Esa Pietilä, Skatta String Quartet - Aphelium Journeys (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. ICONS OF BLUE, BLACK & SUN, String Quartet No. 2: I. Blue
02. ICONS OF BLUE, BLACK & SUN, String Quartet No. 2: II. Black
03. ICONS OF BLUE, BLACK & SUN, String Quartet No. 2: III. Sun
04. VALLEYS OF SOLILOQUY, String Quartet No. 3: I. Murmurs in Shadow
05. VALLEYS OF SOLILOQUY, String Quartet No. 3: II. Folded Light
06. VALLEYS OF SOLILOQUY, String Quartet No. 3: III. The Distant Voice
07. BLAZING FLAMES, for Tenor Saxophone and String Quartet

Aphelium Journeys is a bold, poetic voyage through musical universe with three contemporary chamber works — not only across physical or cosmic distances, but through emotional terrain and artistic transformation. Each of the three works reflects a phase of ripening: from elemental contrasts (Blue, Black & Sun), through introspective depth (Valleys of Soliloquy), to passionate culmination (Blazing Flames).

Written for two string quartets and a saxophone quintet, the trilogy explores extremes of color, gesture, and inner resonance. The kinetic oriented music of Esa Pietilä is bold yet intimate — at times volatile, at times silent — always reaching toward a voice refined by distance.

Just as the aphelium is the furthest point in a body’s orbit from the sun, these works circle around moments of emotional clarity: found not at the center, but at the edge — where light is faint, and vision is sharp.

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