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Arvo Part

Tractus

ECM
Release Date: November 3, 2023

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1 Littlemore Tractus  
2 Greater Antiphons - O Wisdom  
3 Greater Antiphons - O Adonai  
4 Greater Antiphons - O Root of Jesse  
5 Greater Antiphons - O Key of David  
6 Greater Antiphons - O Morning Star  
7 Greater Antiphons - O King of all People  
8 Greater Antiphons - O Emmanuel  
9 Cantique des degres  
10 Sequentia  
11 L'abbe Agathon  
12 These Words  
13 Veni creator  
14 Vater unser  
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Tractus emphasizes Arvo Pärt compositions that blend the timbres of string orchestra and choir. New versions predominate, with focused performances from the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Tõnu Kaljuste’s direction that invite alert and concentrated listening. From the opening composition Littlemore Tractus, which takes as its starting point consoling reflections from a sermon by John Henry Newman, the idea of change, transfiguration and renewal resonates, setting a tone for a recording whose character is one of summing up, looking inward, and reconciling with the past.

Tõnu Kaljuste, a long-time ally of Pärt, points out that much recent discussion with the composer has revolved around new approaches to the scores. Commenting on the wide-reaching and evocative repertoire brought together here, Wolfgang Sandner remarks in the CD’s liner note, “sound and silence, music and word always remain in dialogue in Arvo Pärt’s work. But the vocal and the instrumental too, the secular and the profane, complement each other. Liturgical ritual and spiritual concert are in exchange and form a context that points to a common origin.”

  • Arvo Part - 'Spiegel im Spiegel' reflects like infinite mirrors / The Tech
    Posted At: January 9, 2025
    a piece true to its nameThe Tech's Vivian Hir writes….One of my favorite musical pieces of all time is contemporary classical composer Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel, which means “mirror(s) in the mirror” in German. I first listened to the piece when I watched the Boston Ballet perform Helen Pickett’s Tsukiyo two years ago, a duet inspired by the Japanese fable of “The Woodcutter’s Daughter” set to Spiegel ...

  • Arvo Part - Tractus makes NPR: 10 Best Classical Albums of 2023
    Posted At: December 13, 2023
    Music and word: In Arvo Pärt’s work, they are manifestly at its core, even when no word is heard, no text has been set to music, but the power of language becomes the subject nonetheless. – Wolfgang SandnerTractus emphasizes Arvo Pärt compositions that blend the timbres of string orchestra and choir. New versions predominate, with focused performances from the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Phil...

  • Arvo Part - Tractus makes Wild Mercury Rhythm: Happy Holidays 2023
    Posted At: December 3, 2023
    Music and word: In Arvo Pärt’s work, they are manifestly at its core, even when no word is heard, no text has been set to music, but the power of language becomes the subject nonetheless. – Wolfgang SandnerTractus emphasizes Arvo Pärt compositions that blend the timbres of string orchestra and choir. New versions predominate, with focused performances from the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Phil...

  • A disciplined plea for peace and quiet from composer Arvo Part / NPR
    Posted At: November 10, 2023
    The Silence And Awe Of Arvo Pärt. The new album of music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt is a warm blanket of comfort in troubled times.NPR - All Things Considered - Tom Huizenga writes…..The new album of music by Arvo Pärt, Tractus, seems to put an arm around you and whisper, "In troubled times, music can help." Known for his serene, slow-moving music, the 88-year-old Estonian composer has attracted a legio...

  • At 83, Arvo Part is still alive, engaged and composing / stereophile
    Posted At: October 15, 2018

    Forty years after he wrote his two-movement Tabula Rasa for violinist Gidon Kremer, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, 83, is still alive, engaged and composing. Hence it should come as no surprise that when violinist Viktoria Mullova and conductor Paavo Järvi contacted Pärt about their plan to record five of his works for violin and various instruments for their Onyx album, Arvo Pärt,...

  • Bachtrack says; 'Arvo Part is the world's most performed living composer for seventh straight year' / estonian world
    Posted At: January 14, 2018

    The Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, has, for the seventh year in a row, been given the title of the "world's most performed living composer" by the classical music event database, Bachtrack. "We always keep an eye on contemporary performance, where the composer with the most performed works has been Arvo Pärt since 2011," Backtrack said on its website. However, Backtrack noted that Pärt's le...

  • Syndicated - Hearts of Space features; Part, Richter, Dubeau, Arnalds & Johannsson
    Posted At: December 18, 2017

    Hearts of Space is heard on over 200 National Public Radio stations. Estimated audience: 200,000 listeners / week. HOS is the #2 contemporary Music program on public radio in station carriage and is in the Top 20 list of all syndicated programs, including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Prairie Home Companion, etc.The program is also heard weekly on Digitally Imported (DI.fm) on the SPACE DREAMS ...

  • My year with Arvo Part / theguardian
    Posted At: November 1, 2015

    Günter Atteln made a film about the composer Arvo Pärt titled - The Lost Paradise. WATCH  "I apologise, but I cannot help you with words. I am a composer and express myself with sounds." This was the opening of Arvo Pärt's short speech at the Vatican in February 2015. The Pontifical Council for Culture had invited Estonian-born composer to speak at a plenary assembly that focused ...

  • Arvo Part - Musica Selecta is a WFMT: 'New Release' this week
    Posted At: September 20, 2015

    Estonian composer Arvo Pärt celebrated his 80th birthday on September 11th. For the occasion, ECM released this special double album, ‘Musica Selecta.' Pärt and producer Manfred Eicher have maintained a friendship and creative partnership for more than thirty years. Eicher launched ECM New Series in 1984 as a platform for Pärt's music. Since then, all first recordings of P&au...

  • Musica Selecta: A Sequence by Manfred Eicher / Buffalo News review
    Posted At: September 13, 2015

    I know what you're thinking: "Enough self-celebration already." The 40th anniversary of the venerable ECM label a few years ago unleashed a cavalcade of discs wherein the label celebrates itself and the musicians with whom it has had culture-changing relationships. Almost all have been good; some of those discs have been spectacular. None has been better than this two disc sequence of selections from...
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