{"id":64,"date":"2022-11-08T22:01:01","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T22:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/chapter\/arvo-part\/"},"modified":"2023-01-28T17:30:50","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T17:30:50","slug":"arvo-part","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/chapter\/arvo-part\/","title":{"raw":"Arvo P\u00e4rt","rendered":"Arvo P\u00e4rt"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"arvo-p\u00e4rt\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">In this chapter you will<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>be introduced to the living composer whose works have been performed most often<\/li>\r\n \t<li>consider the impact of being a composer in the context of the Soviet Union during the Communist era<\/li>\r\n \t<li>hear musical settings of texts that are rarely ever set to music<\/li>\r\n \t<li>learn about the intersection of religion with a very different response to modernity than the atonal one of Schoenberg and his school<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/biography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/a> has the honor of being the living composer whose works have been performed the most. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c08i_9gumJs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The style that he developed is known as \u201ctintinnabuli\u201d because of its bell-like sounds<\/a>. In the period in the composer\u2019s life right before he developed that distinctive style, as he was working his way there, the Bible played a significant role. Composing in Estonia when it was part of the Soviet Union, he gave a work of his the vague title <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicolog.com\/part_lenten.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cModus\u201d<\/a> but later revealed the name he had wished to give it all along, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/567\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cSarah Was 90 Years Old\u201d<\/a> (referring to the story in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Genesis 17:17; 21:1-7&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Genesis 17:17; 21:1\u20137<\/a>).\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/vimeo.com\/143896600[\/embed]\r\n<p class=\"import-p\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt\">P\u00e4rt has also set some texts that are less obvious choices to music\u2014for instance, a genealogy from the Gospel of Luke (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke 3:23-38&amp;version=KJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3:23\u201338<\/a>) in his work <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/485\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cWhich Was the Son Of\u2026\u201d<\/a>[footnote]Performance by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Paul Hillier and licensed to YouTube by Harmonia Mundi.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2KhP7v-e7Is[\/embed]\r\n<p class=\"import-p\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/496\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Another example<\/a> is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=s1tMmAtWsiA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tribute to Caesar<\/a> <\/em>(setting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew 22:15-22&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew 22:15\u201322<\/a>). P\u00e4rt has also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicolog.com\/part_lenten.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">composed other works that set biblical texts to music<\/a> that might be considered more obvious choices, including his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dH3bkVapmGo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Passio<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dH3bkVapmGo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> (St. John Passion)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rxbArDRcVb4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Beatitudes<\/em><\/a> (from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew 5:2-12&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew 5<\/a>),<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tP5s2BxM-L0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I Am the True Vine<\/a><\/em> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/498\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John 15:1\u201314<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-71w7_8-BCI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The <em>Woman with the Alabaster Box<\/em><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke 7:36-50&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke 7:36\u201350<\/a>), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/504\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>And One of the Pharisees<\/em><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/luke\/7-36.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke 7:36<\/a>).[footnote]His <em>Passio<\/em> is discussed in <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/chapter\/passions-bach-and-beyond\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chapter<\/a> 26 along with other Passions.[\/footnote] He is sometimes compared to other composers of sacred music in our time, such as John Tavener, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicworldreport.com\/2017\/02\/17\/catholic-composers-henryk-gorecki\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Henryk G\u00f3recki<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XCnDy1wRvBM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alan Hovhaness<\/a>, and many more who are often labeled <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-epcc-musicappreciation\/chapter\/holy-minimalism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201choly minimalists\u201d<\/a> or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W_eqyeW-L6A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sacred minimalists<\/a>,\u201d labels that these composers do not consider helpful. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/the-story-of-minimalism-part-one-a-new-way-of-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minimalism<\/a> is a reaction against atonality that sought a return to the roots of traditional music, exploring the simplicity of the tonal idiom, usually with very sparse instrumentation and much repetition.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-p\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt\">Theologian Rob Saler of Christian Theological Seminary has this to say about the role of the Bible in P\u00e4rt\u2019s music: \u201cAs scholars such as Peter Bouteneff and others have shown, in most of Arvo P\u00e4rt\u2019s mature compositions, he is either directly setting a sacred text to music or is using the cadence of that text as chanted in liturgical settings to guide his compositional choices. In a conversation that I once had with the composer, he shared with me that he seeks to inhabit the texts that he sets to music before, during, and even after the act of composition itself\u2014in a way, he invites listeners to inhabit the texts sonically even as, in so doing, the texts start to permeate the lives of listeners.\u201d[footnote]Dr. Rob Saler, personal correspondence.[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\"><span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">For Further Reading<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<p class=\"import-sbul hanging-indent\" style=\"margin-left: 0pt;margin-right: 36pt\">Hillier, Paul. <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt;padding: 0\"><em class=\"import-i\">Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/em><\/span>. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"import-sbul hanging-indent\" style=\"margin-left: 0pt;margin-right: 36pt\">Shenton, Andrew. \u201cMagnificat: Arvo P\u00e4rt the Quiet Evangelist.\u201d In <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt;padding: 0\"><em class=\"import-i\">Exploring Christian Song<\/em><\/span>, edited by M. Jennifer Bloxam and Andrew Shenton, 155\u201370. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2017.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div><\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"arvo-p\u00e4rt\">\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">In this chapter you will<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ul>\n<li>be introduced to the living composer whose works have been performed most often<\/li>\n<li>consider the impact of being a composer in the context of the Soviet Union during the Communist era<\/li>\n<li>hear musical settings of texts that are rarely ever set to music<\/li>\n<li>learn about the intersection of religion with a very different response to modernity than the atonal one of Schoenberg and his school<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/biography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/a> has the honor of being the living composer whose works have been performed the most. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=c08i_9gumJs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The style that he developed is known as \u201ctintinnabuli\u201d because of its bell-like sounds<\/a>. In the period in the composer\u2019s life right before he developed that distinctive style, as he was working his way there, the Bible played a significant role. Composing in Estonia when it was part of the Soviet Union, he gave a work of his the vague title <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicolog.com\/part_lenten.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cModus\u201d<\/a> but later revealed the name he had wished to give it all along, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/567\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cSarah Was 90 Years Old\u201d<\/a> (referring to the story in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Genesis 17:17; 21:1-7&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Genesis 17:17; 21:1\u20137<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"ARVO P&amp;Auml;RT Sarah Was Ninety Years Old\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/143896600?h=5de0dd76e2&amp;dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt\">P\u00e4rt has also set some texts that are less obvious choices to music\u2014for instance, a genealogy from the Gospel of Luke (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke 3:23-38&amp;version=KJV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">3:23\u201338<\/a>) in his work <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/485\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cWhich Was the Son Of\u2026\u201d<\/a><a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Performance by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Paul Hillier and licensed to YouTube by Harmonia Mundi.\" id=\"return-footnote-64-1\" href=\"#footnote-64-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"oembed-2\" title=\"Arvo P\u00e4rt: Which Was the Son of ...\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2KhP7v-e7Is?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/496\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Another example<\/a> is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=s1tMmAtWsiA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tribute to Caesar<\/a> <\/em>(setting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew 22:15-22&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew 22:15\u201322<\/a>). P\u00e4rt has also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.musicolog.com\/part_lenten.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">composed other works that set biblical texts to music<\/a> that might be considered more obvious choices, including his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dH3bkVapmGo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Passio<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dH3bkVapmGo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> (St. John Passion)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rxbArDRcVb4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Beatitudes<\/em><\/a> (from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Matthew 5:2-12&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matthew 5<\/a>),<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tP5s2BxM-L0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I Am the True Vine<\/a><\/em> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/498\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John 15:1\u201314<\/a>), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-71w7_8-BCI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The <em>Woman with the Alabaster Box<\/em><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Luke 7:36-50&amp;version=NRSV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke 7:36\u201350<\/a>), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arvopart.ee\/en\/arvo-part\/work\/504\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>And One of the Pharisees<\/em><\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/luke\/7-36.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Luke 7:36<\/a>).<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"His Passio is discussed in chapter 26 along with other Passions.\" id=\"return-footnote-64-2\" href=\"#footnote-64-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> He is sometimes compared to other composers of sacred music in our time, such as John Tavener, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicworldreport.com\/2017\/02\/17\/catholic-composers-henryk-gorecki\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Henryk G\u00f3recki<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XCnDy1wRvBM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alan Hovhaness<\/a>, and many more who are often labeled <a href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-epcc-musicappreciation\/chapter\/holy-minimalism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201choly minimalists\u201d<\/a> or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W_eqyeW-L6A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sacred minimalists<\/a>,\u201d labels that these composers do not consider helpful. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.allclassical.org\/the-story-of-minimalism-part-one-a-new-way-of-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minimalism<\/a> is a reaction against atonality that sought a return to the roots of traditional music, exploring the simplicity of the tonal idiom, usually with very sparse instrumentation and much repetition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-p\" style=\"text-indent: 36pt\">Theologian Rob Saler of Christian Theological Seminary has this to say about the role of the Bible in P\u00e4rt\u2019s music: \u201cAs scholars such as Peter Bouteneff and others have shown, in most of Arvo P\u00e4rt\u2019s mature compositions, he is either directly setting a sacred text to music or is using the cadence of that text as chanted in liturgical settings to guide his compositional choices. In a conversation that I once had with the composer, he shared with me that he seeks to inhabit the texts that he sets to music before, during, and even after the act of composition itself\u2014in a way, he invites listeners to inhabit the texts sonically even as, in so doing, the texts start to permeate the lives of listeners.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Dr. Rob Saler, personal correspondence.\" id=\"return-footnote-64-3\" href=\"#footnote-64-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\"><span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">For Further Reading<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p class=\"import-sbul hanging-indent\" style=\"margin-left: 0pt;margin-right: 36pt\">Hillier, Paul. <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt;padding: 0\"><em class=\"import-i\">Arvo P\u00e4rt<\/em><\/span>. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.<\/p>\n<p class=\"import-sbul hanging-indent\" style=\"margin-left: 0pt;margin-right: 36pt\">Shenton, Andrew. \u201cMagnificat: Arvo P\u00e4rt the Quiet Evangelist.\u201d In <span style=\"border: none windowtext 0pt;padding: 0\"><em class=\"import-i\">Exploring Christian Song<\/em><\/span>, edited by M. Jennifer Bloxam and Andrew Shenton, 155\u201370. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2017.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-64-1\">Performance by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir conducted by Paul Hillier and licensed to YouTube by Harmonia Mundi. <a href=\"#return-footnote-64-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-64-2\">His <em>Passio<\/em> is discussed in <a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/chapter\/passions-bach-and-beyond\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chapter<\/a> 26 along with other Passions. <a href=\"#return-footnote-64-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-64-3\">Dr. Rob Saler, personal correspondence. <a href=\"#return-footnote-64-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":3,"menu_order":11,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":127,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/64"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/64\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":960,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/64\/revisions\/960"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/127"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/64\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=64"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=64"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/thebibleandmusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=64"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}