Symphony No. 7 ‘Pietas’ (2009)
(for mixed choir and orchestra)

A few years ago, Paavo Järvi proposed that I write a large-scale orchestral piece, which would also involve a choir. I agreed instantly – I had never tried the “choral symphony” genre before. Developing the general concept and architecture of form, however, was considerably more time-consuming. I wanted the orchestra to perform the intense developments and the choir to present isolated passages as if from “another reality”, remaining transparent, brief, aphoristic. I compiled the lyrics from quotes from different historical eras and cultural backgrounds authored by more or less famous persons and ranging from Buddha to Jimi Hendrix. And yet, when I read those lines as a uniform text corps, it seemed that they might well have been written by a single person. The unifying keywords are “compassion” and “love”. This also inspired the subtitle of the symphony, “Pietas”, which broadly means compassion in Latin.

(The term “pietas” has so many nuances that it would be difficult to provide a single translation, but its essence could be something like “pious duty towards fellow men” that would definitely include compassion and pain. This word encompassed a certain deep human tenderness in Antique Rome where it was used to designate the relationship between parents and children, the living and the dead, people and gods, as well as in Latin Christianity, where “pietas” involves the same associations, but is usually translated simply as “piety” or “devoutness”  (Marju Lepajõe, Faculty of Theology, Tartu University))

In broad terms the whole symphony comprises four “waves”, each one longer than the previous. The first wave is dominated by a cold and brilliant texture inspired by micro-polyphonic techniques, performed mainly by woodwind instruments, Glockenspiel and a vibraphone. The texture is imbued by “pillars of chords” that seemingly halt the flow of musical time. In addition to woodwind instruments, they are mainly played by strings; the next “pillars of chords” also include brass instruments. In a musical sense the entire ensuing development occurs as a result of the “friction” between these contrasting texture elements.

After the first choir lines (We are what we think...) begins the second, much more intense wave. The final line of the choir segment that follows the second wave (an eye for an eye...) inspired the character of the third wave and its slowly growing aggressiveness. With a slight simplification, I may say that it is a sort of psychological–musical portrait of a world without love and all that entails. It is unavoidable that once a text is used, even if only minimally, it starts to create meanings for an otherwise abstract musical material. In the traditional “symphonic-semantic” meaning the third wave is the Scherzo movement.

The next, most extensive choir passage is introspective and smoothly develops into the fourth wave that then forms the final culmination.

I composed this music pursuant to the principles of the self-designed vectorial method, which I adopted since writing “Oxymoron” in 2003. In the seventh symphony the principle key code is 1-2-4-2-1.

The seventh symphony “Pietas” is dedicated to Tenzin Gyatso and his lifelong endeavours.

Erkki-Sven Tüür
(Translation Pirjo Püvi)