The music of Estonian composer Eduard Tubin (1905-82) remains largely unfamiliar, though devotees will be interested in this release of some of the choral music that was one of his specialisms. In his youth as a shepherd, something recalled in a couple of the smaller pieces here, he became an enthusiastic choral composer and director, though after the Soviet invasion of his country in 1940, he left for Sweden, where he became a citizen in 1961. Most of his works date from this later period. The largest one here, scored for alto soloist plus standouts from the male-voice choir he favoured as an expressive resource, plus organ and percussion, the Requiem for Fallen Soldiers was written in 1950 and revised in 1979. There’s a dramatic quality to the result, with its use of timpani and side-drum representing a military element and the mezzo Iris Oja well deployed in the movement ‘The Soldier’s Mother’. Despite its simple, almost ascetic textures, this is a piece of stature and eloquence.

The smaller pieces come from periods ranging from 1927 up to 1967 in the case of the second longest work here, Song of Warriors Retreating, a stern and at times dissonant piece once more with a clear martial quality at its centre. Often based on folk texts, the remaining eight items are shorter but nicely varied. The Estonian choir is excellent under conductor Mikk Üleoja, the acoustic well chosen for these forces.