Magical concerts with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir by Bastien Masset - Tenor

Having the chance to be selected for the Tenso CONNECT this coming season, I spent 10 days in December in Tallinn in Estonia.

I was immediately struck by the surreal light of early winter when I arrived in this beautiful city, which I was discovering for the first time. Perhaps it's this very light and cold that brings Estonians together to sing inspiring songs.

Along with my 3 fantastic colleagues Sharon, Lisa and Buğra, we were welcomed by Esper Linnamägi, the managing director of the EPCC. He showed us the administrative areas and the rehearsal room where the magic happens.

Then we got straight down to business with Mai Simson in Mozart's Vespers of the Confessor, which I'd already sung several times, and Haydn's Harmonie Messe, which I had just discovered. Like my tenor colleagues, this mass is full of humor, good humor and lightness.

Thanks to Esper, we were lucky enough to be able to visit the Arvo Pärt Center a few kilometers from Tallinn the following day. The documentation center is located in an enchanting spot on a singing peninsula in a magnificent Estonian forest. I was struck by the care and dedication with which the center is run. The concert hall is a marvel of acoustics and design, and the Orthodox chapel invites meditation.

Rehearsals then resumed with maestro Tõnu Kaljuste and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. The crisp sound of this ensemble shook the walls of the magnificent Black Head House in Tallinn's historic center.  

At Estonia kontserdisaal, we took the opportunity to record a lullaby by Ukrainian composer Lesia Tymkovska as a Christmas present for the Ukrainian people. I was touched by the simplicity of the music and the approach. I then sent the youtube link of the recording to my Ukrainian friends, who were extremely moved. It's not every day you get to feel the power of emotion that our profession can arouse.  

We also worked on a Sibelius encore adapted into Estonian. This gave me the opportunity to study the pronunciation of Estonian, which has a very rich vowel system but sounds somewhat different to my Western European ears.

The concerts in Tallinn and Tartu rounded off an intense but highly formative week in Northern Europe. I was struck by the extremely respectful listening and the emotion of the audience, which bursts into applause. The radio recording enabled my family and friends to share this unique moment with me from a distance.

I'm looking forward to continuing the Tenso CONNECT program this year and discovering what else they have in store for us.

Varsti kohtumiseni Tallinnas või mujal!

Bastien Masset

www.bastienmasset.ch