Arvo Pärt: Passio

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Composed in 1982 and later recorded by the Hilliard Ensemble on ECM, Arvo Pärt’s Passio (Passion According to St. John) made its composer famous, and rightly so. It is a work of unique beauty. Its meditative, intensely spiritual quality is static; the listener will find no outbursts or overtly dramatic moments to latch on to as one does in Bach's Passions. Here the story is told with a lack of overt emotionalism which quickly becomes hypnotic. Jesus is a bass, he is accompanied by an organ, all his words are intoned slowly, on lengthy note values. The role of the Evangelist is taken by four voices--a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass--and they are accompanied, on short note values and in different groupings (and frequently dissonantly), by one each of violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon. Pilate is a tenor. This new performance cuts 10 minutes off the 71-minute timing on the ECM recording; still, it can't be accused of treating the music lightly or with anything other than the respect and dignity it deserves. The final eight-word prayer, which ends in a beautiful, life-affirming D-major chord is taken, in fact, too slowly--the novice listener may presume one of the too-long pauses is the work's end. But aside from this miscalculation, this new performance is glorious, and at less than half the price of the ECM (or one on Elektra), should be in the collection of anyone interested in devotional music, beautiful music, and/or the phenomenon that is Arvo Pärt. Very highly recommended. --Robert Levine

Album Description
Naxos is proud to present a brand new recording of Arvo Pärt’s Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem, a major milestone in Naxos’ recording legacy and only the third recording of the work to be released on compact disc.

One of the most significant choral works of the late twentieth century, Pärt’s Passio has been described as "surely the bleakest, most ritualistic Passion to be composed since Heinrich Schutz’s settings of the mid seventeenth century" (Gramophone). Composed in 1982, it is one of the works in which Pärt uses "tintinnabulist" techniques – the sound or music of bells. "I build with the most primitive materials – with the triad. … The three notes of a triad are like bells. And that is why I call it tintinnabulation". (Arvo Pärt)

This new recording by Oxford-based ensemble Tonus Peregrinus offers a radically different take on the music from existing recordings. When recording the work, the ensemble followed all Pärt’s score markings to the letter. After the recording session, the disc was sent to the composer who listened carefully and decided to clarify exactly what he had intended by the score markings; the present recording was then edited according to his new "rules". This is therefore the very first recording of the Passio to take account of the composer’s recent clarification of precise note and rest durations.

Tracks:

Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Secundum Joannem

Amazon.com essential recording

You might expect that Pärt's meditative, detached style--with little distinction between consonance and dissonance, or overt emotion--wouldn't wear well through a 70-minute Passion in Latin without even a break between tracks. (Actually, there's just one.) The roles are distinguished only by scoring: the Evangelist's narration is taken by four singers and a few instruments in various combinations; Pilate is a deliberate tenor; Jesus, a cavernous bass singing very slowly. However, if you listen calmly and attentively, this work will transport you. When Jesus sings (slowly, on a simple five-note scale), "It is finished," and the Evangelist quartet intones on a single note, "And bowing his head he gave up the spirit," it's heartbreaking. The choir's huge crescendo through the final nine-word prayer is stunning. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

One of my favorite religious pieces ever.......2005-11-20

One is never sure what to expect when listening to contemporary music. I am into contemporary art music of all types (Ligeti, Nono, Schoenberg, etc.). I saw that Pärt was popular (this cd was displayed in stores that I go to), so I decided to get a hold of this cd. I wasn't sure if it was going to be minimalist, like Reich or Glass, or more avant garde like Nono or Penderecki.

To be sure, if one needed to categorize it, this cd would fall into the more minimalist style. After all, the cd consists of one track for an hour and ten minutes, and for the most part, it all sounds the same. However, it develops in a way that although seems the same (same sort of tonic range, for example), it is done in a manner that keeps your attention by not playing short loops like Glass or Reich (which can be mind-numbingly repetitive), but more developed sections. This is my first experience with Pärt, and listening for seventy minutes only made me want to listen to more, as if the piece wasn't long enough!

For me this peice is reminiscent of Bach's Mass in Bminor, because of its intensity (if you can imagine the first movement of the Mass going on for over an hour instead of twelve minutes). However, it is distinctly modern, and cannot be mistaken (by an educated listener) as belonging to a previous period. Another modern peice that it reminds me of is Gorecki's Third Symphony (which only has one voice, while this has a choir (as the chorus), a quartet (as the evangelist), a tenor (Pilate) and bass (Jesus)). The multitude of voices also gives a much more intense experience than the Gorecki peice.

That said, this peice is very accessible to the average listener. The slow tempo of the peice really adds to the somber nature of the narrative, and might fit well to be performed along a passion play (the music and the text certainly brought the images of the passion to my mind in perfect way for me).

All they say is true.......2005-10-04

For a more detailed comment for begginers, read my review to the Candomino Choir recording. Simply stunning work. Now I have listened to the three recordings: Candomino (Elatus), Tonus peregrinus (Naxos) and this (ECM). By far, ECM is the best.
Well, if you listen to the work for the first time and hear the rest of the recordings, AT FIRST you will discover they seem fine recordings. Indeed they are. But if you want a special experience, this is the only one. Why?
- Candomino sounds right at first. Pure, secure voices (perhaps not Jesus). Fine instruments. But seems too much dramatic and pointless compared with Hilliards.
- Naxos: as before, sounds fast. At first I din't like how the instruments are placed (not enough clarity) but ingers are more involved.
- This is the one. The sound is perfect. Voices and instruments are ideally placed in a warm accoustic background. The performers are wonderfull. The Hilliard Ensemble is the perfect group to sing Early Music chamber vocal music, and Part's work has a great debt to it (he had studied Renaissance and Medieval music before composing Passio) so it is no surprise its excellence. Their exquisite blending within themselves and the instruments, their limited vibrato and great clarity (I love Davis James's plangent voice). The speeds are much slower but listening carefully and you will find the speeds are right, enough to let the music rip, blossom, without inappropiate haste (the problem with the competence). You will see it is not boring at all. Instead, I was surprised to see the singers phrase the music sometimes like lieder singers, tastefully varying speeds and vocal volume according to the text.
There is only one track. No booklet notes, just the text, English and German Translation, and some photos of the composer.
This shows this is not a work to select some samples, like an opera. I know it is expensive. So if you want Passio try the others and know the piece. Or try this and find out what really can be done with this work to perform properly.

You will need 70 minutes of your precious time to savor Part subtleties. Please do it.Forget the rest of the recordings. You will never have spend a more rewarding hour.

Beautiful.......2005-03-03

This is arguably the best artistic work of St. John's Passion I've ever heard. It's even better if you've just heard Bach's version and then listen to this one. And yes the ending "Amen" is almost worth it alone to buy this recording.

Music of calm but striking spirituality.......2005-01-30

The Estonian composer Arvo Part has composed in several styles during his 40-year career, but the most popular is his "tintinnabuli" style of the 1970s and 1980s, when he chose to turn away from the avant-garde towards the simpler, bell-like sonorities of medieval Western music and plainsong. Because of the frugal nature of the music, as well as the religious titles of many of his works of this time, this style has been called by some "holy minimalism". One of his most ambitious works of this era is his PASSIO or, to use its full title, "Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem".

The PASSIO is a straightforward setting of the Latin (Vulgate) text of St John's Gospel. However, those expecting to hear a St John's Passion classical like Bach's or fresh and modern like Sofia Gubaidulina's will be surprised. Part has looked far into the past, further back than Bach, and produced a work reminiscent of Gregorian chant. This 60-minute work is a single track and sung uninterrupted, and the first thing that will strike the listener is its smooth and seemingly unchanging veneer. The six vocalists--Jesus, Pilate, and a quartet representing the Evangelist, sing with total sincerity but no urgency in order to let the listener form his own private relationship to his crucified Saviour out of the presented words. Each of the singers is accompanied by certain instruments, Jesus and Pilate by organ, while the Evangelist quartet by violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon.

I have been hard on Part's oeuvre during this period. Popular works like "Tabula Rasa" and "Cantus" are supposed to be "spiritual", but they communicate no clear religious orthodoxy and the listener hears whatever he wants to in it. I favour his works of the mid-to-late 1990s when he began to compose music deeply linked to his Russian Orthodox faith, a phase which culminated in his magisterial 1998 setting of the KANON POKAJANEN penitence text of St Andrew of Crete. However, PASSIO is a marvelous exception in his tintinnabuli phase. This is deeply Christian music, not easy to listen to but capable of focusing the believer on the core of his faith. I only wish that Part decided, as did Gubaidulina after her great, much greater than Part's, JOHANNES-PASSION, to set the Easter according to St John as well, it would be fascinating to hear Part's perspective on the other half of Christianity's foundation.

This performance by the Hilliard Ensemble is excellent. The six singers give powerful yet controlled performances. The first appearance of soprano Lynne Dawson is a moment you will never forget. Behind them the instruments are strong enough to give texture to the music without calling attention to themselves and detracting from the Gospel presentation. As the composer was present during the rehearsals and recording, this performance might be seen as definitive. There is another recording on the budget label Naxos of a performance by Tonus Peregrinus, but in spite of the quality of the musicianship, I find its acoustics unpleasant and I rate this ECM disc higher. I have not yet heard the recording on Finlandia.

I am, however, a bit disappointed by the liner notes. While they do give the text of the Passion in Latin with English translation and three photographs of the composer and the recording session, there is no biography of Part nor a musicological analysis of the work. This deficiency is regrettably common to nearly all of ECM's recordings of Part's music, though the liner notes for the KANON POKAJANEN are pretty good.

If you have not heard Part's music before, I would suggest the TABULA RASA or LITANY discs, also on ECM. With several works presented in each disc, there will give one a pretty good coverage of his compositional techniques. If you like what you have heard there, and are welcoming to deeply Christian music, PASSIO will probably not disappoint.

A Masterpiece.......2004-12-15

How one reviewer could describe this piece as "breathtakingly beautiful," yet rate it one star is nonsensical. Go with the "breathtakingly beautiful." I am familiar with half a dozen of Arvo Pärt's works, and this is my favorite (Kanon second). Another reviewer implied that it is best listened to attentively, not as background music, which is true. Like any work of art, it demands attention. I would not change a single note (or pause). It is a true masterpiece and I can think of only one word to best describe it: profound.

Average customer rating:

Not the best performances, but still a pretty good collection
A Written and Sound Portrait of One of Our Most Important Composers

Arvo Pärt: A Portrait

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00093O6OY
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Customer Reviews:

Not the best performances, but still a pretty good collection.......2007-04-20

Naxos has never provided the best performances of the music of Arvo Part--the long line of ECM recordings were made under the composer's supervision and thus may be seen as definitive--but the collection ARVO PART: A PORTRAIT is a nice effort indeed. Issued in 2005, the year of the Estonian composer's 70th birthday, this package features selections from nearly his entire career over two discs, in recordings drawn from the Naxos, BIS, and Nimbus labels, and also contains a 78-page booklet with Nick Kimberley's essay "Arvo Part: A Musical Journey".

Arvo Part came to worldwide attention through the minimalistic and overtly spiritual music he began composing in the mid-1970s, but ARVO PART: A Portrait features some music from his early career as well. Part was something of an enfant terrible in the Soviet music world, and in the 1960s he infuriated the socialist realist musical establishment by producing dodecaphonic and collage works through the 1960s. From this era we get the second movement of the Symphony No. 1, the "Collage ueber B-A-C-H", and the cello concerto "Pro et Contra". One does regret, however, that his important piece "Credo", discussed at some length in Kimberley's piece, is not featured here, but perhaps Naxos could not find a recording that could be licensed for inclusion here.

The bulk of the collection, however, is dedicated to Part's "holy minimalism" output, a style which he calls "tintinnabuli" for its bell-like tones. Two selections from his hour-long masterpiece "Passio" are included here, one begin four minutes long and the other twelve. Of the "Berliner Messe" we have the Kyrie and Credo, and the other late pieces here are included full-length.

"Fur Alina", the exceedingly simple piano piece he wrote in 1976, breaking a silence of nearly a decade, is featured here in its scored form in performance by Alexei Lubimov. The ECM recording of this piece is a much longer improvisation by Alexander Malter, so this Naxos collection (or the BIS disc the selection was drawn from) is a good way to hear the piece at its most simple.

Over the last decade or so, Part has began reconciling his tintinnabuli style to the more fiery spirit of his youth. However, none of those pieces, such as "Como cieva sedienta" are represented here, which is regrettable.

While the Naxos performances of Part's music are not the best available, only the Naxos recording of "Tabula Rasa" by the Ulster Orchestra and Takuo Yuasa is outright unlistenable. The rest are acceptable, and this collection makes a more more economical introduction to Part's career than the many full-price ECM discs. And for established Part fans, the included essay by Nick Kimberley is interesting reading, especially when the only other major English-language coverage of Part, Paul Hillier's Arvo Part (Oxford Studies of Composers), is difficult to find.

A Written and Sound Portrait of One of Our Most Important Composers.......2005-07-13

"Contemporary classical music which genuinely touches people is rare, but the rapt, contemplative music of Arvo Pärt communicates readily, and without pandering to the demands of a mass audience." -- Nick Kimberley

"It is enough when a single note is beautifully played." -- Arvo Pärt

These two comments shed light on Arvo Pärt, both the music and the man. An intensely private man who came of age in repressive Stalinist Soviet Estonia but who always maintained his stalwart religious beliefs, against all fashion, and who, though he started out as an avant-gardist, became the prophet of what has been called 'the new simplicity,' Arvo Pärt is perhaps the most beloved composer of classical music in the world. His music is known by people who have almost no interest otherwise in classical music, largely because of the effect it has on even the casual listener, as reflected in Nick Kimberley's comment above. It also has devoted followers among the musical cognoscenti. His piece 'Fratres,' in its myriad forms, is his most widely performed work, but it is probably his ecstatic 'Passio' that has created the most devoted following, particularly following its first recording by the Hilliard Ensemble on the ECM label.

This release has two CDs chockfull of unfailingly beautiful performances of Pärt's music, generally in complete movements taken from releases by Naxos and other labels. Such disparate works as his spare piano piece, 'Für Alina,' movements of his Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, the 'Berliner Messe,' the 'Magnificat,' 'Collage über B-A-C-H,' 'Spiegel im Spiegel,' and 'Triodion,' are represented here. Two versions of 'Fratres' are included, one for cello and piano, the other for percussion and strings. His cello and orchestra work, 'Pro et Contra,' is performed by Frans Helmerson and the Bamberg Symphony under Neeme Järvi. Excerpts from 'Passio' ('Passion According to the Gospel of St. John') from the recording by Antony Pitts, Pärt expert and a composer in his own right, and his choral group Tonus Peregrinus are particularly haunting. Celebrated organist Kevin Bowyer is heard playing Pärt's 'Annum per annum.'

The illuminating accompanying essay, 70 pages long, is by Nick Kimberley, a noted British arts critic. All of this is in a glossy booklet enclosed in a cardboard box, typical of Naxos's classy presentation of both recorded music and booklet notes.

This release is for all those who are already devotees of Pärt's music and for those who are just coming to admire his music. The budget price makes it all the more attractive.

2 CDs TT=164mins

Scott Morrison

Average customer rating:

Ultimate expression of system
Clear as a bell
Calm but striking spirituality, not the best performance
Phenomenal!!
Brilliant

Arvo Pärt: Passio
Arvo Part , Robert MacDonald , Mark Anderson , Antony Pitts , and Tonus Peregrinus
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Amazon.com

Composed in 1982 and later recorded by the Hilliard Ensemble on ECM, Arvo Pärt's Passio (Passion According to St. John) made its composer famous, and rightly so. It is a work of unique beauty. Its meditative, intensely spiritual quality is static; the listener will find no outbursts or overtly dramatic moments to latch on to as one does in Bach's Passions. Here the story is told with a lack of overt emotionalism which quickly becomes hypnotic. Jesus is a bass, he is accompanied by an organ, all his words are intoned slowly, on lengthy note values. The role of the Evangelist is taken by four voices--a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass--and they are accompanied, on short note values and in different groupings (and frequently dissonantly), by one each of violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon. Pilate is a tenor. This new performance cuts 10 minutes off the 71-minute timing on the ECM recording; still, it can't be accused of treating the music lightly or with anything other than the respect and dignity it deserves. The final eight-word prayer, which ends in a beautiful, life-affirming D-major chord is taken, in fact, too slowly--the novice listener may presume one of the too-long pauses is the work's end. But aside from this miscalculation, this new performance is glorious, and at less than half the price of the ECM (or one on Elektra), should be in the collection of anyone interested in devotional music, beautiful music, and/or the phenomenon that is Arvo Pärt. Very highly recommended. --Robert Levine

Album Description

Naxos is proud to present a brand new recording of Arvo Pärt's Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem, a major milestone in Naxos' recording legacy and only the third recording of the work to be released on compact disc.

One of the most significant choral works of the late twentieth century, Pärt's Passio has been described as "surely the bleakest, most ritualistic Passion to be composed since Heinrich Schutz's settings of the mid seventeenth century" (Gramophone). Composed in 1982, it is one of the works in which Pärt uses "tintinnabulist" techniques - the sound or music of bells. "I build with the most primitive materials - with the triad. … The three notes of a triad are like bells. And that is why I call it tintinnabulation". (Arvo Pärt)

This new recording by Oxford-based ensemble Tonus Peregrinus offers a radically different take on the music from existing recordings. When recording the work, the ensemble followed all Pärt's score markings to the letter. After the recording session, the disc was sent to the composer who listened carefully and decided to clarify exactly what he had intended by the score markings; the present recording was then edited according to his new "rules". This is therefore the very first recording of the Passio to take account of the composer's recent clarification of precise note and rest durations.

Customer Reviews:

Ultimate expression of system.......2006-02-22

Although Norman Lebrecht has criticized this piece as "so regressively reverential that it hardly emerges from the 17th century;" it only sounds superficially as if it had been written in that time period. In fact, it is thoroughly grounded in the sensibility of the 20th century. It is the apotheosis of Pärt's "tintinnabuli" system, here achieving a rigidity reminiscent of the technique of total serialism. This version goes beyond the structure exemplified in the original ECM recording, in that here the composer's plan for the silences between notes is respected. Ironically, the result, for a piece relating St. John's passion, is singularly devoid of that very emotion - at least in the normally understood sense. In its smooth evenness, the passion is understated, serene, unbroken by "events." In the liner notes, Pärt expresses his interest in what happened "before the Big Bang...where God had created the formula" (interestingly, there need be no conflict here between religion and science!). The rules governing the piece's construction were laid out beforehand, and adjusted until the desired outcome was achieved. The result is of interest for its place in the composer's development, and certainly as an experiment, taking this composition method to its ultimate (and logical) conclusion. Starkly uniform throughout, the moment of greatest excitement within the main body of the piece is the word "crucifigeretur," the longest word in the composition, occasioning thereby the furthest movement away from its base note. The piece concludes with a beautiful chorus of Qui passus es pro nobis, Miserere nobis.

Clear as a bell.......2005-05-24

The first thing to strike me of this recording is that the sound is absolutely perfect, as clear as a bell. The end of each recitation trails and maintains a perfect pitch and flawless tone. Kudos to both the singers and the engineers.

Robert MacDonald is particularly impressive. All soloists are wonderful.

I've also heard the ECM version several times, unfortunately it developed a skip so I decided to try the Naxos version. Both versions are wonderful, thought the sound is clearer on the Naxos version. The ECM version has more reverberation; although this is not a necessarily bad thing. It adds a certain ambience and atmosphere.

Of course the biggest difference is price. The ECM Part CDs are extremely expensive, and, well, we all know about Naxos. So if it's only one version to purchase, it's an easy choice. If you like this particular Passio of Part's, though, you may eventually seek out a used or bargain copy of the ECM version also.

Calm but striking spirituality, not the best performance.......2005-01-30

The Estonian composer Arvo Part has composed in several styles during his 40-year career, but the most popular is his "tintinnabuli" style of the 1970s and 1980s, when he chose to turn away from the avant-garde towards the simpler, bell-like sonorities of medieval Western music and plainsong. Because of the frugal nature of the music, as well as the religious titles of many of his works of this time, this style has been called by some "holy minimalism". One of his most ambitious works of this era is his PASSIO or, to use its full title, "Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem".

The PASSIO is a straightforward setting of the Latin (Vulgate) text of St John's Gospel. However, those expecting to hear a St John's Passion classical like Bach's or fresh and modern like Sofia Gubaidulina's will be surprised. Part has looked far into the past, further back than Bach, and produced a work reminiscent of Gregorian chant. This 60-minute work is sung uninterrupted (though Naxos has created a disc with four tracks), and the first thing that will strike the listener is its smooth and seemingly unchanging veneer. The six vocalists--Jesus, Pilate, and a quartet representing the Evangelist, sing with total sincerity but no urgency in order to let the listener form his own private relationship to his crucified Saviour out of the presented words. Each of the singers is accompanied by certain instruments, Jesus and Pilate by organ, while the Evangelist quartet by violin, cello, oboe, and bassoon.

I have been hard on Part's oeuvre during this period. Popular works like "Tabula Rasa" and "Cantus" are supposed to be "spiritual", but they communicate no clear religious orthodoxy and the listener hears whatever he wants to in it. I favour his works of the mid-to-late 1990s when he began to compose music deeply linked to his Russian Orthodox faith, a phase which culminated in his magisterial 1998 setting of the KANON POKAJANEN penitence text of St Andrew of Crete. However, PASSIO is a marvelous exception in his tintinnabuli phase. This is deeply Christian music, not easy to listen to but capable of focusing the believer on the core of his faith. I only wish that Part decided, as did Gubaidulina after her great, much greater than Part's, JOHANNES-PASSION, to set the Easter according to St John as well, it would be fascinating to hear Part's perspective on the other half of Christianity's foundation.

This performance on Naxos by the Tonus Peregrinus led by Antony Pitts is fairly good, but I do not think that it can be ranked as highly as the performance by the Hilliard Ensemble on ECM. One or two vocalists in the Evangelist quartet seem limpid, and the the instruments are call too much attention to themselves and detract from the Gospel presentation (either over-agressive playing or poor mixing). However, as with the ECM recording, the composer was consulted during the preparations, so we cannot assume that the result is too far off from what Part desires. So, this is not a bad recording, simply not the best. I have not yet heard the recording on Finlandia. The liner notes are relatively informative, though like all Naxos discs they are unappealingly typeset. There is a short biography of Part and description of his works, along with the Latin text of the PASSIO with English (apparently KJV) translation.

If you have not heard Part's music before, I would suggest the TABULA RASA or LITANY discs on ECM. With several works presented in each disc, there will give one a pretty good coverage of his compositional techniques. If you like what you have heard there, and are welcoming to deeply Christian music, PASSIO will probably not disappoint, but try the Hilliard Ensemble's performance first before buying this if you enjoy the work so much.

Phenomenal!!.......2004-09-20

If you listen to this piece without any prior knowledge of the circumstances of its creation, you might think that this work was composed around the Middle Ages, or certainly before the Renaissance. However, that is not the case, as this setting of the Passion was composed around 1980.
This piece might seem a bit repetitive and monotonic in structure at first, and you might not wish to continue listening, but take it from me, bear with it. The beauty of this piece is that it unfolds in a natural fashion. It doesn't simply drone on meaninglessly; if you stay with it, there will be an internal part of your being that will thank you for it. This is your soul.
If you're expecting a setting like that of Bach (the greatest composer of all time, in my book), then this might not be for you. But if you're in the mood for a deeply intimate piece of natural music, then look no further. Part's Passio is nothing short of a spiritual triumph! Buy this!
I would expect nothing less from Naxos. Their recordings are superb, and this one is no acception. Tonus Peregrinus in in top form, and this recording shouldn't be overlooked. I'm sure Part is very proud of this one!

Brilliant.......2004-01-29

Part's Passion is brilliant beyond words for his use of counter melody and sustain. A beautifully moving work that transends most of what he has done before.

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