In 1917 Kreek returned to his home town to teach and direct choirs. He briefly held stints as professor at the Tallinn conservatory in 1940-41 and 1944-50, but was forced to leave that position during Soviet occupation as he was labeled a 'bourgeois nationalist’ by the government.
Urve Lippus says, "Kreek, with Mart Saar and Heino Eller, was particularly influential in the creation of a nationalistic Estonian musical style. His compositions make abundant use of classical contrapuntal techniques, but combine modal features with complex tonal chords and sequences. Harmonies, while never departing from a tonal basis, are often used colouristically and are frequently governed by linear part-writing." Kreek also established the Estonian tradition of large-scale choral writing which is still used by Estonian composers today.
Urve Lippus says, "Kreek, with Mart Saar and Heino Eller, was particularly influential in the creation of a nationalistic Estonian musical style. His compositions make abundant use of classical contrapuntal techniques, but combine modal features with complex tonal chords and sequences. Harmonies, while never departing from a tonal basis, are often used colouristically and are frequently governed by linear part-writing." Kreek also established the Estonian tradition of large-scale choral writing which is still used by Estonian composers today.
Folk MusicThe vast majority of his work is based upon folk music. His output contains nearly 700 folk tunes, 500 chorales, and a dozen instrumental suites based on Estonian dance and song tunes. "Kreek made use of folk melodies in a humble and conservative fashion. They act almost as cantus firmuses, and are used only in their original form." (emic.ee)
Together with Mart Saar, the two are credited with, "establishing the distinctive Estonian choral style, based on somewhat irregular rhythms of Estonian folk song and freely incorporating the rich vertical sonorities and chromatic flavoring often employed by their Russian teachers." (Strimple, 164) The sacred folk song is important to Kreek's work. According to Wolverton, the vernacular folk song is a phenomenon of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Nordic countries where the Lutheran church was influential. "By definition, the religious folk song is a vernacular adaptation of a German Lutheran chorale in which text, tune and harmony are to approximate a particular local national aesthetic" (Wolverton, 10). (See example 1.) Kreek was interested in both sacred and secular folk music. His compositional style incorporates the modal characteristics of the original Estonian folk material. Kreek's folksong collections are held in the Estonian Folklore Archives, Literary Museum, Tartu. Important Choral MusicEstonian Requiem (1927)
Kreek's Requiem Mass is his most famous choral composition and is based upon themes largely derived from Estonian folk song. His is the first example of a Requiem setting by an Estonian composer. It is set to an Estonian translation of the text used in the Mozart Requiem. [Tenor solo, SATB chorus, orchestra, organ]. Taaveti laulud (Psalms of David) (1914-1944) Kiida, mu hing, Issandat (Bless the Lor, O my Soul - Ps 104), (1923) Onnis on inimene (Happy is the man - Ps 1,2,3), (1923) Issand, ma hüüan su poole (O Lord, I call to you - Ps 141), (1923) Päeval ei pea päikene sind vaevama (The sun will not strike you by day - Ps 121), (1923) (Shrock, 643). Religious Folk Songs for Three-Part Women's Voices (1931-1937) There are 443 of these songs in Kreek's oeuvre. They are characterized by dotted rhythms and diatonic harmonies and are staples in Esontian churches (Wolverton, 11). (See example 2.) Canons for mixed choir on religious folk songs (1935-1949) There are 150 canons by Kreek (Wolverton, 11). (See example 3.) MultimediaMeie err (Our Master) - folk song for male choir
Taaveti laul "Õnnis on inimene" Psalm 104 - Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Vaimulikud Rahvaviisid, part 1 - Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Back to Composers of Note Shrock, Dennis. "Russia and Estonia." Choral Repertoire. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. 638-53. Lippus, Urve. "Kreek, Cyrillus." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. Strimple, Nick. Choral Music in the Twentieth Century. Portland, Or.: Amadeus, 2002. "Estonian Composers." Eesti Muusika Infokeskus. Estonian Music Information Center. <http://www.emic.ee/estonian-composers>. Wolverton, Vance D. "Baltic Portraits: Cyrillus Kreek - An Estonian Original." Choral Journal Sept (1999): 9-15. |
Estonian Music Center www.emic.ee/cyrillus-kreek
Biography Works List (Vocal/Choral) |