Arvo Part - A Portrait

Published Tuesday 26th July 2005
Arvo Part - A Portrait
Arvo Part - A Portrait

STYLE: Classical
RATING 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 13250-
LABEL: Naxos 855818283
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 2
RRP: £9.99

Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

This budget-priced double CD is released for Pärt's 70th birthday. It is a unique survey of his career, from early experiments with serialism that risked the displeasure of his Soviet masters, through to musical collages inspired by Bach, such as "Collage über B-A-C-H", and on to his discovery of his tintinnabulation or bell style. The package includes an 80 page booklet by Nick Kimberley that places Pärt in his context and offers a clear and concise overview to his life and works. The two and a half hours of music is made up of 33 tracks from nine different albums. The obvious choices are present, including "Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten" and excerpts from 'Passio', 'Berliner Messe', 'Triodion' and 'Tabula Rasa' as well as some less expected works. Personally I would have preferred fewer but longer extracts but the obvious response to this is to go and listen to the complete works: most are taken from Naxos recordings and so are easy to find and outstanding value. My other criticism was that the booklet does not contain a full discography but when I followed Kimberley's advice and visited www.arvopart.org I found out why: Pärt's discography is massive, which makes this well thought out collection even more helpful.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

Be the first to comment on this article

We welcome your opinions but libellous and abusive comments are not allowed.












We are committed to protecting your privacy. By clicking 'Send comment' you consent to Cross Rhythms storing and processing your personal data. For more information about how we care for your data please see our privacy policy.

NAVIGATION
CONNECT WITH CROSS RHYTHMS
SIGNUP

Connect with Cross Rhythms by signing up to our email mailing list

A Step Change...
Cross Rhythms Media Training Centre
MORE ARTICLES
DISCOGRAPHY
ARTIST PROFILES
Artists & DJs A-Z
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
Or keyword search

 

PRAYER ROOMS
Incinerator
Be genuine and real and incinerate your attitudes and apathy in our Prayer Room