Tintinnabulum: Organ Works by Arvo Part ...

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
From the opening church bell sounds, you realize that Tintinnabulum isn't your typical organ recital CD. Instead, Winter & Winter has made an album of sonic connections, a disc that sits the haunting "tintinnabuli" style works of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt alongside 16th and 17th century works by John Redford, William Byrd, and others. Whether from Pärt or his forebears, the music played here is gorgeous and sparse, and organist Lorenzo Ghielmi performs it with solid authority. The programming is innovative enough (church bell field recordings are sporadically introduced between tracks), but Pärt's Annum per Annum is the real showstopper. The nine-minute work emphasizes the organ's ability to create both distorted drones and stark lyricism; it's one of the composer's best short pieces. In typical Winter & Winter fashion, the packaging on this disc is beautiful and the liner notes are nonexistent. But even without a solid explanation for why these works were chosen for this disc, you can hear their brilliance and draw your own conclusions. A must-have for organ music lovers. --Jason Verlinde

Tracks:

Redeuntes in E
Uppon A, E, D
Kochersperger Spanieler
(Sound Of Bells)
Annum Per Annum
Jam Lucis Orto Sidere
Christe Qui Lux Es Et Dies
Eterne Rerum Conditor
Mein Weg Hat Gipfel Und Wellentaler
Trivium
Da Pacem
(Sound Of Bells)
Consonanze Strauaganti
Pari Intervallo
The Bells
Redeuntes in D

Amazon.com

From the opening church bell sounds, you realize that Tintinnabulum isn't your typical organ recital CD. Instead, Winter & Winter has made an album of sonic connections, a disc that sits the haunting "tintinnabuli" style works of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt alongside 16th and 17th century works by John Redford, William Byrd, and others. Whether from Pärt or his forebears, the music played here is gorgeous and sparse, and organist Lorenzo Ghielmi performs it with solid authority. The programming is innovative enough (church bell field recordings are sporadically introduced between tracks), but Pärt's Annum per Annum is the real showstopper. The nine-minute work emphasizes the organ's ability to create both distorted drones and stark lyricism; it's one of the composer's best short pieces. In typical Winter & Winter fashion, the packaging on this disc is beautiful and the liner notes are nonexistent. But even without a solid explanation for why these works were chosen for this disc, you can hear their brilliance and draw your own conclusions. A must-have for organ music lovers. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

I'm an Arvo Part completist.......2001-11-17

I'm an Arvo Part completist...that's why I had to have this CD. The title is a bit misleading as the disc only have four works by Arvo Part on it (which I came to find out is his COMPLETE works for organ.) Additionally there are works by John Redford, William Byrd, and some anonymous pieces. Also intermingled are field recordings of church bells. Conceptually this is one of the coolest albums to come out in years. Its also nice to hear Part's (wish I had that umlaut on my computer) work juxtaposed against more "typical" organ works.

Part's "Annum per Annum" is just tops. I literally couldn't believe an organ could make the sounds that are coming out of it. At times dissonant, but in a completely awesomea computeristic, locomotive kind of way. The piece then mellows out into what is tonal, but definately still modern music.

"Mein Weg Hat Gipfel und Wellentaler" is great as well...it sounds like a thinking man's Phillip Glass.

"Pari Intervallo" is quite a change from the dynamic thrusts of the other three Part pieces. A good bit more serene. Top notch though.

While I'm not crazy about all of it, some of the other pieces are really great too, especially the anonymous and the Orgelbuch pieces. For this listener though, Part's pieces are definately the highlight, and the gorgeous recordings of church bells (which I could listen to endlessly.)

To me, the disc is a bit of a let down because I was expecting the other composer's to be more complimentary to Part's. There's just too big a gap between them for this collection to have won me over. I think its totally worth it though for Part completists.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Mara [Import]

Sir George Martin Presents Mozart [Enhanced]

Showdown! [Gold CD]

Miles Ahead [Import]

Raw Sausage Finger

Super Non-Stop Soul Dance

Standards

Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier; Arabella (Scenes)

Professional Smart Aleck

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants [Explicit Lyrics]

Pura Bachata

Salsa Mulata V.3 [Import]

A Cappella

Rebirth of Cool