In a few days, on 11 September, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt will turn 90. The Estonian Festival Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi, thought this was a good reason to congratulate him and recorded an album of well-known and lesser-known pieces by their compatriot for Alpha Classics: Arvo Pärt: Credo.

The Estonian musicians captivate the listener for almost an hour and 15 minutes with their selection of ten pieces. It is certainly no coincidence that La Sidone was chosen as the opening piece: with its simple, calm presentation, the composition invites the listener to relax while at the same time demanding their attention. This sharpens the senses for what follows. And that is Fratres in the version for string orchestra and percussion.

Fratres is one of Pärt's best-known works and has been heard thousands of times. Yet this performance is different. Järvi and the orchestra lend the notes a surprising intimacy and, at the same time, an intensity that gets under your skin – music as an experience. Or as contemplation and meditation?

Pärt's work is religiously influenced, which should not be forgotten. In Credo, the choir even sings of ‘Jesus Christ’ before quoting Bach's first movement of the Well-Tempered Clavier – the recording is also a journey through time through Pärt's work, and Credo comes from his phase of collage technique, which the Estonian explored for a while at the Moscow Conservatory in the 1960s. We now know that things turned out quite differently.

The musical ensemble, which includes the Estonian Festival Orchestra, the Estonian National Male Choir, the Ellerhein Girls' Choir, the Ellerhein Alumni Choir and pianist Kalle Randalu, gives the compositions a rich sound and astonishing volume. They also give them something else, something that Pärt himself once claimed for the performance of his works: love for the notes.

This devotion, openness and engagement with the music can also be heard in many passages of the recording. It exquisitely conveys the ensemble's mastery to the ear – even (or especially?) where, as in Credo from minute 6 onwards, the choirs, pianist and orchestra increasingly maximise the musical drama to a veritable explosion of sound.

The fact that something like this can be deciphered from bits and bytes is due in no small part to the excellent production of Arvo Pärt: Credo. The deep and wide stage, the precise positioning of the musicians, the finely tuned mix and the perfectly controlled dynamics ensure a clear, consistently transparent structure and a thoroughly captivating experience.

Arvo Pärt: Credo is a first-class recording with which the Estonian Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi and Alpha Classic present the jubilarian with a gift, for they succeed in giving Pärt's compositions acoustic wings. All the best! (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Kalle Randalu, piano
Estonian National Male Choir
Ellerhein Girls’ Choir
Ellerhein Alumni Choir
Estonian Festival Orchestra
Paavo Järvi, conductor