3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A sublime experience, January 3, 2006
This review is from: Arvo Pärt: Beatus (Audio CD)
The music of Arvo Part is one of the great consolations of our age. Often described as out of step with the times, his choral compositions display continuity with the great liturgical music of the 16th Century and earlier. Richly-textured, driven by what seems to be an unshakeable faith and commitment, his church music is certainly composed from an ethical standpoint which few these days can share. Yet he is unmistakably of our time, and that is what makes him so wonderful. From the first notes of this wonderful Mass, we are aware that Part is a contemporary, a sufferer, the great soul we never expected to meet.
None of Part's religious music is more beautiful than the Missa Syllabica, and no listener need fear not finding it ravishingly enjoyable. While still a student, one of his teachers said of him that it was as if he had merely to shake his sleeve and notes fell out, and that richly inventive power remains. The increasingly chaotic music of his early career seems to have reflected his inability to deal with ever-receding boundaries, his own overflowing talents, and the sheer number of musical ideas that occurred to him. Though in the second part of his career he seems to have deliberately imposed restrictions on his musical materials, challenging himself to compose with a starkly reduced palette, and in rigorously disciplined formats, he has achieved wonderful things - and this music is among them.
Highly recommended to believer and atheist alike for spiritual consolation.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some of the arrangements, cutting out the organ, don't work but the remaining material is quite satisfying, May 6, 2008
This review is from: Arvo Pärt: Beatus (Audio CD)
This disc of Arvo Part's choral works was released on Virgin Classics in 1997. Tonu Kaljuste leads the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. It includes 3 world premiere recordings, with some pieces hear in unaccompanied versions (without organ) for the first time.
There was quite a bit that I didn't like about this disc. "De Profundis" have already appeared on ECM. Generally the ECM recordings can be seen as definitive as the composer is involved in their production. "Solfeggio" is unusual in being a vocal work without any programmatic basis, unlike the overtly Christian music which is the hallmark of Part's writing, but it's not a terribly substantial piece. The "Magnificat Antiphones", seven German-language settings of praises of Christ, are the most diverse of the a capella works, but they don't draw me back.
Generally, I'm not a big fan of Part's pieces in the a capella vein, the only success being his massive
Kanon Pokajanen of 1999 (but that goes between mere art music to a full-fledged setting for liturgical use.) What seriously weakens this disc, therefore, is that the wonderful "Missa syllabica" and solid "Cantate Domino", originally for organ and choir, is heard here without the vital organ parts. Just compare the dull performances here to that on
a Harmonia Mundi disc with Theatre of Voices and Paul Hillier where the organ part is present.
Luckily, however, we have here one of Part's sketches for Kanon Pokajanen. The nine-minute "Memento" was ultimately integrated into Ode VII of Part's masterpiece. If you not sure if you should invest in the pricey ECM two-disc set of the Kanon Pokajanen--and if you are not a devout Orthodox believer there's no guarantee you'll like that liturgical work--then this is a good place to hear its soundworld for the first time.
Of the remaining works on the CD, two are for choir and not one, but two organs. "Statuit ei Dominus" and "Beatus Petronius" both date from 1990, when they were commissioned for the 600th anniversary of the Basilica San Petronio in Bologna. The former recalls the strong musical drama of "Misere" for choir and ensemble, while the latter is more contemplative. I enjoy them both greatly.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Part fans take note, this is not to be missed, February 9, 2003
This review is from: Arvo Pärt: Beatus (Audio CD)
These works for choir and pipe organ are easily some of the most stunning, moving, and emotionally evocative works yet composed by Arvo Part. But be warned, these songs go from pianissimo to fortissimo quite suddenly and unexpectedly. I learned this the hard way trying to listen to track one on headphones in a car. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir once again demonstrates their superiority. I own several Part recordings, and this quite easily ranks with Tabula Rasa as Part's best work.
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