What do you think?
Rate this book
A Simple Introduction to the Music of Arvo Pärt: 10 Essential Compositions
Arvo Pärt, born in Estonia in 1935, is one of the most celebrated and popular among living composers. His works are performed all over the world, and his music is often praised for its purity, beauty and spirituality. In this short book (5,000+ words), John Arnold Matthews introduces Arvo Pärt’s music through ten selected compositions. It is a brief and accessible read for the person who is curious about the music of Arvo Pärt, but doesn’t quite know where or how to start.
23 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2020
6 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 9, 2020
Essential Arvo Pärt
Review of the Kindle eBook edition (2020)
As closely as I try to keep up on all things related to the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in order to maintain current content for the Fan Page on Facebook, I still managed to miss the publication of A Simple Introduction... back in May of 2020. So it was while doing a survey of all new recordings, concerts, radio broadcasts etc. for the birthday week of Arvo Pärt 85 that I came across this Kindle only eBook released several months ago and also the forthcoming architecture related Arvo Pärt Centre & Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – A Common Denominator (expected publication September 2020).
Author Matthews holds true to his title by presenting a very readable user friendly introductory guide which does not require previous musical knowledge to easily comprehend. Things are kept very straightforward with simple discussions of melody, harmony, tempo and instrumentation.
The selection of the 10 Essential Works is also hard to refute. Longer works are mostly excluded, except for the Silentium section (usually 16 minutes) of Tabula Rasa and the Stabat Mater (usually 24 minutes or so). It is the core, mostly instrumental, repertoire that is the essence, including Für Alina, Spiegel im Spiegel, Fratres, Summa, Cantus, Festina Lente, Credo from Berliner Messe, and Solfeggio, all 5 to 10 minutes in length.
The list of recommended albums is also kept to a few key discs, making for an easier selection for any new listeners. These are the Alina, Arbos and Miserere albums on ECM Records, the Summa album on BIS Records, the Summa album on Virgin Classics (now Erato), Organ and Choral Music on Brilliant Classics, and De Profundis on Harmonia Mundi.
This gets a strong recommendation for new fans and is quite an excellent refresher for old ones as well.
Review of the Kindle eBook edition (2020)
As closely as I try to keep up on all things related to the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in order to maintain current content for the Fan Page on Facebook, I still managed to miss the publication of A Simple Introduction... back in May of 2020. So it was while doing a survey of all new recordings, concerts, radio broadcasts etc. for the birthday week of Arvo Pärt 85 that I came across this Kindle only eBook released several months ago and also the forthcoming architecture related Arvo Pärt Centre & Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos – A Common Denominator (expected publication September 2020).
Author Matthews holds true to his title by presenting a very readable user friendly introductory guide which does not require previous musical knowledge to easily comprehend. Things are kept very straightforward with simple discussions of melody, harmony, tempo and instrumentation.
The selection of the 10 Essential Works is also hard to refute. Longer works are mostly excluded, except for the Silentium section (usually 16 minutes) of Tabula Rasa and the Stabat Mater (usually 24 minutes or so). It is the core, mostly instrumental, repertoire that is the essence, including Für Alina, Spiegel im Spiegel, Fratres, Summa, Cantus, Festina Lente, Credo from Berliner Messe, and Solfeggio, all 5 to 10 minutes in length.
The list of recommended albums is also kept to a few key discs, making for an easier selection for any new listeners. These are the Alina, Arbos and Miserere albums on ECM Records, the Summa album on BIS Records, the Summa album on Virgin Classics (now Erato), Organ and Choral Music on Brilliant Classics, and De Profundis on Harmonia Mundi.
This gets a strong recommendation for new fans and is quite an excellent refresher for old ones as well.
Displaying 1 of 1 review