Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa; Symphony No. 3; Collage

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Along with Fratres, Tabula Rasa is easily the most popular instrumental composition that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt has ever penned. It's no wonder, either. This swirling double concerto for violins, string section, and piano is crammed with sonic drama, as well as quiet moments, making it the perfect showpiece for the composer's meditative tintinnabuli style of composition. Violinists Leslie Hatfield and Rebecca Hirsch deliver an electrifying performance of this work that easily stands alongside interpretations by Gidon Kremer (to whom this piece was dedicated) and others. Compared with Kremer's recordings, the prepared piano sounds a bit muted here, but this is a minor qualm--the violins and Ulster Orchestra steal the show. Going back in time, Collage uber BACH dates from 1964 and shows us how far Pärt's compositional style has evolved over the decades. Dense string textures give way to brief allusions of Bach, though the piece is thoroughly indebted to serialism. Symphony No. 3 from 1971 is one of the composer's lesser-recorded masterpieces, which is a shame because it shows the composer at a crossroads, incorporating elements of modernism, Gregorian chant, and polyphony. The resulting work sounds epic, gripping, and reflective, but ends with an unexpected last gasp of excitement.

Pärt fans won't need much convincing to buy this disc; these are great performances. But every classical CD collection should have at least one disc by the master of "holy minimalism" (and so much more), and this budget-priced disc is just about the perfect introduction to the composer's instrumental works. --Edward Garabedian

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

Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa; Symphony No. 3; Collage

Average customer rating:

One great work, two interesting attempts
Interesting piece in uncompetitive performance and recording
Great Introduction
Doesn't stand up in comparison
Good 'Tabula', Unbalanced Disc

Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa; Symphony No. 3; Collage

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Arvo Pärt: Passio
Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Arvo Pärt: Berliner Messe; Magnificat; Summa
Arvo Pärt: Fratres, etc.
Lamentate

ASIN: B000050XA0
Release Date: 2001-01-16

Tracks:

Tabula Rasa: Ludus - Leslie Hatfield/Rebecca Hirsch
Tabula Rasa: Silentium - Leslie Hatfield/Rebecca Hirsch
Collage Uber BACH: Toccata
Collage Uber BACH: Sarabande
Collage Uber BACH: Ricercare
Sym No.3: First Movt
Sym No.3: Second Movt
Sym No.3: Third Movt

Amazon.com

Along with Fratres, Tabula Rasa is easily the most popular instrumental composition that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt has ever penned. It's no wonder, either. This swirling double concerto for violins, string section, and piano is crammed with sonic drama, as well as quiet moments, making it the perfect showpiece for the composer's meditative tintinnabuli style of composition. Violinists Leslie Hatfield and Rebecca Hirsch deliver an electrifying performance of this work that easily stands alongside interpretations by Gidon Kremer (to whom this piece was dedicated) and others. Compared with Kremer's recordings, the prepared piano sounds a bit muted here, but this is a minor qualm--the violins and Ulster Orchestra steal the show. Going back in time, Collage uber BACH dates from 1964 and shows us how far Pärt's compositional style has evolved over the decades. Dense string textures give way to brief allusions of Bach, though the piece is thoroughly indebted to serialism. Symphony No. 3 from 1971 is one of the composer's lesser-recorded masterpieces, which is a shame because it shows the composer at a crossroads, incorporating elements of modernism, Gregorian chant, and polyphony. The resulting work sounds epic, gripping, and reflective, but ends with an unexpected last gasp of excitement.

Customer Reviews:

One great work, two interesting attempts.......2006-09-18

The theological bent of Arvo Part, like that of John Taverner in England, puts me off, although it's the very thing that attracts his huge following. The air of hushed mysticism, reverence, and neo-medieval sanctity holds a superficial appeal, but I rarely hear substance beneath. It's like ecclesiastical dress-up. But if Part's mature style lays claim to a lasting work, Tabula Rasa must be it. Even in this fairly pedestrian reading on Naxos the listener's attention is held in a way that other advanced minimalists like John Adams also manage to achieve.

I actually bought this CD for Sym. #3, which riveted me in live performance at the Royal Ballet in Lodon. Without dancers, however, tPart's 'sound drama,' as the Amazon reviewer calls it, starts to flag, and the slack reading by the Ulster orchestra under Yuasa doesn't help matters. I don't understand the Amazon reviewer's swooning rave, but Part is a cult composer, and those who love his music are fierce in their devotion (as ditto Taverner). Of one thing there's no doubt: this is easily assimilable music whose sound world makes few demands.

Interesting piece in uncompetitive performance and recording.......2004-12-06

This Naxos disc contains three works of Arvo Part, with one in his serial phase, another a transitional work, and the last in his best-known "tintinnabuli" style. The performances by the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Takuo Yuasa are generally not competitive and the disc as a whole is disappointing.

"Tabula Rasa" (1977) for two violins, prepared piano, and string orchestra is probably the most instantly likeable piece on this disc. It is divided into two parts, and the first, "Ludus" is an intricate dance marked as to be performed "with movement", and here the two violins repeat the same theme over and over while true development is handled under the surface by a string orchestra. It is followed by "Silentium" ("Silence"), the meditative flip-side to be performed with as little movement as possible. Here the two violins are performed by Lesley Hatfield and Rebecca Hirsh. Unfortunately, this performance does not hold up very well against others. The sound is astringent and the pacing idiosyncratic, with Yuasa driving some portions far too slowly and others at too fast a pace (the end result is about two minutes shorter than it should be). The performance on the TABULA RASA disc on ECM by Gidon Kremer and Tatjana Grindenko (violins) and Alfred Schnittke (prepared piano) can be seen as definitive and it is that performance which should be sought out by anyone curious about "Tabula Rasa".

"College ueber BACH" (1964) is a play on those four notes and a general tribute to Bach, weaving in and out of serialism. Of the three movements, the first ("Toccata") and last ("Ricercare") are scored for only strings. The central movement, "Sarabande" adds solo oboe, harpsichord, and piano and contains eight-bar distortion of Bach's theme of the same name from the "English Suite No. 6 in D Minor". It's an interesting and amusing piece, but it does not rank with the latest portions of Part's oeuvre.

"Symphony No. 3" (1971) is generally seen to be a transitional work falling between serialism and minimalism. The connection to earlier pieces like "Collage Uber B-A-C-H" is, I should think, apparent, but the strikingly novel bell sounds are a clear foreshadowing of his later style. This symphony was dedicated to Neeme Jarvi and the performance available on Deutsche Grammaphon by the Gothenburg Orchestra conducted by the dedicatee is really something nice. The Ulster Orchestra gives a clunky performance and the quality of the recording is far from ideal.

If you are interested in the work of Arvo Part, this pieces on this work may be a good place to start, but you'd want to seek out better performances, such as the TABULA RASA disc on ECM. However, an even better introduction to Part, with music that has a better chance of standing the test of time, might be his KANON POKAJANEN.

Great Introduction.......2004-09-17

This CD is a great introduction to the range of Arvo Part's compositions. The Collage Uber BACH is one of the more "listenable" (not dissonant!) works from Part's early period. The prepared piano in this version of "Tabula Rasa" is less forward than on the ECM version -- not inferior, just different. For me at least, the odd sound of the prepared piano on the ECM disk can be distracting. I don't presume to know the composer's intentions, but as Part's works often premiere on ECM, and the piece was written for Gidon Kremer, the ECM version is probably the "correct" one. However, if you want to hear how Tabula Rasa sounds with heavier emphasis on the strings, this is a good opportunity.

The highlight of this disk is the 3rd Symphony. Eschewing the dissonance that characterized his 1st and especially 2nd symphonies, Part achieves a level of power and even violence without resorting to deliberate ugliness. It was composed before the end of his pre-tintinnabuli period, and as far as I know, the only other recording is a BIS disk also containing his first two symphonies. This is a magnificent performance and not to be missed, especially at the price.

Doesn't stand up in comparison.......2004-02-13

This was the first recording of Tabula Rasa I had heard, and was absolutely blown away, until I heard the Gidon Kremer version on ECM. It's almost a different piece of music. The emotional tone on the ECM captures the extreme tension and beauty of the piece in a way the Naxos fails to do. Also, I know there is a prepared piano here, but I can't detect it -- the atmosphere is augmented immeasurably on the ECM where it is clearly audible. I have been on the whole extremely satisfied with Naxos recordings, but wonder now what I might be missing on others. The Collage uber BACH and 3rd Symphony here are stunning and not to be missed (but then, I haven't heard any other versions yet). Altogether a great introduction to Part's music at the price.

Good 'Tabula', Unbalanced Disc.......2003-10-28

On one hand this is good introduction to Part's music. On the other, it is a disc I don't really like to listen to all the way through. This is due mainly to the programmer's apparent intent to educate us by juxtaposing works written while Part was finding his unique minimal voice (Collage on BACH, Sym.#3), with 'Tabula Rasa', written in his mature style. So after serenely anguished 'Tabula' which opens the disc, you get a the 'BACH', a kind of baroque neo-classical affair, followed by #3, a kind of romantic neo-medieval affair, both of which are at odds with the mood of the first work. By the end, I'm not pleased. I suppose I would rather have early and transitional works their own disc, and mature works on a separate disc, working together to create a sustained satisfying listening experience. I'll probably check out some other programming arrangements containing the 'Tabula Rasa' but not the others.

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