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Arvo PÄRT
(b.1935)
Symphony No. 4 Los Angeles (2008) [35:09] Kanon pokajanen (fragments) (1997) [14:50]
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/Esa-Pekka Salonen (symphony)
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir/Tönu Kaljuste (Kanon)
rec. January 2009, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles (symphony);
June 1997, Niguliste Church, Tallinn, Estonia (Kanon). DDD
ECM NEW SERIES 2160 (4763957) [49:59]
Arvo Pärt's Fourth Symphony was premiered by the above forces
on 9 January 2009. The work was also their commission jointly
with the Canberra International Music Festival and the Sydney
Conservatorium.
The Symphony has as an underlying theme: the existence of guardian
angels. The music’s meditative nimbus is established through
giddily high violin harmonics moving in steady progression.
The high ‘ting’ of a single bell provides an earth for the reverentially
shifting clouds of sound. There’s also a Bachian accent which
rises to considerable chorale emphasis in the first movement.
The crump of the timpani speak of tragic earthly things. The
first movement Con sublimita is followed by a Affannoso
of similar gravity. Amid the sternly devotional strings an orchestral
piano sparingly joins the high resonating bell impacts with
vibraphone and small insurgencies of vital panicky pizzicato.
The bells in this movement sometimes suggest a ritual and the
metallic shimmers at 5.45 to signal some sort of epiphany. The
shifting blocks of strings unnervingly echo Valse Triste
and at the end there’s the seraphic peace of Allan Pettersson's
Seventh Symphony but without the nightmare undertow. The high-lying
strata of the strings continue into the Deciso finale
becoming impassioned indeed. There are minimalist interventions
from harp and a more extended contribution from the solo violin.
A gruff march at 5.50 links with Shostakovich and is further
evidence of that deciso marking. The ambience indicates
an audience present but the applause has been most skilfully
elided without any cliff-drop in ambience.
The fragments of Kanon pokajanen for voices alone take
chant as the core. The effect - which is more passionate than
in the symphony - is intensified by the wonderful church acoustic
and by the superb choir which sings with tenderness and ringing
affirmation whether in unison or in tiered sections.
The opalescent and illuminated symphony should appeal strongly
if you already have a penchant for Pärt's Cantus, Valentin
Silvestrov's Fifth Symphony, Kancheli or early Tavener. There
are two other composers who came to mind as I listened. The
first is Alan Hovhaness whose slow-stepping temple dances may
occur to you once or twice while listening to the Pärt. The
other composer is much younger: Alla Pavlova whose sweet-tempered
romantic string writing is engaged throughout her symphonies.
Pärt's sustained lyricism is present in all three movements.
As ever these impressions are not intended to suggest plagiarism
or lack of originality - simply to give a series of reference
points even if these parallels are always crudely approximate
and often out of chronological sequence.
The Kanon reasserts Pärt's roots in worship. Here is
a composer whose stock-in-trade is sincerity, who will not retreat
into complexity and obfuscation and who retains allegiance to
tonality. This music should find a ready audience.