ARVO PRT – Silentium – LP – Black Vinyl [APR 11]

LP – Black Vinyl. High-quality, heavy vinyl pressed at Smashed Plastic in Chicago, presented in deluxe reverse-board jacket with artwork by Prt’s holy-minimal contemporary, Eduard Steinberg. Silentium continues Mississippi Records’ fascination with this great contemporary composer.

Four pieces by Estonian composer Arvo Prt, a pioneer of holy minimalism. The album centers around a never-before-released rendition of Silentium, the second movement of Prts most famous concerto, Tabula Rasa, performed by Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. The group plays Silentium at nearly half the speed of the best-known version, released on ECM in 1984. The piece, known for its healing properties for the dying and often used in palliative care facilities (one patient famously called it angel music), is breathtaking at half speed, seemingly stilling time itself.

The album compiles some of the most stunning renditions of Prts music ever recorded. Vater Unser (Arr. for trombone & string ensemble) is somehow warm and austere at once. A miniature epic. Pianist Marcel Worms solo version of Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka is as beautiful as anything weve ever heard. Fratres for Strings and Percussion is one of Arvo Prts most celebrated works. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestras version is iconic, filled with emotional playing right on the verge of overly romantic, but never tipping over.

Prts approach to both music and life is as sparse as the compositions he creates. He once said, I have nothing to say Music says what I need to say. And it is dangerous to say anything, because if Ive said it already in words there might be nothing left for my music. Silentium continues Mississippi Records fascination with this great contemporary composer.

Tracklist:

Side A
1. Vater Unser (Arr. for trombone & string ensemble)
2. Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka
3. Fratres for Strings and Percussion

Side B
4. Silentium