Search - Arvo Pärt, Tonu Kaljuste, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir :: Arvo Pärt: Beatus

Part fans take note, this is not to be missed

Brian Yates | West by God Virginia | 02/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

A sublime experience

Marius Cipolla | 01/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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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