Morning Star - Arvo Pärt

Here’s an excerpt from our recent concert in Llandaff Cathedral - featuring ‘Morning Star’ by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The following text was written by Caritasian Peter Wagstaff for the programme.
A number of Arvo Pärt's works are the result of commissions to mark significant anniversaries. In the case of Morning Star it was the 175th birthday of Durham University in 2007. Just as he has repeatedly shown a knack of selecting place - and people - specific texts for such occasional pieces, Pärt chose a prayer inscribed above the tomb of St Bede - better known as The Venerable Bede - in Durham's mighty cathedral. Pärt uses tight textures, packed closely together and in high registers, to create the shimmering effect of celestial starlight. This is punctuated by the bass entries (both shocking and pleasing when you first hear them), which seem as the deep darkness against which the Christ-light gleams. The breadth between the upper and lower registers creates a sense of almost infinite space. This is Pärt doing what Pärt does best.