ECM gravitates north: to Norway for jazz, to Estonia for classical music. The label’s New Series was defined by Arvo Pärt’s sparse minimalism back in the 1980s and Tonu Korvits is the latest Estonian composer to join the fold, with photos of wintry Tallinn and cold-looking lakes in the CD booklet as if to ensure the association. The music is likewise chilly and stark but not substantial enough to clinch the slow splendour at which it aims. Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and his Tallinn players are well versed in evoking picturesque, moody expanses, and in Labyrinths the pale strings circle and shift in and out of focus, all very icy and, at times, quite pretty. The misty chant of The Song of the Plainland and the whispering choir of Seven Dreams of Seven Birds are less easy to stomach; the best thing about this album is Anja Lechner’s deft cello playing in the brief and tender final piece, Laul.
