vocal virtuosity that Dijkstra elicits from his singers is breathtaking and the choir's performances are a lesson in vocal precision.