On the international scene, the phrase “Baltic music” is often understood as a code that unlocks the work of composers living around the Baltic Sea. However, its association with a certain aesthetic, style, or mood—which has become almost second nature—reveals a far more diverse landscape of Baltic music upon closer examination of the region’s creative contexts. Each musical work is a story shaped by individual experiences, impulses, and reflections on identity, in which Baltic identity manifests itself in the most diverse forms.

The programme “Baltic Prayer” reveals a part of this landscape, united by themes of conversation with oneself, with others, or with God, and of peace. It features works by Lithuanian composers Anatolijus Šenderovas, Jurgis Juozapaitis and Diana Čemerytė, Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Alongside them are stylistically similar compositions by Norwegian choral music star Ola Gjeilo, British composer John Tavener, and Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk.