This is the music of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. It may not be to everyone’s liking but when I first heard it about 30 years ago it ‘grabbed’ me immediately and it gets better as I get older. It is certainly different, I’m sure you will agree.
Pärt was born in Estonia in 1935. He has composed music since the 1950’s, music which in Soviet-controlled country was alternately praised or banned, but was completely unknown in the West until the 1980’s.
In 1977, he wrote a trio of works that were to define his own style, and set his future course of composition. In that year he wrote the three works that made him famous in the West, the three works that are still regarded as his best are Fratres, Cantus for Benjamin Britten and Tabula Rasa.
“I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence, comforts me. I work with very few elements - with one voice, two voices. I build with primitive materials - with the triad, with one specific tonality. The three notes of a triad are like bells and that is why I call it tintinnabulation”- Arvo Pärt
https://www.good-music-guide.com/reviews/071_arvo_part.htm
Pärt – Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten – Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Spiegel im Spiegel for Cello and Piano (Arvo Pärt)
VOCES8: The Deer’s Cry - Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt De Profundis
Tabula Rasa Part 1 “Ludus”
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