Arvo Pärt: Litany

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
With Litany, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt created one of his most stirring works: a nearly 23-minute-long composition for orchestra and vocal ensemble based on the 24 prayers of St. John Chrysostom (one for each hour of the day). Commissioned for the 25th Oregon Bach Festival, the composition is both memorable and timeless. It finds influences in everything from chant to the repetition of modern minimalism. Play it loudly and the striking vocals of the Hilliard Ensemble simply soar against the strings of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. The orchestral Trisagion harkens toward Litany's mood swings and impact, but--sans voice--lacks the mysticism. One of Pärt's best, and as sacred as modern compositions come. --Jason Verlinde

Tracks:

Spiegel im Spiegel
Fna
Spiegel im Spiegel
Fna
Spiegel im Spiegel

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

Arvo Pärt's Alina follows a simple-enough formula. Two stark instrumental works from the master of holy minimalism repeat each other, each time slightly different. But the blissful results--quiet, haunting, and thoroughly hypnotizing--meld to create one of classical music's best albums of 2000. It's as intense and sublime as contemporary classical music can be. --Jason Verlinde

Amazon.com

This is a remarkable release, both for its beauty and its novelty at programming. Für Alina is a two-minute solo piano piece composed by Pärt in l976 that ushered in his "tintinnabuli" style, that is, the bell-like, simple, no-notes-wasted method for which he has become beloved and famous. On this CD, pianist Alexander Malter plays it twice, as the second and fourth tracks; each iteration takes almost 11 minutes (Pärt assumed it would be embellished, and he chose this pair for the CD). There are minute variations in tempo, emphasis, and rubato from one to the other, but, all that being said, it amounts to 22 minutes of the most beautiful, contemplative music ever performed. Almost equally gentle is Spiegel im Spiegel, played as tracks 1, 3 and 5 and scored for piano and, respectively, violin, cello, and then violin again. The instruments mirror one another (Spiegel is German for mirror), with notes added to the scale with each repetition, and so on. Almost impossible to describe in its loveliness, each of the three sets is beautiful; the cello in track 3 gives it extra mellowness. This is music staggering in its simple complexity and a treat for the ear and heart. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

In spite of my limited complaints, something I'm going to give a full recommendation.......2007-04-17

The ECM disc ALINA contains two works by Estonian composer Arvo Part performed by four outstanding musicians under the direction of the man himself.

Arvo Part is best known for the style he embarked upon in the mid-1970s after a long and conspicious silence, leaving behind the serialism and college efforts of his younger days. This style is called "tintinnabuli" by the composer for its bell-like tones, and in the press it has often gained the title "holy minimalism" for its back-to-basics approach and often explicitly Orthodox Christian message.

Well, Part fans will find the music here somewhat different than the standouts of Part's mature style, such as the epic "Passio", stunning "Tabula Rasa", and his liturgical masterpiece "Kanon Pokajanen". The two early tintinnabuli pieces here bear no explict Christian programme, and they are stripped to a scale more bare than even the fairly simple works of the years to come.

"Fur Alina" (1976) was the first effort in tintinnabuli, a two-minute score launching an improvisation that could go on for hours, based on two voices related through triadic harmony and often compared to plainchant. Part selected two selections from it for this disc, and Alexander Malter performs here. There's not much in the way of set rhythm here. Instead the notes of the piano similar come one after another, with the piano's rich array of overtones exploited to the fullest. When the pianist stops, the reverberations of the strings continue to send forth such a strong sound, an effect Part was later to explore in his clever "Cantus" in memory of Benjamin Britten.

"Spiegel im Spiegel" (Mirror in Mirror, 1978) is present here in three different recordings. The first and third are of the arrangement for violin and piano, performed by the duo of Vladimir Spivakov and Sergei Bezrodny. The middle recording is for cello and piano with Dietmar Schwalke performing with Alexander Malter. In this extremely elegant piece, the piano keeps a constant cadence against which the string instrument sweeps. The result hints at something immensely spiritual, like seeing two lovers gaze into each other's eyes. Part was later to shake up this joining of loving voices with the faster-moving "Fratres" piece, arranged for a number of different instruments over the years, but this contemplative early effort has a beautiful clarity.

This is music that offers emotional impact more than telling us something we didn't know before. As a result, it's not good for frequent listening, as one can tire of the threadbare textures. And, I've got to admit, the lack of an explicitly religious programme is worrying, because religious music that cannot communicate a clear orthodoxy and leave no room for differing opinions just ends up undoing itself. However, for commited Part fans--or even people just looking for the ultimate in contemplative music--this is a disc very much worth encountering and taking down from the shelf from time to time. Those looking for more representative Part works, however, would do well to seek out Passio and Tabula Rasa, also on ECM.

Exquisite.......2006-09-30

My partner put me on to this CD. It's the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Deceptively simple, profoundly moving.

What an amazing person this composer must have been...to be able to create something so magical and beautiful - such a gift. Especially nowadays when there seems to be so few truly valuable contributions to the world of music.

Profound simplicity.......2006-08-31

Just like writing a short letter is harder than writing a long letter, so it is with music. I hate 90 percent of "New Age" music a la Steve Halperin because it is lazy composition, as if playing fewer notes and holding them longer or repeating phrases endlessly is enough to create profundity. On the other hand, we have this in its deep, deep simplicity, each note purposeful and so well thought out. For example in Spiegel im Spiegel, at one point in what is a sweet undulating melody are these little staccato high notes that are almost jarring in their abruptness and yet delightful, as if to wake you up and listen. Another composer would have just kept the same flow unalteringly, good, versus inspiring.

Fǖr Alina, a love song........2006-03-15

You sit in a darkened room looking into a garden. There is no moon.

A single disembodied note sounds, and in the ambient light you see a piano. There is a repeated triad that you think is the opening of Moonlight Sonata, but it's not. It is a simple right-handed exercise, lovely in its repetition, a practiced, careful rhythm.

From a shadow in the drapes, a violin begins a pair of notes, one simple bow stroke, down and up, listening, enjoying its resonance, perfecting its tone.

As if they were unaware of each other, piano and violin continue with parts accidentally overlaid. Long slow notes by the violin are a wistful melody, the finger exercise a cautious metronome.

This is crushingly intimate music. We have stumbled into a sacred moment. When the left hand strikes a lower key, it is as if a third musician has entered the room and with a simple, ominous single note, has taken the percussive role from the right hand. But the right continues and our attention is drawn again to its simple melody. There is that repeating triad. The cycle begins again.

This is Fǖr Alina. It is so lovely, so innocent and so unspoilt, we can only cry upon first hearing. It is unimaginable Pärt did not intend Fǖr Alina to be compared with Fǖr Elise. With this CD, Fǖr Alina, like other elegant simplistes, is poised to be trivialized. Mark my words, the day will come, and soon, when some barbarian will use it in a ring tone. But this is strong music, strong enough to outlast mere popularity. One day it will make you cry again.

Still, I sort of hope no one will buy it.

So tragically beautiful........2006-02-11

I had purchased this CD for the track Alina - my sister's name is Alina and I was looking at learning this piece. What beauty. It's in this music, not the passion of Chopin or the violence of Prokofiev, that I can express my inner torment, my personal struggles.

As for the Spiegel, for some reason when I listen to the violin on the first track, I cry. Every time. Sometimes uncontrollably. I can't describe the effect this music has on me - that wierd feeling of satisfaction and regret at the same time. When I hear that soaring piano accompaniment and the rising violin, I can reminisce back on my life, good times and bad. It's absolutely sublime.

Life can be wonderful and simple, and this music demonstrates exactly that.

Average customer rating:

"Come In" -- Must Listening
Easy & not-easy, but all profound, moving & rewarding
A minimalist delight.
If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Silencio
Silencio is Superb!

Silencio
Arvo Part , Philip Glass , Vladimir Martynov , Gidon Kremer , Eri Klas , and Kremerata Baltica
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lamentate
Alina - Arvo Part
Arvo Pärt Sanctuary
Tabula Rasa
Arvo Pärt: De Profundis

ASIN: B00004YR5P
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Tracks:

Tabula Rasa: I. Ludus - Con Moto - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Tabula Rasa: II. Silentium - Senza Moto - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Company: Movt I - Kremerata Baltica
Company: Movt II - Kremerata Baltica
Company: Movt III - Kremerata Baltica
Company: Movt IV - Kremerata Baltica
Come In!: Movt I - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Come In!: Movt II - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Come In!: Movt III - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Come In!: Movt IV - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Come In!: Movt V - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Come In!: Movt VI - Gidon Kremer/Tatjana Grindenko/Reinut Tepp
Darf Ich... - Gidon Kremer/Andrei Pushkarev

Amazon.com

Violinist Gidon Kremer and his ensemble, Kremerata Baltica, have tackled repertoire that ranges from Baroque to contemporary, but they seem to shine on the newer stuff. The group has an obvious ear for the music of the Baltic region, and Kremer's icy precision and passionate playing are tailor-made for the modern masters. On Silencio, Kremer delivers another stunning recording, this one featuring meditative music by a trio of composing mavericks: Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, and Vladimir Martynov. Martynov may be the least-known of the three, but his work marks the disc's highlight composition, "Come In!" The moving piece for violin and orchestra--which features plenty of Romantic, lyrical playing (and the occasional sound of a door knocking)--is mystical but also tender and sweet. A string orchestra arrangement of Glass's String Quartet No. 2 ("Company") is almost as intense as the original played by Kronos. A short Pärt world premiere rounds out this disc: "Darf Ich" is a glorious piece for violin and orchestra reminiscent of Pärt's sublime "Summa". This is a gorgeous disc you'll get lost in; another gem from Kremer. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

"Come In" -- Must Listening.......2005-01-26

I'm a fan of Glass and Part, but I have to confess that their music on this CD more or less went in one ear and out the other. That's not a bad thing, because I like their work and listen to plenty of it. I just, wasn't bowled over, is all.

(I was using the CD as background music; their works here may grow on me in time.)

I had to rush here to recommend this CD, though, because I was so moved by Vladimir Martynov's "Come In."

At first I was put off by it, because I had purchased the CD exactly because I am fans of Glass and Part, and I expected the CD to consist of music in their minimalist style.

Martynov's "Come In" struck me, at first, as being more Romantic, and I just wasn't sure what to make of it.

Soon, though, I completely forgot about style, and about the (annoying) work-related task I was attempting to perform while listening to this CD. "Come In" seduced me like I haven't been seduced by a piece of new music in a long time. I was close to tears in parts.

I lack a sophisticated vocabulary to discuss classical music, but I can tell you that "Come In" struck me as sweet and beautiful, but also complex, deep, and never cloying. I did feel that I was being invited into a numinous experience.

Later, when I read the liner notes, I was even more moved. What Martynov said about his piece and his goals, the ideas and sensations he wished to convey and evoke, worked perfectly for me.

Needless to say with Kremer, the musicianship is first rate.

Easy & not-easy, but all profound, moving & rewarding.......2001-07-02

A fascinating combination of "modern" works to appreciate on this disc. All quite different, powerful juxtaposition of styles and moods. Tabula Rasa, the "lead-off" composition by Arvo Part, packs stunning intensity of a dark, melancholy sort in Part's minimalist, yet melodic vein. Next is Glass's "Company" for string orchestra. Pardon my simple mind, but I really do enjoy the regular/irregular pulsing, throbbing undercurrent of his works. The style is highly characteristic, yet, within that signature framework, he pulls in just enough complexity and variation in my opinion to make this highly worthwhile fare. Then, "Come In" by Martynov. What can I say, this is easy listening, but a real deep "easy" at that. Positively brought a lump to my throat and then some! Tell you the truth, I was so drained after these first three pieces, that I had to take a break before the final item, Darf Ich by Part. Listen again & again when you're in a bit of a heavy mood that deserves musical concordance. The performance/performers work these treasures to the hilt. I'd pare my CD collection from 1200 down to 12, and "Silencio" would remain.

A minimalist delight........2001-02-17

First of all, why silence? And how?

After all, one has to agree with John Cage when he points out that "There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot."

What then does it mean to call an album "Silencio"?

I think what it means is that the music in this album tries not to communicate something to its listener, but rather aims at helping one communicate with one's Self. This lack of intentional outward interaction, and the parallel promotion of introspection, I think, is intended to be thought of as a silence. Indeed, the emotional landscape it allows us to observe is, perhaps, the closest thing to silence, for it is a still and timeless picture, void of any matter, absorbed in a heartbeat alone.

Technically this album is superb, with Gidon Kremer and his disciples proving to be, as always, up to the highest of expectations. The prepared piano in Arvo Pärt's Tabula Rasa deserves praise as well - I have never heard the piano sound so beautiful, evocative and majestic at once. As for Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass and Vladimir Martynov, they are, of course, a handsome lot to be found combined in one CD, with 68 minutes of music at a reasonable price by Nonesuch's standards. The nature of these composers, however, is what makes this album a product that not everyone is likely to care for. I feel quite certain that anyone who likes minimalist music - in the style of Gorecki or Kancheli, for instance - will find this album enticing. On the contrary, I recommend those who believe simplicity to be a symptom of stupidity to spend their money in a different way, for the music in this album is indeed a minimalist delight.

If You Can't Say Anything Nice, Silencio.......2000-12-19

Musically the Twentieth Century is like the month of March. It came in like a lion, with monumental orchestral masterpieces like the Mahler Symphonies, the Strauss Tone Poems, and Stravinsky's ballet scores. But as the artistic, political, and economic climate changed, the monumental became increasingly rare. Most living composers today will never have a performance of one of their works by a major professional symphony orchestra. And so, for the most part, the Twentieth Century goes out like a lamb, with the intimate replacing the enormous. And Gidon Kremer, with his string ensemble the Kremerata Baltica, reflects this aesthetic change in his new CD Silencio. Certainly one wouldn't expect heart-on-your-sleeve emotion and drama from a CD with this title, and there is none to be had here. I have to totally disagree with the writer who says this recording is full of drama--I found scarcely any at all. This CD contains four pieces; of them, only the first, Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa even attempts an aesthetic involving drama, and that only in the first movement. The title of this piece comes from the term for the pure, naive and innocent mind before it receives the impressions gained from experience, and this idea pervades the entire CD. In place of traditional liner notes with information about the composers and their works, we are given obtuse and somewhat ominous quotations by the performers and composers, such as the following from Kremer himself: "Our despair: a drop in an ocean. Death--the final bill, in which the challenge turns into a phantom. Ambitions, hopes, enchantment. All this finds its peace there in the world beyond. Words irritate. Gestures mislead. Emotions dissolve. Only sounds speak a language that might be understood. If one opens the heart, would there be someone receptive enough? But who is listening? Who is able to feel it? Often I do ask myself, where does a heartbeat identical to mine exist? And the attempt of an answer is: out there, on the other end of my own sound."

In addition to "Tabula Rasa", there is another work by the Estonian composer Part, "Darf Ich" (or "May I"), "Company" by Philip Glass in an arrangement for string orchestra, and "Come In" a piece commissioned by Kremer from the little known Russian composer Vladimir Martynov. But aside from the opening Part work, I find that the intimate tone of the CD is too consistently bland for my taste. There are better quiet works out there, that reach into a deeper place beyond the mere superficiality of Martynov's lengthy but unengaging "Come In". Although he began his career in an interesting way, moving from early efforts involving serialism, to electronics, to the composition of a religious Russian rock-opera, at some point he embraced the ideas of "holy minimalism" and from my perspective seems to have eliminated all traces of interest in his work. It is difficult to appreciate a composer who comes out of the soviet oppression with the attitude Martynov expressed when discussing another of his works, "I was once told that man touches the truth twice. The first time is the first cry from a newborn baby's lips and the last is the death rattle. Everytthing between is untruth to a greater or lesser extent. So why not try to go all the way from the death rattle to the first cry, from the last opus to the first? But that might lead us to see Stalin standing on the Mausoleum as innocent and lofty as a swallow, and a swallow gulping a mosquito in flight would seem no less nightmarish and monstrous than Stalin, who destroyed millions of lives. All this is terribly confusing and it is much better to forget all the conundrums and sink into sweet melancholy. And let this melancholy last as long as possible; I suppose that's the only answer to the question of reality." In the work presented here, Martynov sinks into sweet melancholy again, which is pretty enough, but to my ear as bland as wallpaper. For the three or four minutes any single movement lasts it is fine, but the entire 6 movement work lasting 27 minutes is all exactly the same, without any contrast. Why would a composer in this century be composing music like this? Where is the artistry, the vision, the craftsmanship? All of the great Romantic composers, from Beethoven to Mahler, did this same thing long ago and so very much better. And of the Glass piece presented here, the less said the better. Even the fabulous performance by the Kremerata Baltica, surely one of the finest string orchestras around, cannot raise my interest in a piece (written as incidental music to a Beckett play) which simply rehashes the same Glass harmonic and rhythmic formulas he has been working on for 40 years now. As I listen to this, I can't help but think that Glass forgot to write the melody. To be honest, I find the piece so lacking in any artistic merit that I will not even play an excerpt for you. I hate to be a Grinch about this, but this is a CD that I hope I don't find in my stocking this Christmas. I know it is not popular here at Amazon to be critical of the CDs one reviews, but there is so much better music out there, even with this same introspective aesthetic, that I cannot recommend this at all except as a superb performance of the Part Tabula Rasa, which has in fact been recorded by Kremer before. It's not that I dislike contemporary music, or minimalism, or intimate introspective music; quite the opposite--it's that I find these pieces very poorly done, and extremely disappointing examples of their ilk.

Silencio is Superb!.......2000-11-06

Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica deliver another excellent recording in "Silencio", on the Nonesuch label. Featuring music of three twentieth century composers, this CD contains performances which are moving and dramatic.

Arvo Part's "Tabula Rasa" gets its most spacious recording yet on disc. The first movement, "Ludus", is performed with long pauses of silence between the dramatic utterances of strings and prepared piano. At 10:21, this is longer than any of the other three performances I own of this piece. The second movement, "Silentium", times at 18:24, including about a half-minute of recorded silence at the end of the movement. This is over five minutes longer than Neeme Jarvi's fine recording for Deutsche Grammophon. But length alone is not the measure of the caliber of this performance - orchestra and soloists give wonderful, broad performances, letting this great work breathe calmly and fully.

The four short movements of "Company" by Philip Glass are rich with color and rhythmic energy. Fans of Richard Einhorn's "Voices of Light" will enjoy this brief work.

"Come In" by Vladimir Martynov was a revelation. I found a single reference to this composer on the web - it mentioned stylistic similarities with Arvo Part and an output of predominantly sacred vocal music. "Come In" is a meditation on a hymn-like tune; the tune is restated in each of the six movements with slight changes in structure. Each restatement is followed by a variation for two violin soloists. The music is sweet, romantic without becoming sickening, and gives the effect of joyful anticipation frozen in sound. You will not want this piece to end, and when it does you will have to supply the closure. Whether or not the door is opened will be for you to decide.

The program concludes with a premiere recording of "Darf ich..." by Arvo Part. It shares harmonic similarities with "Kanon Pokajanen" and is once again superbly performed by Kremer and the Kremerata.

Tracks:

Fratres
Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten
Fratres
Tabula Rasa

Amazon.com essential recording

This seminal disc now almost seems like the manifesto for a whole new strain of minimalism that has found an enormously receptive audience. It represented a breakthrough for Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, whose music--like that of his European colleagues John Tavener and Henryk Górecki--pursues an austerely beautiful simplicity that suggests spiritual illumination. Fratres, given here in two versions, one for piano and violin and the other for 12 cellos, repeatedly intones a sequence resembling chant to convey a sensibility that seems at once archaic and beyond time. Violinist Gidon Kremer, for whom Pärt wrote the exquisitely contemplative and hypnotic title work, grasps the music's koan-like idiom, allowing an inner fullness to resonate through the most fragile, ethereal wisps of tone against the mysterious clangings of prepared piano. The tolling of the tubular bells in Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten is an emotionally charged lament, based on a simple minor descending scale, that introduces Pärt's fascination with what he calls "tintinnabulation": the literal and metaphorical sound of ringing bells. This recording is also famous for the acoustically warm presence produced by ECM's Manfred Eicher, which magnificently captures the mystical simplicity of Pärt's sound world. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

music so good you'll cry.......2007-04-21

I first heard one of the songs playing in a Starbucks and had to ask them what it was... I couldn't hear it very well, but I knew I needed to hear more. After I got home and listened to the previews on Amazon, I was hooked.

There is so much depth and sweetness to this music. It has literally brought me to tears. If you're looking for an album of chamber music that truely goes beyond the normal lulling sound and into the realm of true artistic expression, this is one to own. It is one of the prizes of my collection.

This is one for everybody.......2006-08-30

I'm not completely dug on classical and contemporanean music, ECM stuff included. Lygeti, Xenakis they make me sense, all along american minimalists like Reich or Cage. Electro-acustic is more ear-friendly for me (Ferrari, Parmegiani) but... All this speech just to say that thsi is one ECM record I own - the 1977's Tabula Rasa. The great Gidon Kramer (check out "Silence" from Nonesuch who has another version of tabula rasa) is here with all his magic, even the world-piano-star K. Jarrett plays piano, and everything makes sense. The music is so cold and complex, ethernal yet listenable for the common of mortals. Give a try, i did and i'm inloved with.

should be accepted by any rational person as strong evidence for God's existence........2006-06-20

arguably, it was THIS music by THIS composer that Manfred Eicher's label, ECM, was meant for. If an album was released on ECM, no doubt it sounds lovely, but when purpose is paired so perfectly with sound, even ECM attains something angelic and beyond. Arvo Part's non-modulating approach to harmony, great care and attention with so few notes, and the reverent spirit that carries through his efforts encompasses a catalogue of works so great and beautiful I'm not sure any 20th century composer can remotely compare.

This ECM disc is possibly the best of all. _Tabula Rasa_, first and foremost, is a masterpiece. A violin concerto of sorts, it flows through static haze and torrid whorls, with ghostly sounds of strings punctuated by the bell- and chime-like intonations on sounds of prepared piano. Divine and without momentum, this piece forever hovers between being and nothing. _Fratres_, performed in two versions here (for violin and piano, and for 12 cellos), features a chorale-like figure recurring over an ethereal drone. Radiant and simple, not a sound is out of place. the _Cantus_ is based on rich chords arranged in a variety of rhythmic patterns, so beautiful one kind of wishes it would last longer.

this is an excellent introduction to one of the best composers of the 20th century. i would really encourage you to hear this.

Fill in your blank slate with some innovative music..........2006-01-03

This CD started it all. In 1984 it introduced the then little known Arvo Pärt to a new western audience. Pärt had long before made his "tinntinnabulation" discovery (around 1976). Before this pivotal epiphany, the majority of Pärt's work fell into the serialist category. His early work shows all of the grinding atonal experimentation of the 1950s. It thus lies in stark contrast to his later work as presented on this CD (he shares this same evolutionary path with the Polish composer Górecki).

"Tabula Rasa" introduced a new music and a new style to the west. This music doesn't follow traditional harmonic or melodic forms. Listening to Pärt differs from listening to Sibelius or Stravinski. In Pärt, environment and setting are everything. The melodies and harmonies function to set a mood rather than to follow a path or a harmonic progression leading to an ultimate resolution. Subsequently, one experiences rather than listens to Pärt's work. The notes merely provide the structure. In this way Pärt's pieces represent frameworks for music (which probably explains, as related in the CD booklet, why the members of one orchestra asked "where is the music" upon seeing the score for "Tabula Rasa"). So Pärt not only presents beautiful and moving music but also helps listeners conceive of it in new ways.

The tracks on this CD provide the perfect showcase for Pärt's work. Beginners should start here. Two versions of the meditative "Fratres" appear, but each utilize such different arrangements that they sound like two separate works. "Cantus" remains one of Pärt's most moving compositions. It sounds like a slowly exploding wall of catharsis. The nearly half hour "Tabula Rasa" features incredible violin work and prepared piano (a la Cage). Overall, the mood of each piece on this CD veers strongly toward the meditative, mystical, and ethereal. As such it serves as a great introduction to the "late" Pärt and as a showcase of incredible musicianship.

Pärt remains more of a phenomenon on CD than in the concert hall. The lush rich sound of this CD, which will have your cochleas swimming, provides some evidence as to why. Not only that, the amount of quietude and silence utilized by Pärt must create difficulties for orchestra hall performance. Pärt's music, intimate and close, probably plays best in seclusion or in small venues. For the maximum experience, put on some headphones and listen to this CD. In this way listeners can experience all the subtle harmonics and nuances that make up the music of Arvo Pärt.

Modern classical music that is beautiful.......2005-10-23

Too many modern classical composers have sacrificed beauty for virtuosity and expermintality. Not so Part. This Baltic composer writes melodic music of outstanding lyricism and profound beauty. He has succesfully managed to write in the classical format while not sounding like a repetition of the great artists of yore. The music is melancolic, but not tragic, pensive but not unpenetratable. I had the great honour to listen to a live perfomance of works by Part by the Hilliard Ensamble at the Royal Festival Hall in London, UK. It was one of the few times I know of that the audience gave a standing ovation, and just did not want to stop. Mr Part was present and he almost started crying.
Part has contributed music to films as diverse as Les Amants du Pont-Neuf and Fahrenheit 9/11.

Average customer rating:

Arvo Part Inspirational
Transcendental Purity meets Slavonic Psalms Mastery

Arvo Pärt: Da pacem
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir , and Paul Hillier
Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Magnificats | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs
Horizons - Leif Ove Andsnes
Arvo Pärt Sanctuary
John Adams: The Dharma at Big Sur/My Father Knew Charles Ives
Arvo Part: Te Deum / Kaljuste, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

ASIN: B000H0MGUU
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Tracks:

Da Pacem Domine
Salve Regina
Psalm 117
Psalm 131
Magnificat
An Den Wassern Zu Babel
Dopo La Vittoria
Nunc Dimittis
Littlemore Tractus

Amazon.com

This stunning new collection of short pieces by Arvo Pärt covers a 30 year period of the composer's output. The listener will be both comfortable with and surprised by the changes he's made: his essential style/approach and the beauty of the music remain constant, but Pärt is no whispering new-age poster boy. Sometimes the sound just washes over the listener; more often the small complexities or intensities are the hooks by which we are captivated. "Da pacem Domine" is a prayer for peace. Its different tonal hues thrill as much as they soothe. There's much of Renaissance music in his work--under the layers of sound there is a solid, far more simple core. The Two Slavonic Psalms have a Russian feel unlike most of Pärt's other works, and the first is fleet and perky. The strange "Dopo la vittoria" tells the story of St Ambrose and St Augustine singing the Te Deum composed for his defeat over the Arians; the story part is presented in an odd, chatty manner, but the prayer itself is exclaimed with great dignity. The performances, by Paul Hillier, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, do Pärt's ethereal, still, but ever-moving music absolute justice, and the recorded sound is crystal clear. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Arvo Part Inspirational.......2007-05-13

Arvo Part is one of my favorite composers of all time. This cd is absolutely phenomenal and brings with it a deep feeling of reverence, devotion and peace. This is by far one of the most amazing cds i have ever purchased. He is an true inspiration.

peace.
jacob salzer

Transcendental Purity meets Slavonic Psalms Mastery.......2006-11-23

Many things have been said about Arvo Part. Nevertheless, I will venture some words about this CD. Part's compositions evoke a meditative, deeply thoughtful atmosphere. When I played this CD for the first time, my visceral reaction was to close my eyes and let the sound "heal" those niches in my soul that Part has boldly decided to explore in himself.

Not for the faint of heart, this living composer's work will challenge your views of sacred and traditional musics. Part's personal approach to creating music can almost make you blush in sorrowful, joyous, melancholic self-awareness. To say this music "speaks" is a trivial understatement.

While Part is well into his seventies, his vitality and vigour musically can be compared to the controlled power of a wise giant. No signs of vanity are in his music. This is music written from a place of simple humbleness. That may be the single reason why this music is so glorious.

The "Estonian Master" maintains his well-established stride in this most satisfying production.

Kudos to Harmoni Mundi for the SACD/CD format. The sound is open and full.

Highly recommended and perfect as a Christmas gift for the music enthusiast.

Average customer rating:

While the music is not flawless, I'm thrilled Part is going somewhere new and strange
BUY NOW!!!
Incredibly Moving
a somber lament for a world of suffering
Arvo Part is a singular force in modern symphonic music

Lamentate
Arvo Part , Andrey Boreyko , Hilliard Ensemble , SWR Radio-sinfonieorchester Stuttgart , and Aleksei Lubimov
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000A69QCW
Release Date: 2005-08-30

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.

Average customer rating:

Old World Sound to Calm the Senses
NOT OF THIS WORLD
Spare brilliance
Magnificat: Magnificent!
If you only buy one Pärt CD, buy this one

Arvo Pärt Sanctuary

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002SRI
Release Date: 1998-02-17

Tracks:

Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten
Summa
The Beatitudes - Stephen Cleobury
Fratres (Version VI) - The London Philharmonic
Festina Lente
Magnificat - Stephen Cleobury
De profundis - Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tabula Rasa: Silentium

Customer Reviews:

Old World Sound to Calm the Senses.......2007-01-03

Beautiful, pure, and often heavenly are my select words to describe this CD.

NOT OF THIS WORLD.......2004-08-31

Tabula Rasa: Silentium : This music is not of this world. I worship/pray in silence while driving with this music on with a palm facing the windshield. The haunting, surreal background...the two main violins mournfully cries out aloud...yet so beautiful...my heart cries with them.

Spare brilliance.......2003-01-08

Spending a lot of words describing Pärt's music seems like defeating the purpose. It is transcendent, haunting, solemn, quiet, and all the other things the other reviewers say. I view it, stylistically, as somewhere between the minimalism of Glass et al, and the ambient textures of Steve Roach -- if that description makes any sense. I find myself a little more at home with his instrumental pieces than his choral work, but that's just personal preference.

This is a good first Pärt CD -- then you can move on to other works, especially his Te Deum.

Magnificat: Magnificent!.......2002-08-05

I realize the title of this review is pretty silly, but I had to think of something.
I have always enjoyed classical music, but not nearly as much as other genres... that is until a friend of mine gave me SANCTUARY. I listen to it all the time now. The genius of Arvo Part's music is that although it is quite somber, it is very beautiful. I think that if you don't like classical music now, you will once you listen to Arvo Part. My favourite piece is Magnificat, hence the title.

If you only buy one Pärt CD, buy this one.......2002-02-21

This exquisite recording is an "Arvo Pärt Sampler" that provides a great introduction to this wonderful composer. I bought it because it contains his two best-known short choral works, the Beatitudes and the Magnificat. The performances by the choir of King's College Cambridge are transcendent, as usual; it is very difficult to achieve the serenity of sound needed to communicate Pärt's music, but King's is perfect for it. The instrumental works are samples of Pärt's greatest hits including an especially heart-rending performance of the Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten.

Tracks:

Te Deum
Silouans Song
Magnificat
Berliner Messe: Kyrie
Berliner Messe: Gloria
Berliner Messe: Erster Alleluiavers
Berliner Messe: Zweiter Alleluiavers
Berliner Messe: Veni Sancte Spiritus
Berliner Messe: Credo
Berliner Messe: Sanctus
Berliner Messe: Agnus Dei

Amazon.com essential recording

Though these pieces are typical of Pärt's style, they seem less bleak than those on previous discs. The Te Deum, while often in a minor tonality and sometimes imposing, has a suitable extroverted quality; the Magnificat, with its hushed intensity, does seem solemn, but its cadences are striking, typically resolving from a tonal chord to a shimmering major-second dissonance. The Berliner Messe includes not only the Mass ordinary, but also three propers for Pentecost, and displays a range of moods from nervous penitence in the Kyrie to lively good cheer in the Credo to serenity in the Agnus Dei. Best is the sequence "Veni sancte spiritus," sung largely in unison to a haunting 6/8 melody. Tiny Estonia, Pärt's homeland, has provided him with some impressive interpreters. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, Soulful, Choral Work.......2007-01-31

Although my main genre of music is derived from the 60's, 70's rock and pop music, I also spent many Sundays attending church and listening to the work of the choir. I would say that I have a strong spiritual side, and so Arvo Part touched this part of my heart. I heard it on NPR when they were asking listeners for the albums that were essential in their collection. The person commented that this music centered them. I listened to the entire album on the radio on a Saturday night, even though I was about to head out to listen to other types of music.

The music is beautiful, soulful, and spiritual. The choral harmonies sound something like Thomas Tallis, but has instrumentation supporting the choir. The music is very slow and uses "silence" as part of the work. So be prepared to be put into a meditative state - one where peace is felt. A truly awesome piece of music.

Don't come to this music empty..........2006-06-10

My opinion of much of the spiritual minimalist music that may be criticised as dull, boring, incomplete, or whatever adjective you care to insert, is that unlike the "great" music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, etc, this spiritual music requires you to bring something to it to have meaning. Anyone can listen to Mozart and get pretty much the same thing from it because it's perfect and complete. There's nothing more to add. And that's why I can't stand it. Like vanilla ice cream, the great German masters serve as nothing but a center for music to expand away from.

However, where one can put on Silouans Song and hear a dull film score, others can meditate on the music and be moved beyond words. The "inaudible" Berliner Messe concludes with the Agnus Dei. I will never escape the memory of listening to the piece at night under the stars next to a high alpine lake in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Agnus Dei section is as cold as ice, as bare as outer space, and with the Dona Nobis Pacem it melts, while keeping the melodic line of the first section, into the most comforting, heart-warming music. Atheist that I am, I can't help but feel that I'm not alone. Listen to it under the stars in the wilderness.

The major work, the Te Deum, is incredible in its own way. You cannot hear the music begin, but gradually become aware of what I assume is a piano string being played with a mallet. The sound reappears throughout the work, and at the huge climax you feel almost as if airplanes are taking off in the church. The ending, repeated statements of "Sanctus", fades out in almost as beautiful a manner as the Agnus Dei of the mass ends. Almost, but not quite.

There isn't another living composer like Part, and this is one of the finest discs of his music.

Gentle introduction to Pärt; terrible recording.......2006-02-14

If you've not previously listened to Pärt's music, this is a reasonable place to start. I prefer Tabula Rasa, however, and suggest that as a better alternative.

Unfortunately, the recording quality of the title work is atrocious. At several points, the vocals swell to aching levels...and just then, the sound is reduced to ear tearing distortion. No, folks, that isn't the power of an omnipotent, imaginary friend reaching through your stereo; that's really bad level setting.

Here's hoping ECM sees fit to make a proper recording of this one.

My first Part of all Part's.......2006-02-08

I have no idea why I first selected this CD while browsing in a store but I have since used Amazon to order most of Arvo Part's recordings. I am not sure how you would select a favorite -- I would certainly not agree that this is among the worst! I would say it still ranks as one of my favorites. I also agree this music is not for the car! This is certainly for when you want to be contemplative. If you feel rushed and overwhelmed by contemporary life, put on a Part CD and close your eyes and stress will melt away. This music is a ticket to timelessness and peace. Who would have thought a modern composer could have found a way to out do the Medievals this way? Progress has not stopped nor has it ignored our spiritual side.

These works bring to mind the terrifying beauty of God Himself - truly awesome!.......2005-12-01

Arvo Part exhibits absolute mastery of sacred vocal writing. It is the culmination of a millenium of sacred music; as though Tallis, Byrd, Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Faure and every other writer of sacred music had simply cleared the way for this man. Part assimilates you into his music in the opening passages and holds you in his powerful grip until after the last phrases have been uttered.

The glory is not given only to the voices, either. These works are also scored for strings and some of the most beautiful passages are given over to them. Dissonance is used throughout in all voices with terrifying beauty and brings to mind what it may be like to behold the presence of God Himself. There are many stunning climaxes that resolve the discord throughout the work - everyone infinitely satisfying and never dull. These are truly works of awe-inspiring proportions, particulary the Te Deum and this does them justice. It will lift your mind and heart and never cease to amaze.

Average customer rating:

please take time to listen to this stuff.

Best Of Arvo Part

Manufacturer: Angel
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Silencio

ASIN: B0001ZMBU6
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Tracks:

Summa
O Weisheit
O Adonai
O Spross Aus Isais Wurzel
O Schlussel Davids
O Morgenstern
O Konig Aller Volker
O Immanuel
Fratres For Violin And Piano - Martin Roscoe
Festina Lente For String Orchestra And Harp - Martin Roscoe
Spiegel Im Spiegel For Violin And Piano - Martin Roscoe
Magnificat For Choir - Stephen Cleobury
The Beatitudes For Choir And Organ - Stephen Cleobury
Summa For String Orchestra - Paavo Jarvi
Fratres For String Orchestra And Percussion - Paavo Jarvi
Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten For String Orchestra And Bell - Paavo Jarvi

Customer Reviews:

please take time to listen to this stuff........2006-11-19

No you dont need a bottle of red to hear this by but the quiet melancholy of this guy from Estonia is magnified by a glass or two. I had heard Cantus in Memoriam on public radio before but could not find the author then the other day I caught Speigel im speigel and immediately logged on to amazon.com for a copy of his best work and then researched Mr Part. I cannot explain the feelings that these works invoke in me but I highly recommend it to anyone who has come so far as to read this page. Enjoy!

Arvo Pärt:Triodion Ode VII I Am the True Vine Music for Unaccompanied Choir

Average customer rating:

harkens back to classics
Exquisite A Cappella Choral Music Exquisitely Sung

Arvo Pärt:Triodion Ode VII I Am the True Vine Music for Unaccompanied Choir

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000H4VZE4
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Tracks:

Introduction: Ad Libitum - Ode I: 'O Jesus The Son Of God, Have Mercy Upon Us'
Ode II: 'O Most Holy Birth-giver Of God, Save Us'
Ode III: 'O Holy Saint Nicholas, pray To God For Us' Coda: Ad Libtitum
Tribute To Caesa, St. Matthew 22, 15-22
Nunc Dimittis, St. Luke 2, 29-32
Ode VII (Memento)
I Am The True Vine
The Woman With The Alabaster Box, St. Matthew 26, 6-13
After The Victory
Mother Of God And Virgin

Customer Reviews:

harkens back to classics.......2007-01-10

I am overwhelmed the beautiful melodic tones of his work. The coral sections are so beautiful and have a feel of meloncholy but with a sense of traditional classic choral music. I recommend his work to those who love Bill Douglas.

Exquisite A Cappella Choral Music Exquisitely Sung.......2006-10-25

It really is extraordinary these days for the music of a living composer to have multiple recordings and for those recordings to become best-sellers, but that is precisely what has happened with the music of Arvo Pärt, the 71-year-old Estonian composer whose choral music on sacred texts has become wildly popular, even among non-classical-music fans. There is something ethereally attractive about the music. It helps that it is unfailingly tonal, has a serenity that is sorely needed in these troubled days, and that it has attracted performances by such marvelous groups as the Elora Festival Singers on the present disc. The Elora singers are surely one of the best professional choral groups in North American, not to say the world. It is made up of singers drawn from the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and has been singing together for twenty-five years under its founder, Noel Edison. I raved about their previous recording, also on Naxos, of Pärt's 'Berliner Messe.' And this review is also a rave. It is rare that someone comes into my home, hears a snippet of a recording and wants not only to know who and what it is but wants to get a copy for themselves. That has happened with this recording and I notice that although the CD has been available at Amazon for less than a month, it is already one of their classical bestsellers. No surprise, really, since this is immediately attractive music sung exquisitely, impeccably, sensitively by the Elora Singers.

Most of the works recorded here have been recorded before, but never better. They are pieces written in the decade between 1990 (Triodion) and 2001 (Bogoróditse Djévo [Mother of God and Virgin]). All the texts are religious, most of them in English or church Latin; the non-English texts are translated and the English texts supplied in the accompanying booklet. All have a radiantly reverential quality accomplished at least partly by Pärt's use of melodies influenced by Gregorian chant and accompanied by what he calls 'tintinnabuli', the simple bell-like triadic harmonies underlying them. This approach has a trance-like or meditative quality that many people, even non-religious types (myself included), find irresistible.

One last comment: on the basis of the inclusion of Ode VII (Memento) from Pärt's 1994 'Kanon Pokajanen', his longest extended work since the St. John Passion, I would love to find that the Elora Festival Singers intend to record the whole thing.

Strong recommendation.

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

a great combination, part and hilliard
Beautiful and Profound
Power and Grace
Rich, lovely, unmatched music
Classical music is not dead

Arvo Pärt: De Profundis

Manufacturer: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000007FL
Release Date: 1997-03-10

Tracks:

De Profundis (Psalm 129)
Missa Sillabica: Kyrie
Missa Sillabica: Gloria
Missa Sillabica: Credo
Missa Sillabica: Sanctus
Missa Sillabica: Angus Dei
Missa Sillabica: Ite missa est
Solfeggio
'And One Of The Pharisees'
Cantate Domino (Psalm 95)
Summa (Credo)
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Weisheit
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Adonai
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Spross
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Schlussel
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Morgenstern
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Konig
Seven Magnificat Antiphons: O Immanuel
The Beatitudes
Magnificat

Amazon.com

Marx and Lenin probably would not have appreciated the irony, but after decades of Communist repression of religion, the former Soviet bloc is the source of a profound outpouring of explicitly Christian expression. This is manifested in the music of such composers as Henryk Gorecki, a Pole, and Arvo Pärt, an Estonian. Part, a refugee from serialism, here writes in a quasi-minimalist style that he calls "tintinnabuli," a sound that echoes medieval composition. A fan of vocal music ("The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all"), he uses choruses to superb effect. This disc includes some of his best work, including the popular Magnificat, beautifully rendered by the Theatre of Voices under Paul Hillier. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews:

a great combination, part and hilliard.......2004-06-21

i purchased this CD recently and was a bit worried. i enjoy part and hillard, but the length of the pieces was often so short. i really enjoy it when part writes long, epic pieces and the vocal work really explores all types of music.

instead, what i found was a collection of many small gems, each of which combine to form the larger work i was looking for. i'm not particularily religious, but i find the deep spiritualism in part's work to be profound and soothing. this disc is no exception, as part and hillaird explore religion, theology and philosophy through music and voice.

this CD is well arranged and orchestrated, and ranks among the best of any of part's works. i've been leary of hearing part work outside of the ECM new series of recordings, but i'm happy i explored. few pairings work as well as hillaird and part, i'm thankful they share their work.

Beautiful and Profound.......2004-02-06

I picked up this wonderful gem on a whim. As sacristan for my Jesuit university campus ministry, I was looking for good and movintg religious music. This surpasses anything being marketed as "liturgical" music for churches.

Part creates music that is beatiful, moving and profound. It transported me to another world; it is a deeply moving experience. Some of these tracks have already become my favorite works of musical art as well as meditative prayers.

Power and Grace.......2002-01-10

Hillier's Theatre of Voices gives an absolutely wonderful rendering of Pärt's work. The music is amazing, recalling medieval choral music as well as contemporary ideas in musical composition. Pärt manages to touch on a wide range of feeling throughout all of these compositions, conveying emotion while maintaining the kind of austerity of sound found in medieval chant. Ultimately, the CD provides a moving and enjoyable listening experience. I would recommend it to both seasoned fans of choral music and neophytes alike.

Rich, lovely, unmatched music.......2001-07-23

This music is gorgeous, whether you think you like choral music or not.

The first time I heard Arvo Part, I was browsing in a music store and stopped to listen with a pair of crummy headphones. The sounds and tone drew me into another world, one made lovely by the rich and carefully-worked composition of a master.

The recording is perfect. The music is like nothing else I've heard, more deeply-felt and inspiring than anything I'm familiar with. I would not call myself a fan of choruses, but Part's work is extraordinary.

Classical music is not dead.......2000-05-18

For anyone who thought that "classical" music had been killed by atonal dissonance or kidnapped into the absurd esoteria of academic abstraction, I recommend the music of Avro Part. Similar in style to another (some would say 'THE' other) great modern composer Gorecki, the music is heavy and religious in tone and absolutely beautiful. I was an immediate convert to Part's music, and, from what I can tell, I am not alone.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

Surf, Sex and Cycle-Psycho's [Soundtrack]

Symposium Opera Collection, Vol.5

Under the White Ensign [Import]

Never Gonna Be The Same

Tribes of Da Underground 5

Undeniable

Tito Schipa - Greatest Hits [Import]

The Definitive Collection

Valley of the Dolls [Import]

Ultimate Christmas

Transformation

Sounds Of Ireland

Undisputed [CD-single]

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos No. 1-4; Neville Marriner; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Stardust