A sound world that is at once distinctive, appealing and engaging: Maria Faust’s Mass of Mary on Estonia Record Productions

Maria Faust: Mass of Mary; Collegium Musicale, Helina Kuljus, Lili Kirikal, Oliver Povel, Maria Faust, Kirstjan Kungla, Indrek Vau, Andres Kontus, conductor: Endrik Üksvärav; Estonian Record Productions
Reviewed 16 July 2024

Jazz, chant and polyphony side-by-side in a remarkable Estonian mass dedicated to all victims of domestic violence

Maria Faust is an Estonian jazz artist and composer, and her work as a jazz saxophonist alongside that of conducting ensembles such as the Copenhagen Estonian Choir, and teaching composition and improvisation has all fed into her Mass of Mary. Written in 20202 the work is for chamber choir, vocal soloists and instrumental quartet, with choral music inspired by chant and polyphony alongside more jazz-influenced instrumental contributions.

On this recording from Estonian Record Productions (ERP), Maria Faust’s Mass of Mary is performed by the Estonian chamber choir Collegium Musicale with soloists Helina Kuljus (soprano), Lili Kirikal (soprano) and Oliver Povel (tenor), with Maria Faust (alto saxophone), Kirstjan Kungla (bassoon), Indrek Vau (trumpet) and Andres Kontus (trombone) conducted by Endrik Üksvärav.

The work uses the liturgical mass text – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei – interspersed with poetic texts compiled by Estonian playwright Eero Epner (born 1978) from works by Karl Ristikivi (1912-1977) and other poets. These movements – Mother, Child, Holy Spirit – explore the fragility of familial relationships in cases of victims of domestic violence, and the work is dedicated to all victims of domestic violence. Maria Faust says of her intentions for the piece, ‘This work does not blame or teach and does not propose solutions. Rather, it is a consolation, and is the least that I, as a composer and a human being, can do and give to society’.

The mass is not constructed like a typical choir and accompanying ensemble work, instead the choir and instrumental ensemble have different roles within the framework. It begins with a haunting, drone-inspired Kyrie for choir alone, a movement that is both touching and effective, looking both forward and back in the way she uses polyphonic techniques alongside older ones. 

Mother unaccompanied, modern treatment of folk-inspired material, links it to other contemporary Estonian choral works (the music of Veljo Tormis came to mind), when the voices are joined by the instruments, their insistency intensifies the moment. For all the disturbing narrative in Mother, about domestic violence, there is a thoughtfulness to both the words and the music. Sung in Estonian and with less than impeccable diction, it is however tricky to ascertain which passages Faust uses the instruments to highlight, but certainly the mix of two groups operating independently is striking.

Gloria sets up a rhythmic figure in the choir and then use this almost as an accompaniment to long-breathed melodic passages in the instruments, again creating rather a thoughtful atmosphere. This however expands as the instrumental contribution moves towards more free-flowing, composed jazz with striking flourishes in the instrumental lines. Credo is similarly multi-layered with different sections of the choir and the instruments creating separate lines with different metres and rhythmic pulses, the result is striking and at times hypnotic. 

Child begins with a soprano soloist singing almost a childish melody from which grows the movement. Again, a thoughtful almost mystical treatment of disturbing events, the striking chorale intensified by occasional instrumental contributions, again with Faust layering different ideas and timbres and towards the end introducing a quavering soprano line that ups the sense of disturbance.

Rather daringly Sanctus Benedictus begins with a long, rhythmically interesting, bassoon solo that expands into an instrumental peroration to which choral drones are at first discreetly added. This is very much about Faust’s sound-world and her need to evoke the intimate world explored in the work rather than being inspired by the liturgical context of the text. Gradual the rhythmic insistency of the original instrumental lines seems to be amplified by the singers as all come together in a distinctive ensemble before things unravel.

Holy Spirit, which begins with the chanting of two lines from the Code of Criminal Procedure, pairs the insistency of this chanting with more ingratiating instrumental lines, but then the text explores the woman’s reaction to there being no grounds for prosecution, using imaginative choral textures with instrumental punctuation as the music seems to gradually receded with repeated urging to forgive.

Agnus Dei returns us to the world of familiar Estonian contemporary choral textures, effective and evocative with an underpinning of a slow brass chorale.  The Agnus Dei uses the words of the Requiem rather than the regular mass, so we end with a thrilling prayer for rest, ‘Dona eis requiem’. The short Finale sets the intriguing words ‘Does man have a soul?’ in music that seems to steadily unwind

This is a remarkable work, one that receives a terrific performance from all concerned. The way that Maria Faust has mixed contemporary choral sounds inspired by chant and polyphony with instruments and jazz creates a remarkable mix. At first read, you might think that such mash-ups as the Hilliard Ensemble and Jan Garbarek’s Officium might be an influence, but not at all. Faust has her own agenda and creates a sound world that is at once distinctive, appealing and engaging. All in all, a remarkable new work.

Maria Faust (born 1979) – Mass of Mary (Maarja Missa)
Collegium Musicale
Helina Kuljus (soprano)
Lili Kirikal (soprano)
Oliver Povel (tenor)
Maria Faust (alto saxophone)
Kristjan Kungla (bassoon)
Indrek Vau (trumpet)
Andres Kontus (trombone)
Endrik Uksvarav (conductor)
Recorded in Arvo Part Centre (Estonia), 10-12 February 2022
ERP 12822 1CD [45:41]
Available on CD and on Vinyl