Part: The Sound Of Arvo Part

CD1 ORCHESTRAL WORKS I

1. Pro et contra: Concerto for cello and orchestra: I Maestoso
2. Pro et contra: Concerto for cello and orchestra: II Largo
3. Pro et contra: Concerto for cello and orchestra: III Allegro
4. Symphony No. 1 op. 9 „Polyphonic": I Kaanonid
5. Symphony No. 1 op. 9 „Polyphonic": II Prelüüd ja Fuuga
6. Collage über B A C H for strings, oboe, harpsichord & piano: I Toccata: Preciso
7. Collage über B A C H for strings, oboe, harpsichord & piano: II Sarabande: Lento
8. Collage über B A C H for strings, oboe, harpsichord & piano: III Ricercare: Deciso
9. Perpetuum mobile op. 10 for orchestra
10. Meie aed (Our Garden) op. 3 Cantata for children’s choir and orchestra: Allegro
11. Meie aed (Our Garden) op. 3 Cantata for children’s choir and orchestra: II Andantino cantabile
12. Meie aed (Our Garden) op. 3 Cantata for children’s choir and orchestra: III Allegro
13. Meie aed (Our Garden) op. 3 Cantata for children’s choir and orchestra: IV Moderato – Allegro
14. Symphony No. 2: 1  = 104–120
15. Symphony No. 2: II  = 112
16. Symphony No. 2: III = 48–60

CD2 ORCHESTRAL WORKS II

1. Summa for string orchestra
2. Trisagion for string orchestra
3. Symphony No. 3: 1  = 66
4. Symphony No. 3: II  = 54–56
5. Symphony No. 3: III  = 60
6. Fratres for string orchestra and percussion
7. Silouans Song for string orchestra
8. Festina Lente for string orchestra and harp
9. Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bell

CD3 CHORAL WORKS & CHAMBER MUSIC

1. Beatus: Statuit ei Dominus
2. Missa syllabica: I Kyrie
3. Missa syllabica: II Gloria
4. Missa syllabica: III Credo  
5. Missa syllabica: III Sanctus
6. Missa syllabica: V Agnus Dei
7. Missa syllabica: VI Ite, missa est
8. Missa syllabica: Beatus Petronius
9. Magnificat Antiphons: I O Weisheit
10. Magnificat Antiphons: II O Adonai
11. Magnificat Antiphons: III O Spross aus Isais Wurzel
12. Magnificat Antiphons: IV O Schlüssel Davids
13. Magnificat Antiphons: V O Morgenstern
14. Magnificat Antiphons: VI O König aller Völker
15. Magnificat Antiphons: VII O Immanuel
16. De profundis
17. Memento
18. Cantate Domino
19. Solfeggio
20. Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano

Arvo Pärt is one of the greatest living composers, a cult figure of the avant-garde, a man who redefined musical modernism with his instantly recognisable style, termed ‘the New Simplicity’: accessible and cinematic yet profoundly moving. Even those who usually steer clear of classical music are hypnotised by the tension of his music and held spellbound by its mysterious spirituality. On 11 September the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt will turn 80 years old. To honour this occasion Warner Classics are combining three albums with internationally acclaimed recordings to create the digipak The Sound of Arvo Pärt. The performers, including conductors Paavo Järvi and Tõnu Kaljuste, hail from Pärt’s native Estonia and present uniquely authentic readings.

The repertoire on the three albums covers the most famous of Pärt’s orchestral works: Fratres (perhaps his most famous piece altogether), Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, the first three symphonies and Summa. The second point of focus falls on his choral music, and thus on the sacred component to which Pärt, with his spiritual leanings, attaches immense importance: the legendary prizewinning Estonian Chamber Choir under Tõnu Kaljuste performs the Missa syllabica, the Magnificat Antiphonen and De Profundis. Also included are Pärt’s celebrated, hypnotic Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano. The collection presents a fascinating portrait of a composer who had to wrest his personal style from the culture-political reprisals of the Soviet Union. After meeting government regulations in his early works, Pärt went into inner emigration with his studies of music of the past before relocating to the West in 1980.