Pēteris Vasks on Pärt: “I’m a bit different from Arvo Pärt, for example - he’s already living in Paradise, and his music comes from there! There’s no emotion, no drama. My ideal is there, but I am living here…” (from the liner notes to Hyperion CDA67496, Weill/Vasks violin concertos) This stuck with me because it explains the difficulty I’ve had in accessing some of Pärt’s music. Sometimes it helps me to find a more meditative state; that Jarrett/Kremer release on ECM (with Schnittke on the prepared piano!) is fantastic for that. At other times, it simply fails to connect. I will of course continue to try. There is something here worth listening to, even if I can’t find the right emotional state for it.
As an aside, I had to dig through my entire stack of Vasks to find that quote, and it’s quite a stack! But it shows the importance of reading the liner notes, and what is being lost in the transition to streaming services that rarely have them.
I was introduced to the music of Arvo Pärt by a red-headed girl who used to play CDs of his at Tower Records (Piccadilly Circus, London) back in 1988 or 89. She also introduced me to Philp Glass and his opera Akhnaten. I only have 5 CDs with music by Pärt, including the Tabula Rasa and Arbos CDs commented here. I love his music from the 1960s that Neeme Järvi served us on a CD for BIS (first three symphonies, Pro et Contra, Cantus...). His Passio makes for a nice long siesta every now and then.
I am not at all a spiritual person. But I really love Arvo Pärt, I've sung a few of his works and I think they are very interesting and soothing works mostly.
YAY! I just asked about him last week. Been dying to know if you do or don't like him. I actually have some nice autographs from him which I understand he doesn't give out too often!
Just booked to see the Icelandic Symphony play his Symphonies 1 - 4 in Reykjavik in March. At the Harpa Concert Hall - a beautiful building. To be recorded for Chandos I understand 😊
I too seem to run hot or cold on Pärt. I love the Tabula Rasa and Te Deum CDs, even the Kanon Pokajanen, and there's a few other pieces that'll stop me in my tracks and command my full attention, but I find that some of the other choral stuff is pretty ho-hum. "Passio" is just a snoozer for me. Christian spirituality isn't my bag, but the best Pärt can plop a halo over my bald spot.
Yes. I don’t mind listening to Pärt in certain moods and seems to be a nice intelligent man. But I do share your reservations about this ‘spiritual’ return of tonality. I find Kanon Pokainen soothing and interesting. But the Pärt thing, absolutely not going to call it a cult, seems to reflect a probably steep rise in anxieties of various kinds since the 1980s. Likewise with all these marvellous mainly Baltic republic choirs connected to this. On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve seen that the archive of Schoenberg material in los angeles has basically burnt down.
@@darmokt I’m not sure. There’s quite a lot in Vienna and I think there are some digital backups, but some of it is just presumably lost. In particular, the parts for various works including Gurrelieder, were commonly sourced from LA prior to this, in North America at least
I read that the original scores are safe and remain at the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna, having been transferred from the University of Southern California almost 30 years ago. The current loss caused by the fire concerns correspondence, manuscripts and other memorabilia.
Fratres is a great piece. If he loosened up as a 'holy minimalist' his music would be much better. He seems to be a professional penitent and a prisoner of his own rigid theories.
When I see his monkish look on some covers I‘m not inclined to listen to his music at all. But once or twice a year I do it anyway - and it can be very nice, but more the orchestral pieces than those endless monk choirs. I‘m not a religious, not even a very spiritual person, and all these composers like him or Gorecki or Tavener can be very pretentious - and yet can touch me from time to time, esp. Gorecki‘s „Symphony of Sorrowful Songs“, but only the version with Kamirski and Stefania Woytowicz on Koch-Schwann. Later recordings just jump on the „hip train“. As always greetings from Berlin and a big thank you!
Pēteris Vasks on Pärt: “I’m a bit different from Arvo Pärt, for example - he’s already living in Paradise, and his music comes from there! There’s no emotion, no drama. My ideal is there, but I am living here…” (from the liner notes to Hyperion CDA67496, Weill/Vasks violin concertos)
This stuck with me because it explains the difficulty I’ve had in accessing some of Pärt’s music. Sometimes it helps me to find a more meditative state; that Jarrett/Kremer release on ECM (with Schnittke on the prepared piano!) is fantastic for that. At other times, it simply fails to connect. I will of course continue to try. There is something here worth listening to, even if I can’t find the right emotional state for it.
As an aside, I had to dig through my entire stack of Vasks to find that quote, and it’s quite a stack! But it shows the importance of reading the liner notes, and what is being lost in the transition to streaming services that rarely have them.
I was introduced to the music of Arvo Pärt by a red-headed girl who used to play CDs of his at Tower Records (Piccadilly Circus, London) back in 1988 or 89. She also introduced me to Philp Glass and his opera Akhnaten. I only have 5 CDs with music by Pärt, including the Tabula Rasa and Arbos CDs commented here. I love his music from the 1960s that Neeme Järvi served us on a CD for BIS (first three symphonies, Pro et Contra, Cantus...). His Passio makes for a nice long siesta every now and then.
A little classical music humor...
Q: Name 10 pieces composed by Arvo Part.
A: Fratres.
LOL!
I am not at all a spiritual person. But I really love Arvo Pärt, I've sung a few of his works and I think they are very interesting and soothing works mostly.
I saw the Cantus for Britten played by BSO a couple years ago and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.
YAY! I just asked about him last week. Been dying to know if you do or don't like him. I actually have some nice autographs from him which I understand he doesn't give out too often!
Just booked to see the Icelandic Symphony play his Symphonies 1 - 4 in Reykjavik in March. At the Harpa Concert Hall - a beautiful building. To be recorded for Chandos I understand 😊
I too seem to run hot or cold on Pärt. I love the Tabula Rasa and Te Deum CDs, even the Kanon Pokajanen, and there's a few other pieces that'll stop me in my tracks and command my full attention, but I find that some of the other choral stuff is pretty ho-hum. "Passio" is just a snoozer for me. Christian spirituality isn't my bag, but the best Pärt can plop a halo over my bald spot.
I "feel" the music of Morten Lauridsen. What about John Rutter?
Yes. I don’t mind listening to Pärt in certain moods and seems to be a nice intelligent man. But I do share your reservations about this ‘spiritual’ return of tonality. I find Kanon Pokainen soothing and interesting. But the Pärt thing, absolutely not going to call it a cult, seems to reflect a probably steep rise in anxieties of various kinds since the 1980s. Likewise with all these marvellous mainly Baltic republic choirs connected to this.
On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve seen that the archive of Schoenberg material in los angeles has basically burnt down.
That is very sad. I hope all of it had been digitized and backed up already, so at least the knowledge is not lost.
@@darmokt I’m not sure. There’s quite a lot in Vienna and I think there are some digital backups, but some of it is just presumably lost. In particular, the parts for various works including Gurrelieder, were commonly sourced from LA prior to this, in North America at least
Yes, I get the impression that many items in this archive were not otherwise preserved and thus permanently lost to history.
I read that the original scores are safe and remain at the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna, having been transferred from the University of Southern California almost 30 years ago. The current loss caused by the fire concerns correspondence, manuscripts and other memorabilia.
Dave you and Jim Svejda share the same opinion on Arvo Pärt, I have to agree with you both!
Fratres is a great piece. If he loosened up as a 'holy minimalist' his music would be much better. He seems to be a professional penitent and a prisoner of his own rigid theories.
When I see his monkish look on some covers I‘m not inclined to listen to his music at all. But once or twice a year I do it anyway - and it can be very nice, but more the orchestral pieces than those endless monk choirs. I‘m not a religious, not even a very spiritual person, and all these composers like him or Gorecki or Tavener can be very pretentious - and yet can touch me from time to time, esp. Gorecki‘s „Symphony of Sorrowful Songs“, but only the version with Kamirski and Stefania Woytowicz on Koch-Schwann. Later recordings just jump on the „hip train“. As always greetings from Berlin and a big thank you!