Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is considered to be one of the greats in the broad spectrum of 20th-century classical music, and he’s further distinguished as a trailblazer of “holy minimalism.” Befitting a composer of his stature, the discography of Pärt’s recorded works is vast, but from inside that number there resides a smaller group of releases holding particular import. On April 11, Mississippi Records’ Silentium is poised to join the list of essential Pärt recordings. Offering three selections on side one and a long and unique version of the title piece on the flip, the release is available on LP (in black or clear vinyl editions), CD, and digital. A 35”x35” silkscreen poster is also available.
Arvo Pärt came to prominence in his home country in the 1960s with a handful of recordings spanning the decade, but these are formative works that precede a long period of woodshedding after which Pärt reemerged with his tintinnabuli style of composing, a method where he utilizes two distinct voices (i.e. instruments), a tintinnabular voice restricted to the notes of the tonic triad and a melodic voice that can roam around freely.
Für Alina, first performed in 1976, introduced Pärt’s tintinnabuli style. It was eventually documented on one of numerous recordings made for the ECM label, a group of releases that comprise a significant chunk of his essential discography. The first recording of Pärt’s compositions released by ECM was Tabula Rasa in 1984, the title piece dating from 1977 scored for two solo violins, prepared piano, and string chamber orchestra (consisting of two violins, viola, cello, and contrabass).
The performance and recordings of Tabula Rasa were major successes integral to Pärt’s breakthrough as a composer and specifically as one of the three major pioneers of holy (or mystical) minimalism, alongside composers Henryk Górecki (of Poland) and John Tavener (of England). Holy minimalism is a sacred music of uncommonly deep feeling that’s strikingly devoid of concerns with passing fashions.
In the case of Pärt, his Tabula Rasa, and its second movement “Silentium,” has come to be associated with the palliative care of cancer and AIDS patients, who would ask to hear the “angel music” as the time with their disease neared its end. If holy minimalism is defined by great beauty, Tabula Rasa is downright transportive; the initial performances in 1977 are marked by audiences moved to silence at its conclusion rather than the standard ritual of clapping.
The recording of “Silentium” that Mississippi Records has chosen, performed by the Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry, is notable for a couple reasons, foremost in how is isolates its focus onto Tabula Rasa’s second movement but also in the decision to play it a nearly half the speed of the version issued by ECM. Taken at this pace, it is a meditative and truly arresting work spanning nearly 22 minutes that only serves to strengthen the relationship of Tabula Rasa with the ease of suffering at the end of life. It’s difficult to overstate the immensity of its achievement.
The first piece on side one is “Vater Unser” in an arrangement for trombone (Jörgen Van Rijen) and string ensemble (Camerata RCO). A work of considerable beauty, it’s far more connected to the “classical” tradition, as is the side’s second piece, “Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka,” a work for solo piano (Marcel Worms). “Fratres,” a piece for strings (Hungarian State Opera Orchestra) and percussion (Tamás Benedek) is the stunner of the side, but still more overtly defined as a “classical” work, whereas “Silentium” ultimately exists beyond characterization.
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