Central to Vask's work are human beings and nature. The beauty of nature versus the threat of it, and the human role in it. His human and cultural image is therefore not very optimistic. However, in his work Vasks expresswes wonder and beauty. Especially in his early compositions. The choral work Mate Saule (Mother Sun) from 1975 is one such work. It seems nothing but an evocation of a sun with sparse melodies that break away from the sound as halos and sun breaking through the clouds. Meanwhile, this work is also a piece that is exemplary for the later choral works of Vasks. Although the piece is almost entirely diatonic, drop the instrumental notation for the votes and nice dissonant textures right on. These are things that Vasks in his later work refined and enriched. |
