Paavo Järvi & Tõnu Kaljuste - The Sound of Arvo Pärt (2015)

He’s considered the contemporary composer par excellence, a cult figure of the avant-garde, a man who redefined musical modernism. Even those who wrinkle their nose at 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 beautifully presented collection The Sound of Arvo Pärt. The performers are top-quality artists from Pärt’s native Estonia, above all the conductors Paavo Järvi and Tõnu Kaljuste, who 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), 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 fabled 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. Together, the three albums form 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.

Tracklist:

CD1 Orchestral Works I
Conducted by: Paavo Järvi & Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Pro et contra • Symphony No. 1 • Collage über BACH • Perpetuum mobile • Meie aed • Symphony No. 2
1. Pro et contra (Cello Concerto): I. Maestoso - Paavo Jarvi
2. Pro et contra (Cello Concerto): II. Largo - Paavo Jarvi
3. Pro et contra (Cello Concerto): III. Allegro - Paavo Jarvi
4. Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, 'Polyphonic': I. Kaanonid - Paavo Jarvi
5. Symphony No 1, Op 9, 'Polyphonic': II Preluud ja Fuuga - Paavo Jarvi
6. Collage uber B A C H: I Toccata: Preciso - Paavo Jarvi
7. Collage uber B A C H: II Sarabande: Lento - Paavo Jarvi
8. Collage uber B A C H: III Ricercare: Deciso - Paavo Jarvi
9. Perpetuum mobile, Op. 10 - Paavo Jarvi
10. Meie aed (Our Garden), Op. 3: I. Allegro - Paavo Jarvi
11. Meie aed (Our Garden), Op. 3: II. Andantino cantabile - Paavo Jarvi
12. Meie aed (Our Garden), Op. 3: III. Allegro - Paavo Jarvi
13. Meie aed (Our Garden), Op. 3: IV. Moderato - Allegro - Paavo Jarvi
14. Symphony No. 2: I. crochet = 104-120 - Paavo Jarvi
15. Symphony No. 2: II. minim = 112 - Paavo Jarvi
16. Symphony No. 2: III. crochet = 48-60 - Paavo Jarvi

CD2 Orchestral Works II
Conducted by: Paavo Järvi & Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Summa •Trisagion • Symphony No. 3 • Fratres • Silouans Song • Festina Lente • Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten
1. Summa - Paavo Jarvi
2. Trisagion - Paavo Jarvi
3. Symphony No. 3: I. crotchet = 66 - Paavo Jarvi
4. Symphony No. 3: II. minim = 54-56 - Paavo Jarvi
5. Symphony No. 3: III. minim = 60 - Paavo Jarvi
6. Fratres - Paavo Jarvi
7. Silouans Song - Paavo Jarvi
8. Festina Lente - Paavo Jarvi
9. Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten - Paavo Jarvi

CD3 Choral Works & Chamber Music
Tõnu Kaljuste & Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Statuit ei Dominus • Magnificat Antiphons • Beatus Petronius • Missa syllabica • De profundis • Memento • Cantate Domino • Solfeggio • Spiegel im Spiegel
1. Statuit ei Dominus - Tonu Kaljuste
2. Missa syllabica: I. Kyrie - Tonu Kaljuste
3. Missa syllabica: II. Gloria - Tonu Kaljuste
4. Missa syllabica: III. Credo - Tonu Kaljuste
5. Missa syllabica: IV. Sanctus - Tonu Kaljuste
6. Missa syllabica: V. Agnus Dei - Tonu Kaljuste
7. Missa syllabica: VI. Ite, missa est - Tonu Kaljuste
8. Beatus Petronius - Tonu Kaljuste
9. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: I. O Weisheit - Tonu Kaljuste
10. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: II. O Adonai - Tonu Kaljuste
11. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: III. O Spross aus Isais Wurzel - Tonu Kaljuste
12. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: IV O Schlussel Davids - Tonu Kaljuste
13. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: V. O Morgenstern - Tonu Kaljuste
14. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: VI O Konig aller Volker - Tonu Kaljuste
15. 7 Magnificat Antiphons: VII. O Immanuel - Tonu Kaljuste
16. De profundis - Tonu Kaljuste
17. Memento - Tonu Kaljuste
18. Cantate Domino - Tonu Kaljuste
19. Solfeggio - Tonu Kaljuste
20. Spiegel im Spiegel - Tasmin Little