Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt, born in Paide, Estonia, in 1935, is the most performed living composer of classical music. After years of serialism and collage, and a long silence, he found in 1976 a method he called tintinnabuli, from the sound of small bells: a melody moving stepwise against the notes of a single triad. Für Alina, Fratres, Tabula Rasa and Spiegel im Spiegel, all written between 1976 and 1978, made the style known worldwide.
Musica Selecta
As the title and subtitle imply, this is a kind of greatest-hits album, with music selected by ECM label producer Manfred Eicher from the 12 albums on the label devoted to the music of Arvo Pärt. Pärt's music is so malleable that people tend to make their own versions of it rather than collect it, but if you wanted an anthology as a starter box, this would be the one to choose. Eicher has worked closely with Pärt since the 1980s, and he has indeed made a sensible "sequence" out of works that do …
Für Alina
Compilation of Mississippi's favorite Arvo Part pieces. All sparse and beautiful arrangements. Some solo piano pieces, some duets with piano, violin cello and viola and one string quartet. The pieces on this record are all unique to the style of Arvo Part—deceptively simple compositions that force you to live in the moment you are listening to them. A Part quote from the back of the record: "You can kill people with sound. And if you can kill, then maybe there is also the sound that is op…
Passio
The recording of this formidable piece of religious music dates back to 1988, though Passio had its Munich premiere back in 1982. The piece is an interpretation of the Passion as given account by St. John's gospel, which is here performed by The Hilliard Ensemble. At the core of the piece is the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus, as played out between tenor and bass vocalists, respectively. One of the key elements to the emotive success of Passio is the punctuation of the piece, with the …
Berliner Messe
With a number of modern classics already to his name, notably the Symphony No. 3 [Naxos 8.554591], Tabula Rasa [8.554591], Fratres and Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten [8.553750], culminating in 1982 with his largest work thus far, the St John Passion [8.555860], Arvo Pärt has during the past 20 years consolidated his reputation as one of the most significant composers at work today with a sequence of magnificent sacred choral works. The present recording provides an overview of Pärt’s mature…
A Portrait
Arvo Pärt: A Portrait. His Works, his Life. It contains 2 CDs with over 2½ hours of music, richly illustrated with rarely seen photographs, and a detailed essay by Nick Kimberley. The music of Arvo Pärt draws on traditions stretching back across the centuries, yet it could only have been written by someone who had lived through the complexities and contradictions of the last half-century. In his native Estonia, his early music incurred the wrath of the Soviet authorities; when he moved to the We…
Kanon Pokajanen
Arvo Pärt's Kanon Pokajanen, a complete a cappella setting of the Orthodox Canon of Repentance in Church Slavonic, sung by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Tõnu Kaljuste. Recorded June 1997, Niguliste Church, Tallinn. Two CDs.
Prokofiev, Pärt, Schnittke
Duo Gazzana (Natascia Gazzana, violin; Raffaella Gazzana, piano) play Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 1 and Five Melodies, Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel and Schnittke's Gratulationsrondo. Recorded February 2025 at the Reitstadel, Neumarkt; produced by Manfred Eicher.
Elusive Affinity
Solo piano recital by Anna Gourari: Bach's Vivaldi and Marcello arrangements framing works by Schnittke, Shchedrin, Rihm, Pärt and Kancheli. Recorded January 2018 at the Historischer Reitstadel, Neumarkt, produced by Manfred Eicher.
The Deer's Cry
Thirteen choral works by Arvo Pärt from 1977 to 2014, including two first recordings, sung by the Estonian ensemble Vox Clamantis under Jaan-Eik Tulve; recorded mainly in Tallinn in 2013 and 2014, with Veni Creator from Haapsalu in 2007.
Arvo Pärt, Latvian Radio Choir, Sinfonietta Riga, Vox Clamantis, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Tõnu Kaljuste
Adam's LamentEight choral works by Arvo Pärt, led by the 24-minute Adam's Lament, sung and played by Latvian and Estonian choirs and string orchestras under Tõnu Kaljuste, recorded at Niguliste Church, Tallinn, in 2007 and 2011.
Trivium
Organ works by Arvo Pärt, Peter Maxwell Davies and Philip Glass played by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, recorded in October 1990 at the Grossmünster, Zürich, and produced by Manfred Eicher.