Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1984)

The first disc released in ECM's New Series:

CashBox, January 26, 1985, p. 9

Arvo Pärt is an Estonian composer who created a type of minimalist composition technique he calls tintinnabuli. This recording is generally considered Pärt's introduction to the Western world and contains two of his most well-known works: Fratres and Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten. I discovered Fratres through a piano/cello version used in There Will Be Blood and I'm glad I did.

Headphones recommended.

Press of the time:

• Stereo Review: "Sensitive, exciting, and fully realized compositions"
• Musician: "there's barely a moment on this recording that won't elevate or entrance the listener"
• DownBeat (★★): "'Where is the music?' As hapless Hamlet says in the play, that is the question."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks, with links to program notes from the composer's website:

• Fratres (violin/piano)
• Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten (Staatsorchester Stuttgart, Dennis Russell Davies, cond.)
• Fratres (12 cellists)
• Tabula Rasa (Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Saulus Sondeckis, cond.)

My favorite here is the Cantus - such a gorgeous piece with constant downward motion until the resolution. Of the two versions of Fratres presented, I prefer the calmer setting for cellos. Tabula Rasa is a 26½ minute piece that includes two violin soloists and prepared piano (been a good long while since I've heard one of those). It will require more listening and work on my part - hopefully I can find a score to examine. I look forward to continuing that journey. [Here was a moving start to that journey, back when I subscribed to The New Yorker: Consolations: Arvo Pärt by Alex Ross, December 2, 2002]

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. This album was issued as I was heading off to college to study music and I wish someone had introduced me to it at that time.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Fratres (1995)