Zibuokle Martinaityte Choral Works Uniquely Beautiful
By Ralph Graves
This release was my introduction to the music of Žibuoklė Martinaitytė. This Lithuanian composer has built a following among contemporary music audiences. Martinaitytė’s music is all about atmosphere. And in these vocal works, it’s expressing emotion beyond words.
The opening track “Aletheia” was composed in 2022 for the Latvian Radio Choir. The shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine inspired the work. There’s no text. We hear sighs, whispers, moans, and other disquieting — but very human — sounds.
Imagine Gyorgy Ligeti’s “Atmosphères” crossed with the thick textures of Eric Whitacre. It’s a powerful work, and one of disturbing beauty.
Chant des Voyelles (2018), or, Incantation of Vowels is just that. Here Martinaitytė subtly shifts long, held tones. Overtones move, changing the character of the sounds in unobvious ways. The music seems suspended in time. And yet it’s continually evolving and moving forward.
Martinaitytė writes that her work “Ululations” portrays “mourning women whose men… are at war fighting and dying.” The ululations of the female voices provide the motivic structure of the work. And from those sounds the choir builds in quiet intensity.
The Blue of Distance is the earliest work on the album, dating from 2010. But it’s mature Martinaitytė. The wordless chorus creates a sensuous cloud of sound. One that continually swirls about itself, creating new combinations of tones and overtones.
The Latvian Radio Choir commissioned one of the works on this release. And their performance of “Aletheia” is nothing less than authoritative. And their singing on the other pieces even more so. This is a capella music — no instruments to lean on. And the music continually has tones a half-step apart. Their dissonances create sonic beats that are as much of the score as the written notes.
It takes singers of extraordinary skill to sing this music. If I was told they all had perfect pitch, I wouldn’t be surprised. For Martinaitytė’s music to deliver its full effect, every note must be sung perfectly. And that’s what we get on this release. Four perfectly-sung performances. And they create four soundscapes of exceptional beauty.
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė: ALETHEIA
Choral Works
Latvian Radio Choir; Sigvards Klava, conductor
Ondine ODE 1447-2
