The music of Andrejs Selickis, a Latvian composer born in 1960, is something of a cultural crossroads. On beginning to listen to the first track on this disc, one might be forgiven for thinking that one was listening to a very refined choir singing Gregorian chant. It then becomes apparent that the text is in fact Slavonic, a setting of Ot yunosti moeya, from Byzantine-rite matins. The section after the doxology is polyphonic, somewhat reminiscent of the Russian medieval repertoire, but again with a distinctly Western quality, something emphasised by the astounding precision of the Latvian Radio Choir.

Monody is an essential characteristic of Selickis’s work; his melodic style clearly owes a great deal to Russian Znamenny chant and the booklet notes also point to his connections with Old Believer communities. Certainly the most mystical work here is Paradisus vocis, which in spite of its Latin title sets texts from the Bible and from the Orthodox Eucharistic Liturgy, as well as the teretismata of late Byzantine usage. This ambitious piece ranges from pure monody to long drone-accompanied melodic arcs to choral clusters and somewhat Tavenerian parallel chords, and while I am not entirely convinced that it is the sum of its parts, it has some extraordinarily effective moments. (Incidentally, the translation ‘The Holy Gifts – for the Saints!’ is misleading. ‘Holy things for the Holy’ would be correct.)

The influence of Russian chant and polyphony is also heard in My Soul is yearning for heaven, a setting of Yesenin, and here I am entirely convinced by the gradual build-up to its shattering climax. While the Cherubic Hymn, We sing to thee and Hymn to Light (actually a setting of the exaposteilarion for the Ascension) are liturgical pieces, and one can imagine them being used effectively in worship, O Crux Christi is very definitely a concert work, and the Litany to Mother Theresa even more so (it also makes use of the orchestra) – it is also the most clearly indebted of the pieces recorded here to the work of Arvo Pärt.

A fascinating introduction to the work of this talented composer, in superb performances recorded in St John’s Church in Riga.