On this new release the Baltic Baroque Ensemble presents four delightful and not so well-known sonatas by Antonio Vivaldi for two violins with optional basso continuo. The Sonata, RV 70 was Vivaldi's first chamber sonata for two violins, if desired, to be played without the bass.

The Best of Arsis Bells

René Eespere’s (b. 1953, Tallinn) work since the end of the 1970s, accounting for some aesthetic changes, involves tonal mode treatment, ostinato technique and elaborate use of variation, suggesting influences of ancient ritual music, minimalism and the Baroque. Chamber works and concerti rank among his most significant output. This two-disc set of chamber works for guitar includes music written between 1991-2013. The Concerto for Guitar features the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and conductor Paul Mägi.

Cantus angelicus

Resurrection of Mozart

DeusExClavier

In the context of Estonian violin music, Tubin composed many of the most outstanding works, including 2 violin concertos, 2 violin sonatas with piano, Sonata for Solo Violin and Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes, as well as a number of shorter pieces. Tubin's works, with their crisp, northerly expression, are profoundly national in character. Sigrid Kuulmann studied at the Estonian Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and at Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf. She is a Laureate of Heino Eller International Violin Competition in Tallinn and is gaining further accolades for her performances of Estonian music, especially in Eduard Tubin's works.

The roots of handbells as musical instruments go back to the 17th century England where the first miniature copies of church bells were cast. First designed as practice instruments for the carillon players, they soon acquired the status of independent musical instruments called handbells. Arsis Handbell Ensemble, formed in 1993 from the singers of Arsis Chamber Choir, consists today of eight professional players and has one of the biggest handbell collections in the world. Arsis can boast of an impressive list of concert tours that have taken them to Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and the USA.

The Estonian National Male Choir RAM was founded by the founder of Estonian choral music Gustav Ernesaks in 1944. Originally a male choir specializing in a cappella repertoire, it has grown into a world-renown professional performer of oratorial works. RAM has given more than 6000 concerts all over Estonia, in the former USSR, in Europe as well as in Israel, Canada and the USA. The Orchestra of the Estonian Defense Forces is a state ceremonial orchestra founded on February 1st, 1993, re-established with the Estonian Defense Forces after the country had regained it's independence.

As a featured soloist and composer, Kristjan Randalu has performed in classical, jazz, and crossover Projects. He has worked with Quincy Jones, David Liebman, Christian McBride, Vince Mendoza, Dennis Russell Davies, and Maria Schneider. While at the Henry Mancini Institute, Kristjan Randalu performed on the two-time Grammy nominated Concord Jazz album "Elevation".

Rene Eespere gained recognition in his native Estonia in the 1970s and 80s for his vocal symphonic opuses, works for the stage and his music for children. The most significant among his instrumental works are seven concerti and chamber music. This CD presents chamber works written from 2002 to 2009. It is entitled Februa, alluding to the Roman festival of purification, in which sadness and a state of mourning take the listener on a journey to a sun-filled place of beauty and peace.

Handbell music tradition in Estonia began in 1993 with the foundation of Arsis Handbell Ensemble. The youth groups presented on this release have grown out of Arsis Handbell School, all the players being selected alumni. The older staff of the Youth Ensemble has been performing since 2003, and has toured Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and the USA. The younger one, formed in 2006, has given a number of concerts in Estonia and Finland. The conductor of the ensembles is the artistic director and the founder of Arsis Handbell School maestro Aivar Me�e.

Sigrid Kuulmann started her violin studies at the age of seven. She studied at the Estonian Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and at Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf. Her teachers include Tiiu Pe�ske, Yfrah Neaman and Rosa Fain, a former pupil of David Oistrakh. Sigrid Kuulmann is a laureate of Heino Eller International Violin Competition in Tallinn and is gaining further accolades for her performances of Estonian music, especially in Eduard Tubin's works. She has performed as a soloist with conductors Neeme Je�rvi, Andres Mustonen etc, and given recitals in England, Germany, Scandinavia and Estonia.

• The Maria Magdalena oratorio is based on the Coptic Codex. • Composer Peeter Vähi is considered one of the most original contemporary composers in Estonia, employing a musical language comprising Oriental and Western, avant-garde and archaic, acoustic and electronic music without falling prey to eclecticism. • The Latvian National Symphony is lead by conductor Risto Joost.

Maarika Je�rvi has performed with many well-known orchestras of the world. She has participated in several recordings among her CD "Meditations" released on Chandos. Maarika has also performed and recorded all the most important Estonian concert compositions for flute, several of those premiered by her. Accompanied by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of her brother Kristjan Je�rvi, Maarika presents a fine selection of modern Estonian flute music.