Always delighted when you play Estonian music. Am curious to know your source of info re men showing off on swings. My understanding is that these large wooden playforms suspended from high horizontal bars were used as a meeting place by courting couples. But they were also frequented by groups of girls, hence the many "Swing Songs" for women's voices.
To set the record straight: Paul Hillier was the conductor on several of the CDs performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, but he left the EPCC and in Sept. 2008 the Latvian conductor Daniel Reuss became their principal director. Meanwhile, their founder, Estonian conductor Tonu Kaljuste, has been directing the Latvian National Chorus. Sort of musical chairs!
The Latvian chorus was acclaimed for their two performaces during Lincoln Center's recent White Light Festival. During the first of these (Nov. 12) they sang the piece by Veljo Tormis that John played in program #2869, "Curse Upon Iron." It was a first for Tormis at Lincoln Center and also a first for his work to be reviewed in the NY Times--despite the fact that this composition was written in 1972, first performed in the U.S. in 1979--in Sonoma and Berkeley--and has been heard all over the world!