Jaan-Eik Tulve

Jaan-Eik Tulve (born 30 September 1967) is an Estonian conductor, Gregorian chant specialist and music educator. He is the founder and artistic director of the vocal ensemble Vox Clamantis, and has taught Gregorian chant at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre since 1996. His work has centred on Gregorian chant, early polyphony and contemporary choral music, and he is especially associated with performances and recordings of music by Arvo Pärt and other Estonian composers.

Tulve has received the Order of the White Star, 5th Class, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the Cultural Award of the Republic of Estonia.

Early life and education Jaan-Eik Tulve was born in Tallinn on 30 September 1967. Under his direction, Vox Clamantis developed from an ensemble initially focused on Gregorian chant into one known for combining chant, early polyphony and contemporary music.

Tulve's ensemble has had a particularly close association with the music of Arvo Pärt. According to the Arvo Pärt Centre, this collaboration began in 1999, when Vox Clamantis combined Gregorian chant with Pärt's organ work Annum per annum in concert performance; Pärt later wrote Alleluia-Tropus specifically for the ensemble.

Tulve's recordings with Vox Clamantis have received strong critical attention. Reviewing the ensemble's ECM album Arvo Pärt: The Deer’s Cry, BBC Music Magazine awarded the recording five stars and singled out Tulve's ability to bring vibrancy and shape to Pärt's austere textures. Writing in The Guardian about the 2020 album Cyrillus Kreek: The Suspended Harp of Babel, Fiona Maddocks praised the atmospheric quality of the performances and the way Tulve and the ensemble gave full expression to Kreek's sacred music.

Honours and recognition In 2007 Tulve was awarded the Order of the White Star, 5th Class, by the president of Estonia.

Selected recordings Selected recordings conducted by Tulve include the following: Job (with Choeur Grégorien de Paris, 1995) Ieremias (with Vox Clamantis, 2003) Filia Sion (with Vox Clamantis, 2012) Arvo Pärt: The Deer’s Cry (with Vox Clamantis, 2016) Sacrum convivium (with Vox Clamantis, 2018) Cyrillus Kreek: The Suspended Harp of Babel (with Vox Clamantis, 2020) Music by Henrik Ødegaard (with Vox Clamantis, 2023)

Personal life Tulve is married to the Estonian composer Helena Tulve.