[drarthurwells]

Thanks.

I ordered the 1998 version (non-BMG).


Lamentate reminds me of Amarok (by Mike Oldfield) in its free wheeling structure.

Amarok is more high energy while Lamentate is much more subdued and reflective. Both are free wheeling (don't conform to a rigid structure - read disorganized) while Amarok is more convoluted (from being more complicated).

 

[boomana]

Kanon Pokajanen is a excellent choice. As the FL meet is coming up, I'm remembering that I played that CD for all in attendance at the Fri. night gathering at Let There Be Sound last Spring. That choir through those speakers....WOW!!! When you get it, you'll know what I mean. You might want to consider Alina next as a counterpoint: it's pure simplicity.

 

[dave-the-rave]

If you like Arvo, you might like this as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Henryk-Gorecki...e=UTF8&s=music

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave-the-rave /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you like Arvo, you might like this as well: http://www.amazon.com/Henryk-Gorecki...e=UTF8&s=music

Absolutely! A great piece of music.

Very similar to Pärt's music - closest to the musical style of Lamentate than any other I know.

Another very similar style to the above is Toru Takemitsu's film score "Rikyu". This is another great one.

 

[Uncle Erik]

What a coincidence! I was nosing through the rack at Borders yesterday and came across Part's "De Profundis" SACD. I'd heard of him and was curious, so I bought it.

I was floored.

I listened to it all last night and became an instant fan. I love how his music sounds both ancient and modern at the same time. And while musically different, I can't help but be reminded of Bach and his passion for sacred music.

Dave-the-Rave is right on with his Gorecki comparison, as well. If you like one, you'll like the other. Great stuff! And still, it's weird to find this thread here. I was thinking about starting a Part thread all day today!

 

[JohnFerrier]

Credo is smashing.

 

[gratefulshrink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif What a coincidence! I was nosing through the rack at Borders yesterday and came across Part's "De Profundis" SACD. I'd heard of him and was curious, so I bought it. I was floored. I listened to it all last night and became an instant fan. I love how his music sounds both ancient and modern at the same time. And while musically different, I can't help but be reminded of Bach and his passion for sacred music. Dave-the-Rave is right on with his Gorecki comparison, as well. If you like one, you'll like the other. Great stuff! And still, it's weird to find this thread here. I was thinking about starting a Part thread all day today!

While I like Gorecki's 3rd, and it is beautiful, I don't really think the music is very similar to Part's music. I find Part adhering more to minimalist principles, and also experimenting with dissonance more than Gorecki.

In terms of other intense Part works, I'm not sure if Passio has been mentioned yet. IIRC, that is his most austere vocal piece.

One of the first Part CDs I ever bought was Arbos on ECM. I still come back to that from time to time.

 

[drarthurwells]

I view minimalism as basically of two types: 1. minimal instrumentation or, 2. minimal melodic/thematic changes (where repeating themes, perhaps with slight thematic changes, substitutes for melodic/theme changes).

Pärt's "Lamentate" is more of the first type of minimalism while Philip Glass's "Glassworks" is more of the second type.

Another dimension is the abstract-concrete one. Abstraction is reflected in freely structured music, as when dissonance used, or when theme changes interupt a logical flow of notes. E=MCC is a very abstract description while an atomic explosiion is not. Bach is very conctrete, by contrast to the abstract works of Boulez.

"Lamentate" by Arvo Pärt is very similar to Toru Takemitsu's film score "Rikyu", where both are very abstract with extreme instrumental minimalism. "Lamentate" is also (but less) similar to Gorecki's 3rd in many ways but where Gorecki's Symp. #3 uses more instruments and a slightly more complex orchestration. Both are abstract works - particularly the freely structured "Lamentate" with the minimal instrumentation employed in it. Oldfield's "Amarok" is minimalist to some extent, in both types of minimalism, and is abstract (where much free structure is provided tonally and non-tonally in using interjections of footsteps, spoken words, etc.).

I am no expert at all in musical structure and would appreciate input from those more knowledgeable (read 'anyone').

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomana /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am a HUGE Arvo fan and believe I have most everything out there, except obscure offerings I don't yet know about...tell me of them if you know. So, these would be my first four recommendations, in no specific order: Alina--minimalist to the core, yet so gently gorgeous, when the tracks repeat (it's two tracks repeating), you're relieved they're back to visit. Kanon Pokajanen--Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir--based on the canon of repentance, which in the symbolism of the early Slavonic Church, invokes the border between night and day. Big sound, full choral heavy lifting, Russian Orthodox beauty!!! De Profundis--I think of this piece as almost architectural: sound seems more placed than played (if that makes sense...good thing I'm not a critic, only a fan); the voices are neatly layered. I never tire of listening to this work. Tabula Rasa--trippy, minimalist, jarring--don't listen while driving--I got a ticket for 55 in a 35...ooops. I think these would be a good start.

Got Pärt's Kanon Pokajanen.

Lovely choral work.

Pärt seems to touch on deeper quantum and sub-quantum realities, below the physical facade of particles.

Bach's and Mozart's music is firmly grounded in the Newtonian realm of the physical, for instance.

Some more modern composers venture outside space/time into the realm of universal information processing underlying causality - the mystical or metaphysical.

Lamentate is an example.

 

[zsevgymko]

Apart from the singular Alina and the epic Kanon Pokajanen I highly recommend Litany, entrancing work, which gives me shivers.