Tõnu Kõrvits „Moon atlas“ I Joel Remmel Trio • Tõnu Kõrvits "Kuu atlas"

“I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side.”

Specifically composed for Joel Remmel Trio, Tõnu Kõrvits’s new work “Moon Atlas” will premiere at the Arvo Pärt Centre during All Souls’ Season. The concerts on November 2nd and 3rd are part of the residency programme funded by the music endowment of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Joel Remmel (b. 1989) is one of the most prominent pianists of the younger generation on the Estonian jazz scene. He has collaborated with many Estonian musicians and groups, earning several prestigious music awards. Since 2011, he has led his own trio. Joel Remmel Trio (featuring Joel Remmel on piano, Heikko Remmel on double bass, and Ramuel Tafenau on drums) has given numerous concerts and released seven albums showcasing their distinctly Nordic poetic original compositions. In 2021, the trio was awarded the title of Jazz Ensemble of the Year at the Estonian Music Awards, and the following year, their album Kevad was chosen as Jazz Album of the Year. Joel Remmel Trio has also collaborated with various orchestras and participated in special projects with many jazz and pop musicians.

Tõnu Kõrvits (b. 1969) is one of Estonia’s most prominent composers. His music is characterised by a delicate atmosphere that captures a distinctly Northern essence, infused with romantic and Impressionistic influences. Poetic and visionary, Kõrvits’s works take listeners on hypnotic journeys through the landscapes of nature, folk tradition, and the depths of the human soul and subconscious.

At the Arvo Pärt Centre, Tõnu Kõrvits’s new piece for jazz trio, “Moon Atlas”, will have its premiere at two concerts during All Souls’ Season. The composer himself describes the work as a musical atlas of the Moon: “Several locations captured in the music actually exist on the Moon (Sea of Tranquility, Swamp of Dreams), while others exist only in music (Enchanted River, Valleys of Melancholy). The final movement, Eldorado, is named after a poem by Edgar Allan Poe:

And, as his strength

Failed him at length,

He met a pilgrim shadow—

‘Shadow,’ said he,

‘Where can it be—

This land of Eldorado?’

‘Over the Mountains

Of the Moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow,

Ride, boldly ride,’

The shade replied,—

‘If you seek for Eldorado!’