Where has he been? Well, the Medieval era? : ) |
Being a long time choirister;I have had the opportunity to sing a lot of "modern" music including Part.The composer that I have always associated (in my mind)with Part is John Tavener. Perhaps it is because they seemed to appear on the scene at the same time. It could also be the fact that Tavener has a Byzantine tendency in his choice of liturgical texts. Indeed his "Ikon" is obviously so,and anyone that saw Lady Diana's funeral had to be blown away by Tavener's "Song for Athene".
Part is in most ways his own man. He has dark complex sounds that remind me of something like Howells but without the Anglican influence.Both are very difficult to sing and most choirs won't attempt. (thank god!) |
Bryon, I "discovered" Arvo Part's Tabula Rasa, (albeit 20 years ago), and then ended up getting pretty much the entire catalogue. Your question got me thinking and the closest thing to Part I ever heard is the achingly beautiful composition "Carmina" by Terje Bjørklund, performed by the trondheimsolistine on the 2L album Divertimento. This album also has some Britten and Barton and is worth getting.
I never heard any other Terje Bjørklund (apparently he is originally a Jazz guy), but there is a "music for strings" album by Bjorkland that may be worth looking into. |
There are a lot of exelent suggestions already but I would like to add Alfred Schnittke. He is different from Part, I would say more "experimental" for the lack of better word. His Concerto's and violin concerto's are among my absolut favorits in contemporary classic pieces.
Part's Miserere and Lamentante as well.
Sergey. |
Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a lot of listening to do. :-)
Bryon |
You may also enjoy the work of Max Richter although some of his compositions can push toward experimental. I am just beginning to explore modern classical/avant garde and it seems it is a genre rich with incredibly talented artists like Arvo Part.
A couple of other modern classical records I really enjoy are Richard Skelton's Marking Time (Preservation) and the work of Olafur Arnalds, check out And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness (Erased Tape Records). |
A bit different from those already mentioned but definitely worth checking into is Valentin Silvestrov. Good recommendation. I have a few Silvestrov recordings. A favorite is the Symphony No. 5/Posludium disc by Sony Records. David Robertson conducts the Deutches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Alexei Lubimov, piano. |
I agree with T_Bone. Part is fairly unique when it comes to style. While I enjoy Kancheli and Gubaidalina I think a different approach may be to go back in time instead of looking for similar contemporary composers. Try Thomas Tallis "Spem in alium" or masses by William Byrd or even some gregorian chant. I find this is where Part draws a lot of his inspiration from.
As to Part recommendations, anything from ECM label has been worthwhile. Great pieces played by dedicated performers in very good sound.
If you try and like the orchestra pieces in "Arbos" you may want to also try Janacek's "Glagolitic Mass". Another stylisticaly interesting composer with a unique sound world |
I found that the only solution was to buy them all. And then listen to them in order. I found that quite interesting - so much so that I have done it a few times. I have my favorites but it is an interesting 'journey'. I enjoyed that so much that I started doing it with a variety of composers.
There are some great "complete works" boxed sets out there for not huge money. Going through them in chronological order (where possible) provides insight into how the composer's music changed over time (assuming that you trust the interpretation - and that is, in itself, an issue one has to deal with as well). Doing so for a few composers is a great education!
But back to Part. I like Missa Sillabica, Magnificat, Berliner Messe, and possibly my favorite, Miserere. The most accessible of his music might be "I am the True Vine" (if you don't like that one, you might as well skip the rest - if you do, then there is a world beneath which is wonderful to dig into.
Arvo Part is kind of off by himself in terms of style, but I find Tavener (for obvious reasons) and Britten (for reasons I am not sure I can clearly explain) have similarities. I also think fans of Arvo Part who have not listened to Ernest Bloch might enjoy it. Ditto for Bartok, though one might have to listen to a fair bit of him to see the links - but don't worry, it's definitely worth the journey too! |
A bit different from those already mentioned but definitely worth checking into is Valentin Silvestrov. |
Yikes! Been loving Part for eons, it seems. And he found the right label in ECM, as he gets sound quality to match his compositions.
If you like Part, you'll also like Giya Kancheli, another ECM artist. Same qualities and compositional sense. Doesn't use silence quite as well as Part, but a remarkable composer. As mentioned by Ejlif, Ligeti will meet those needs. It's also worth trying works by a Russian woman, Sofia Gubaidalina. Not quite as austere as Part, but in the same sonic family.
The Gorecki No. 3 is nice, but be careful. The most popular one, featuring Dawn Upshaw, is unmitigated crap. Almost ANY of the others in catalog are better. My absolute favorite, if you can find it, is on Olympia. The soprano is Stefania Woytowicz.
Returning to Part, an overlooked work of his is "Kanon Pokajanen." Gorgeous vocal piece. |
I'll second, In Principio. Your list are certainly at the top of my own that I would have otherwise recommended. I'd add, Arbos, and Orient Occident. There is a compilation that you might also enjoy that includes Part as one of the artists. It is on Nonesuch (I think it was also on ECM for a while) and called, Silencio.
Another composer you might like, going a bit further in the realm of minimalist modern... You might try John Adams, On the Transmigration of Souls
More conventional and yet I might also recommend in association with the Part you mention... Henryk Gorecki: Symphony 3 "Sorrowful Songs" |
In pricipio is a newer release that I really like it has the song mein weig which is one of my all time favorites. I also love frates from tabula rasa as well as speigel I'm speigel. There are a lot of modern classical composers I like though they might not all be similar to arvo part they hit hard for me the same way he does. Scelsi, Nono, Xenakis, Penderecki are all favs and my above all fav is Gyorgi Ligeti. |
