Rejoice Rejoice Rejoice

Vocal Score (English) -- Commissioned for the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir at the recommendatio of Nigel Haywood, then British ambassador to Estonia, to mark the occasion of the State visit to Estonia of Queen Elizabeth II in October of 2006. The work is dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. For his text Tulev made a compilation of lines and phrases from Centuries of Meditations by Thomas Traherne (1636?-1674). Traherne's magnificent prose poems had languished in manuscript for more than two centuries before they were discovered and published by Bertram Dobell in 1908. Tulev first encountered them through hearing Gerald Finzi's cantata "Dies Natalis. I had the idea for creating the Theatre of Voices Edition when my researches into Baltic repertoire suggested to me that far more wonderful music was being composed than existing publishing houses have recognized. It seemed to me there might be room for a new perspective, publishing fine music that I know singers enjoy singing and audiences enjoy hearing. TOVE will therefore present a very personal selection, but one rooted in the direct experience of knowing the composers and performing the music. And for similar reasons, TOVE will also be an outlet for my work in early music and in the strangely neglected field of 19th century English music. In addition, we will publish little books, pamphlets, and other musical miscellania, as time and opportunity affords. (Paul Hillier) -- Estonian composer Toivo Tulev was born in 1958. Edited by Hindemith.