Lamentate

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The brief opening piece for chorus on this new release, "Da Pacem Domine," is based on a 9th century Gregorian work and has the usual, familiar--and very beautiful--Pärt-ian characteristics: a soft, endless stream of easy tritones and harmonies that make this plea for peace immensely moving. The major work, Lamentate, is scored for large orchestra and solo piano--a very unusual combination for Pärt. Even his fans will be surprised. In ten brief sections, it begins with a quiet drum roll, immediately followed by horn calls. There are forte explosions for full orchestra and piano, with heavy percussion. At times the only thing we hear is a hushed piano part with strings supporting very quietly. The effect is dark yet alluring. It ends peacefully. This is another stunning CD of Pärt's music for his fans--old and new. --Robert Levine

Will hermes, Entertainment Weekly - September 2, 2005
Europe's greatest living composer.

Lamentate

Tracks:

Da Pacem Domine
Minacciando
Spietato
Fragile
Pregando
Solitudine-Stato D'Animo
Consolante
Stridendo
Lamentabile
Risolutamente
Fragile E Conciliante

Amazon.com

The brief opening piece for chorus on this new release, "Da Pacem Domine," is based on a 9th century Gregorian work and has the usual, familiar--and very beautiful--Pärt-ian characteristics: a soft, endless stream of easy tritones and harmonies that make this plea for peace immensely moving. The major work, Lamentate, is scored for large orchestra and solo piano--a very unusual combination for Pärt. Even his fans will be surprised. In ten brief sections, it begins with a quiet drum roll, immediately followed by horn calls. There are forte explosions for full orchestra and piano, with heavy percussion. At times the only thing we hear is a hushed piano part with strings supporting very quietly. The effect is dark yet alluring. It ends peacefully. This is another stunning CD of Pärt's music for his fans--old and new. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

While the music is not flawless, I'm thrilled Part is going somewhere new and strange.......2007-06-02

This 2005 ECM disc is the latest in the label's long survey of Arvo Part and pairs two pieces from the Estonian composer. Like the earlier Orient & Occident disc, this one shows Part trying to set off in a bold new direction while at the same time preserving those elements of his personal musical language that have gained him such a wide following.

Part wrote "Lamentate" for piano and orchestra (2003) after encountering Anish Kapoor's installation "Marsyas" in the Tate Gallery in London. "Marsyas" is a remarkable work, and I urge the reader to search for photographs of it. When viewing it, Part felt acutely reminded of his own mortality and confronted with the problem of how to make something of his life in the face of death. The title of the resulting concerto of sorts refers to this, Part calls the piece a "lamentation for the living".

"Lamentate" is written for a massive orchestra, but these great forces make an appearance only in the first two movements. Appropriately titled "Minacciando" and "Spietato", these roll out thundering percussion and unusually "dissonant" harmonies for a Part work. Once the piano enters, the ensemble drops to strings and spare percussion, and the language returns to the crystalline tones and minor feeling of Part's typically writing. Programmatically the work is intriguing. Fans of contemporary music already know plenty of concertos where the soloist represents the noble individual against the oppression of the mob--Carter's for piano, Lutoslawski's for cello, and a number by Schnittke are typically examples. Part himself has written such a concerto before in "Credo" for piano and orchestra of 1968. Here, however, I get the feeling that the piano is not alone in his struggle--Part simply choose to concentrate on its line--and the strings represent myriad other souls hoeing their own hard rows, their line's not coming into contact with the piano's but just as poignant.

The piece features much elegant orchestration and a fine sense of drama, but my sole reservation is the length. Some of the material in the second half could have been trimmed with no loss of effect. Nonetheless, I enjoyed "Lamentate", and think that the SWR Stuttgart Orchestra conducted by Andrei Boreyko and pianist Alexi Lubimov give a commendable performance.

The disc is rounded out by the 6-minute "Da pacem Domine" for choir a capella (2004). I've generally found Part's brief choral works unexciting, and this is no exception. However, the work does feature some subtly troubled undercurrents that confirm that conflict is back in Part's music and that the stormy lines of the concerto are no fluke. The Hilliard Ensemble are, of course, Part's hand-picked vocal ensemble, so I dare not critique their performance.

As the pieces here show the beginnings of some yet-unperfected new period, I'm not sure that this disc would be a good introduction to Part. The old Tabula Rasa disc also on ECM is the typical recommendation. Nonetheless, fans of Part should pick up LAMENTATE somewhere along the way, and it will doubtlessly leave you in suspense of where the composer is going next.

BUY NOW!!!.......2007-04-18

This music is far too spiritually moving to pass up. From the unaccompanied choir to the chromatic climax of the orchestra, this album is a shining example of why Mr. Part is at the top of my list of modern composers.

Incredibly Moving.......2006-11-11

Arvo Part's Lamentate is an incredibly moving work. I sat and listened to it in complete and utter awe. Arvo Part's use of color and texture throughout the orchestra is absolutely superb. The piece ranges from the somber to the highest expression of despair. There is so much emotion behind this work that I cannot even comprehend. Part's idea of a lament for the living, not the dead is a very interesting statement. Part mourns for the world that is full of suffering. This piece is absolutely amazing and the performance on this recording is phenominal. I cannot even describe in words the effect this piece had on me. I was incredibly moved.

The choral work that starts the disc is also a great example of Part's colorful harmonies. While the soprano voice is not incredibly desirable to listen to, the piece is just so pretty that it doesn't even really matter. This recording is so good. Great music by a great composer. I would recommend grabbing a few of Part's other works while you're at it.

a somber lament for a world of suffering.......2006-02-05

"Lamentate" reminds us that Arvo Part, the Estonian composer known as a "holy minimalist," was a modernist before he was a postmodernist. The 37-minute work opens with a bang, a great rumble from percussion and a minor-key fanfare from the horns, before subsiding into more typical Partian meditations. Dissonant menace periodically returns, however, marking this as Part's most Shostakovich-like composition. Alexie Lubimov plays the ethereal, searching piano part in a piano concerto that is not a piano concerto. The SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra is directed by Andrey Boreyko, and sounds superb across the dynamic spectrum.

I had the opportunity to visit the Tate Modern on the Thames in June of 2004. The Engine Room of the former power generating station is an awesome space, and that is where Part saw the sculpture that inspired "Lamentate" in 2002 (thus the Tate in Lamentate). The premiere performance was in that space, at the foot of the sculpture "Marsyas" in February 2003 -- there is a photo of the event in the booklet. To me, this is a fascinating juxtaposition. Part's music since the mid-1970s represents a conscious rejection of the modernist avant-garde and an assertion of Orthodox religious content along with a pre/postmodern fusion of chant and other early forms with a stripped-down (minimalist) tonality. So here is Part at one of the temples of artistic modernity, drawing inspiration for his work. Adding to the fascination is my own trajectory from a heroic to a more tragic view of life, and a recognition of the primacy of the spiritual dimension.

With that I leave you to your own reflections. This is a major work from one of the major composers of our time. Thanks to ECM for championing Arvo Part and to its art department for another fine package for the sublime.

Arvo Part is a singular force in modern symphonic music.......2006-01-30

Ever Since the Arvo Part ECM recording Tabula Rasa in 1984, the composer's profound philosophy of composition has been felt throughout the world of symphonic music.

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