Arvo Pärt (b. 1935)
…Lente
Stabat Mater (1985/2008)
Festina lente (1986/1990)
Trisagion (1992/1994)
Silouan’s Song (1991)
Berliner Messe (1990/1991/2002)
Marie Roos (soprano), Danila Frantou (countertenor), Toomas Tohert (tenor)
Estonian Philharmonic Choir
Concerto Copenhagen/Tõnu Kaljuste
rec. 2024, Niguliste Museum (St Nicholas’ Church), Tallinn, Estonia
Berlin Classics 0303739BC [74]

Past commentators have made connections with Arvo Pärt and J.S. Bach, but aside from each composer having their distinctively acute sense of spiritual narrative this to me is a point that can be taken only so far. With an ear to their diverging stylistic sources, Bach has a more rugged ‘go anywhere do anything’ character, whereas I can’t see anyone doing a ‘switched on Pärt’ kind of project any time soon. They go well together in concert programmes for sure, but to my ears they inhabit rather differing worlds, and this album …Lente is one of the most immersive Pärt recordings I’ve ever heard.

Enhancing the magical nature of Pärt’s music in new and subtle ways could easily become a grail project to fill a lifetime, and few conductors have as close a connection with this composer than fellow countryman Tõnu Kaljuste. Collectors of releases from the ECM New Series label are likely to have a chunk of their shelf occupied by Arvo Pärt, as often as not in performances directed by Kaljuste, and these recordings have become a remarkable reference. This new CD shows however, that such references are never entirely unassailable.

Kaljuste recognises the need to avoid too much ‘romantic’ vibrato in creating the “peace, simplicity and naturalness” conjured by Pärt’s scores, so moving from modern to baroque instruments as a new approach in this recording is a natural progression. There is nothing forced or artificial in the effect of adopting baroque strings in this music however, and if you know and love previous recordings of these works then you are in for a treat of renewed discovery. The character of the vast acoustic in the Niguliste Church is a perfect partner to the music, adding a sublime atmosphere behind the nicely detailed perspective in which the musicians have been captured.            

You can find the Stabat Mater on Musica Selecta on the ECM label (review) in its original version for soprano, countertenor, tenor and string trio. This later version for mixed choir and orchestra has been further adapted by Kaljuste to use soloists where this seemed most appropriate to the text. The orchestral version is inevitably richer in texture than the more intimate double-trio lines of the original, but while the timing is a little shorter here none of the atmosphere of pain and consolation is missing. What is gained is an added weight where the chorus and orchestra unite, bringing this work into a line that includes Pärt’s Te Deum and indeed the Berliner Messe which creates the perfect balance to this perfectly curated programme. Increased heft adds to the drama inherent in the Stabat Mater. This widens those contrasts between repose and urgency and creates a processional of magical moments while maintaining that inbuilt essential dialogue between voices and strings.

The baroque quality of the strings has a refreshing ‘buzz’ while retaining all of the refinement and dynamic depth you could want, and this is continued in Festina lente, with the clarity of those opening tremolo upper strings taking nothing away from that sublimely secretive opening. This work first appeared on the ECM New Series 1430 Miserere album with a timing of 5:24 as conducted by Dennis Russel Davies. Here it comes in at over ten minutes. This is a difference accounted for in Kaljuste’s booklet note, bringing the piece “in a way that the polyphony can be clearly and peacefully followed and the individual lines can be observed as if in slow motion. Therefore, I am making haste ever more slowly”, that last statement referring to the title of the work in translation. You might expect this interpretation to change the character of the piece entirely, but it really retains its identity, moving towards a greater degree of stately timelessness but losing none of its poetry. It’s as if the work has aged gracefully and is looking back upon its youthful manifestation with avuncular affection.

With its initial light and spaciousness Trisagion pairs well with Festina lente and, like Silouan’s Song is music that has a prayer text embedded into its musical DNA. Unlike Festina lente these two works are now a little shorter than in their original recordings, but this might be accounted for in the different acoustic effects of baroque instruments when compared to modern – the articulation in the basses certainly has a striking impact. There is no sense of rushing the music, but an enhanced parlando quality in these performances gives a touch more impetus to each work’s forward momentum. Thes three works together form a perfect musical arch with foundations more solid than you might initially expect.

Berliner Messe is one of those works that is equally effective as a concert piece and in its practical use as part of the Catholic liturgy. It was originally set for vocal soloists and organ but soon after its premiere it was arranged for orchestra, and it works superbly with a mixed chorus to balance a sizeable group of strings as is the case here. This recording hits all of those tender points you would want it to, while comparing it to the ECM New Series 1505 recording from 1993, also with the Estonian Philharmonic Choir. The ECM recording is lovely, but a bit more generalised in terms of sonics, the Finnish Lohjan Church acoustic less impressive than at Niguliste. That first Alleluia always brings a tear to my eyeand this is very much the case here, the voices recorded a touch more distantly that with the other movements which is a nice touch. Tuning is about a semitone lower with the baroque strings, and this adds to the “fresh and beautiful soundscape” described by Tõnu Kaljuste. There is a heightened contrast of woody darkness and shafts of light in the Sanctus that is very moving, and the purity of line in the final Agnus Dei is truly valedictory. This is a work that has been recorded several times now but this version is special indeed.

All collectors of the music of Arvo Pärt should have this recording whatever versions of these works they might already have. Production and presentation of the CD is excellent, with all sung texts included in the booklet in their original languages and in English translation. Introducing these works to baroque strings goes much further than mere novelty. We need no excuse to return to these beloved favourites, but with great music there should always be something new to say. This is very much what we find here, and if like me your soul is prone to melt all over the floor when encountering these sounds, make sure you have a fresh spiritual mop and bucket to hand for this recording.

Dominy Clements

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