Arvo Part Research Articles

“I Am the True Vine” by Arvo Part. The stylistic and interpretative analysis. Conductor’s perspective

In Arvo Pärt's creation the piece “I Am the true vine” occupies a special place, being one of the few works after 1976 that belongs only peripherally to the tintinnabuli style. The use of a minimum number of elements is reflected both in melody and harmony and in rhythm, agogics, and dynamics. In keeping with the tintinnabuli style, the melodic material is eminently diatonic and the gait of the voices is mostly gradual. Pärt uses a medieval composition technique known as hocket for voice leading, where the text is divided between the upper voices, moving alternately from one voice to another. Some of the stylistic and interpretative aspects are the homogeneity and clarity of pronunciation, the degree of opening or closing of the vowels, and the intonational accuracy - - an essential aspect in tintinnabuli a cappella music.

«Русское» в музыке зарубежных композиторов на «русскую тему»

The article poses the question, how the “Russian element” is viewed by composers who belong to other national cultures. We are able to judge about this by a convincing number of works written on the “Russian theme.” The “Russian element” is realized in it by means of finely illuminative subtitles and an arsenal of musical means and techniques. Very diverse approaches to this theme are systematized and combine three “images” of the “Russian element.” In one of them it is interpreted as an appellation of the state (“russky,” i.e. “Russian” in the sense of the nationality is identified with “rossiyskiy,” i.e., “Russian” in the meaning of pertaining to the state), whose referential substance is expressed by the geographic names (Russia, its rivers, regions, capitals and cities), the North as a geographical dislocation, the landmarks of the historical past, the crowned heads and the events of the life of the tsar’s family. Another aspect shows the social and private lives of people (the “Russian element” is transformed into the “ethnographic”), which reveals by endowing musical compositions titles with words from the Russian lexicon, Russian proper names, attributes of everyday life (“sani,” i.e. sleds or “troika,” i.e. three horse carriage), through the sound of Russian songs and folk tunes, dance genres, timbres of national instruments, fragments from works by Russian composers and texts by Russian poets and writers. The third angle of reclamation of the “Russian element” accentuates Orthodox Christianity as the religious constituent of the Russian world (the “Russian element” manifests itself as the “confessional element”). The religious aspect of the Russian element is revealed by the efforts of such masters as Baldassare Galuppi, Caterino Cavos, John Tavener and Arvo Part. An overview of the numerous examples of manifestation of the “Russian theme” by composers from other countries shows the flexibility and the diffuseness of the geographical and the ethnic boundaries of the “Russian element” in their music. Keywords: Russian theme in the music of Baldassare Galuppi, Caterino Cavos, John Tavener, Arvo Part, Russian folksong.

Drawing the Language of Dance

May 01 2018 Drawing the Language of Dance Jan Rae Jan Rae Jan Rae is a visual artist, tango dancer, performer, and teacher who represented Australia in the 2007 World Tango Championships in Buenos Aires. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in galleries and exhibitions in Australia, the UK, New York, and Argentina. Her current body of work, Drawing the Language of Dance, seeks to combine the two creative aspects of her life—dance and visual art. She lives in Byron Bay, Australia Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Jan Rae Jan Rae is a visual artist, tango dancer, performer, and teacher who represented Australia in the 2007 World Tango Championships in Buenos Aires. Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited in galleries and exhibitions in Australia, the UK, New York, and Argentina. Her current body of work, Drawing the Language of Dance, seeks to combine the two creative aspects of her life—dance and visual art. She lives in Byron Bay, Australia Online Issn: 1537-9477 Print Issn: 1520-281X © 2018 Jan Rae2018Jan Rae PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art (2018) 40 (2 (119)): 42–45. https://doi.org/10.1162/pajj_a_00421 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation Jan Rae; Drawing the Language of Dance. PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art 2018; 40 (2 (119)): 42–45. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/pajj_a_00421 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsPAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art Search Advanced Search This content is only available as a PDF. © 2018 Jan Rae2018Jan Rae Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Supplementary data ONE TANDA (15 mins loop)Performance Drawing (dancers: Jan Rae and Crismen Tache 2016) Black Box UNSW, Sydney, AustraliaI am interested in movement, gesture and sound. As a visual artist and a tango dancer, I am fascinated by the visual nature of the dance and the gestural aspect of mark making. Tango is about connection (connecting with the music, with your partner and to the floor) This video is my way of expressing these connections.music: Arvo Part, Osvaldo Pugliese and Carlos Di Sarli video: Jan RaeAlternate YouTube link: https://youtu.be/GLp1_ZZUDl8- mp4 file DANCING PIECEPerformance Drawing (dancers: Jan Rae and Crismen Tache 2016)Black Box UNSW, Sydney, Australia'dancing with Crismen and drawing with my feet'video: Jan RaeAlternate YouTube link: https://youtu.be/13D5yON5Mcw- mp4 file You do not currently have access to this content.

The Legacy of Joe Skerrett

The Legacy of Joe Skerrett John Wharton Lowe (bio) I was devastated last summer when my dear friend Joe Skerrett suddenly left us; his legacy, however, of brilliant scholarship and teaching, and his generosity and greatness of spirit, remains. One of the greatest achievements of his long and productive career was winning the Council of Editors of Learned Journals Distinguished Retiring Editor Award. As they recognized, his editorship of MELUS was heroic, path-breaking, and immensely influential. During his twelve years at its helm, what was once an obscure journal with limited circulation became the leading periodical in the field of ethnic literary studies. He charted new paths, alternating “Varieties of Ethnic Criticism” editions with focused issues on topics such as Native American Literature, Asian American Literature, and Ethnic Women’s Literature. He charged scholars of various subsets of ethnic literary study to edit special editions devoted to Ethnic Humor, Irish American literature, Italian American literature, Ethnic Sexualities, Religion and Ethnic Literature, and Ethnicity and Critical Theory. Under his leadership, the journal reached an ever increasing spectrum of readers and scholars, and as a result played a crucial and often underappreciated role in our national discourse about ethnicity, folkculture, immigration, postcolonial writing, and many other related subjects. Joe also challenged contributors to compose cross-ethnic essays; he thereby strengthened necessary ties between scholars of differing ethnic and racial backgrounds, and fomented and complicated urgently needed discourse between and among cultures. The many graduate students he trained are keeping his legacy burning bright. He is remembered by his MELUS family—and I am quoting colleagues here—as “kind,” “generous,” “a gentleman,” “a great listener,” “a wise counselor.” He was also an engaged and wise society President. Since Joe was my best conference buddy, and we attended probably hundreds of panels together, I can affirm that he always listened carefully to presentations and often posed tactful, helpful questions; further, as MELUS editor, he would ask thrilled graduate students to send their papers to his desk for possible publication. My adventures with Joe covered many cities, at conferences both in the United States and abroad. He frequently traveled with me and my wife June before or after these conferences, in locales as diverse as Italy, Hawaii, Belgium, and France. He loved opera, blues, jazz, and theater, and was a celebrated chef. Evenings at his charming home in Belchertown were full of laughter, great food, circulating music, and wonderful stories. He gloried in his garden, his circle of friends, and his beloved relatives. This last time I saw him, at the April MELUS conference I hosted here at UGA, he was full of tales about his latest adventures and was making excited plans for the future. [End Page 6] The Estonian composer Arvo Part was once asked to name his favorite instrument; he replied “the human heart in tune.” Joe, whether he was in the classroom, at a conference, in his garden or kitchen, or at a concert, was always “in tune,” and he brought new perceptions and harmonies to everyone he encountered. The music of his life will reverberate for many of us for years to come. Click for larger view View full resolution Joseph T. Skerrett, Jr. Photograph courtesy of Archie J. Brown Collection [End Page 7] John Wharton Lowe JOHN WHARTON LOWE is the Barbara Methvin Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Georgia. He is author of a number of books on Southern, African American, and Caribbean literature, the most recent being Calypso Magnolia: The Crosscurrents of Caribbean and Southern Literature. Copyright © 2016 Johns Hopkins University Press

Report on the Second Congress of the Russian Society for the Theory of Music

[1] The Second Congress of the Society for the Theory of Music convened at the Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory for four days, from September 26 to 29, 2015. The established theme for the Congress was "Schools and Directions in Music Scholarship, Performance and Composition." Established scholars as well as students from many parts of Russia, the US, Canada, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Denmark, Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, and the former Soviet republics of central Asia read papers on a vast variety of theoretical, compositional, and pedagogical subjects. The range of these papers gave witness to a growing community of scholars interested not only in Russian music theory, but also in theoretical systems and approaches from everywhere.[2] Plenary sessions for the keynote speakers opened the first two days of the conference, followed by two triple sessions, each featuring three or four individual papers. The last two days featured three triple sessions per day. Throughout the Congress special master classes offered teaching demonstrations addressing various methods of solfeggio, multimedia composition, and other pedagogical topics. The Congress closed with a summary round-table discussion led by several of the keynote speakers. Participants were also offered free tickets to two evening concerts featuring the works of Arvo Part and Sergei Taneyev, held in the Great Hall of the Conservatory. (For more specific information about the schedule, please refer to the conference program.)[3] Among the highlights of the Congress were the keynote addresses, two delivered in English with printed Russian translations, the other two given in Russian with printed English translations. Alexander Sokolov of the Moscow Conservatory began the proceedings with a paper tracing the functional approach to musical form in Russian theoretical thought: Asafiev's triad of general functions (initium-motus-terminum, or beginning-motion-closing), Sposobin's enlarged system of functions (introduction-exposition-connection-middle section-reprise-closing), the application of the i-m-t model to Chopin by Bobrovski, as well as the extension of functional systems to expression, dramaturgy and semantics. Through references to some of the upcoming paper sessions and presenters, Sokolov's talk also served as an introduction to the Congress as a whole.[4] On the English side of things, William Caplin from McGill University delivered an excellent keynote address on thematic closure in early Romantic music, where he suggested several ways to expand the concept of cadence for the music of Schubert. The biggest hit with the Russian contingent, however, was the talk by Giorgio Sanguinetti (University of Rome-Tor Vergata) on partimenti and their relation to music theory in the 18th century; in fact, the venerable Valentina Kholopova predicted that partimenti would soon be incorporated into the curriculum at the Moscow Conservatory. Tatiana Naumenko of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music delivered the remaining keynote address, a survey of trends in Russian musical scholarship from the 1930s to the 2000s. Her data-driven presentation revealed an interesting result: although the number and subject matter of musicological dissertations changed drastically in the 1990s (with more dissertations overall, and more research on performance, on Russian music written before 1917, and on music from outside Russia), the number of dissertations in music theory remained relatively unchanged--perhaps suggesting that theory's more abstract nature was not so severely affected by the strictures of Soviet realism![5] The individual paper sessions embraced topics both conventional and unexpected. Among several sessions devoted to Russian schools of musical and pedagogical scholarship, the standout paper was by Valentina Kholopova, who (with her late brother Yuri) has been an institution at the Moscow Conservatory for half a century. Her theory of musical content has received widespread recognition in Russian theory curricula. …

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Road Maps as Analytical Tools

I. Initial Considerations My experience with road maps began fifteen years ago, when I was teaching an upper-division course on 20th-century music. Sarah Z, a senior, was simultaneously pursuing degrees in violin performance and studio art. She chose to analyze for her final project Arvo Part's Fratres (1977). A week before the project was due, Sarah came to see me during an office hour. She told me that she had spent nearly two months studying Fratres, comparing performances, modeling the small-scale and large-scale form, and learning about Part's musical language, including his use of plainchant and tintinnabuli. (1) Yet she was experiencing (for the first time in her academic life) a debilitating case of writer's block. Frustrated and nearly distraught, she wanted to analyze a different piece for her final project. I said no--it was much too late in the semester to re-start the entire process--and then brainstormed with her until we found a compromise: rather than write an essay, Sarah would submit an annotated score and a painting of some sort. While I wasn't entirely thrilled with this solution--how would a music theorist assess a work of art?--it far better than scrapping the project altogether and beginning anew. One week later, Sarah submitted an annotated score and an exquisite two-foot by three-foot watercolor. Much to my surprise, she also handed in a seven-page analytical essay. She explained that, once she had finished the artwork, her writer's block vanished; the paper seemed to write itself. Her paper was not only musical and insightful, but more compelling than her previous essays. Sarah's epiphany inspired me to investigate the literature on multiple intelligences, left-brain versus right-brain processing, and learning theory. (2) Encouraged by these readings and emboldened by Sarah's breakthrough, I made a conscious decision to have every student do a road map the following semester. I've continued this practice, without regrets, ever since. A road map is a representation or documentation of how one hears a work unfold in time. In its simplest form, a road map can be a time line or flow chart. But it can also be an elaborate landscape of observations, correspondences, and associations, with text descriptions, symbols, staff notation, rhythms, colors, and shapes. A road map can be teleological or non-linear; literal or abstract; monochromatic or multi-colored; sparse or dense; small or large; hand-drawn or created with a music notation program such as Sibelius or Finale. I would argue that a road map--like any piece of writing--is provisional. There is no right or wrong way to create one, although some maps are definitely more compelling, thoughtful, and musical than others. The idea behind a road map is to capture the important characteristics of a work and represent them in some way that makes sense. For this reason I occasionally ask students to re-map the same work later in a semester. The results often reveal (to student and instructor alike) significant refinement in hearing and sophistication in modeling. A map can trace the history of pitches, pitch-classes, set-classes, rhythms, gestures, themes, registers, dynamics, articulations, texture and other parameters; it can highlight phrase structures, structural upbeats and downbeats, and climaxes; and it can model formal organization and energy flow, character, compositional strategies, and narrative. Road maps facilitate deeper engagement with music, foster critical listening skills, and provide a creative outlet for students, especially those who are visual learners. Over the years my students have created road maps of compositions by Ablinger, Ades, Aperghis, Babbitt, Bartok, Berg, Cage, Carter, Cassidy, Chopin, Crumb, Debussy, Eckhart, Feldman, Ferneyhough, Glass, Gubaidulina, Harbison, Harvey, Hurel, Lang, Messiaen, Merzbow, Reich, Riley, Saunders, Schoenberg, Scelsi, Sciarrino, Stravinsky, Xenakis, Webern, Wolpe, and Yi among others. …

Recent Music of Hans Abrahamsen

Hans Abrahamsen. Traumlieder: For Violin, Cello, and Piano (1984/2009). Copenhagen: Edition Wilhelm Hansen, [2010]. [Table of contents, p. [i]; score, p. 1-23, and 2 parts. ISBN 978-87-598-6941-3, pub. no. WH 30687C. $41.] Hans Abrahamsen. String Quartet No. 3 (2008). Copenhagen: Edition Wilhelm Hansen, [2008]. [Score, p. 1-10, and 4 parts. ISBN 978-87-5981745-2 (score), 978-87-598-1746-9 (parts), pub. no. WH 30919. $28.40 (score), $26.80 (parts).] Hans Abrahamsen. Schnee: Ten Canons for Nine Instruments (200608). Copenhagen: Edition Wilhelm Hansen, [2010]. [Pref. matter (instrumentation, performance instructions, stage setup, table of contents), p. i-iv; score, p. 1-191. ISBN 978-87-598-2067-4, pub. no. WH 31173. $55.30.] Hans Abrahamsen. Double Concerto: For Violin, Piano, and String Orchestra (2010-2011). Copenhagen: Edition Wilhelm Hansen, 2011. [Pref. matter (instrumentation, performance notes, stage setup, table of contents), p. i-iv; score, p. 1-57. ISBN 978-87-598-2191-6, pub. no. WH 31276. $72.70.] While there are certainly many Danish composers throughout history worth hearing, studying, and performing, it seems as though there is often one per generation that stands out as the reigning champion of Danish music. Niels Gade (1817-1890) the composer, conductor, and violinist, spent the beginning of his career in Germany within Mendelssohn's circle, returning to Denmark at the age of thirty-one due to the First Schleswig War to establish himself in a successful career as a prominent musician and educator. He guided the likes of Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) and Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), the latter who ultimately became known as the greatest Danish composer of all time. Nielsen's successor was, arguably, the prolific Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996) whose neoromantic/post-Sibelius aesthetic was very influential on his pupils, including the current champion of Danish music, Per Norgard (b. 1932), who became equally influential due to his development of the infinity row--a compositional process that resembles Sibelian orchestral textures and explorations in tempos and harmony. Presently, there are several Danes vying to be Norgard's heir. Of course, only time will tell; it could be decades before one emerges. Each of the members of the current generation all exhibit qualities of their predecessors, while moving forward and developing their own ideas. Those who seem to be receiving the most national and international attention are Karl Aage Rasmussen (b. 1947), Poul Ruders (b. 1948), Bent Sorensen (b. 1958), and Hans Abrahamsen (b. 1952), whose music I will discuss here. Beginning his professional career in the 1970s on the tail end of the Danish movement--a response to the complexities inherent in the Darmstadt School throughout central Europe, and not to be confused with the German new simplicity (Neue Einfachheit) nor the Tintinnabulation style found in Arvo Part or John Tavener--Abrahamsen can be perceived, in retrospect, as being somewhat naive, in that the older generation's influence--that of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Henning Christiansen, and lb Norholm--is a bit obvious, particularly in his orchestral music. However, Abrahamsen's intimate style and rigorous forms, which are obvious features of his recent music, are also noticeable during his early career in pieces such as Herbst for tenor, flute, cello, and guitar (1972), Flowersongs for three flutes (1973), and Universe Birds for female chorus (1973). Throughout the 1970s Abrahamsen continued to develop in distinctive ways. During the late 1970s and 1980s, Abrahamsen enjoyed many successes, professionally, at home and abroad, as well as musically with the imagery and narrative he was able to convey in works such as Winternachl for chamber orchestra (1976-78), Walden for wind quintet (1978), the orchestral pieces Nacht und Trompeten (1981) and Marchenbilder (1984), and Lied in Fall for cello and ensemble (1987). …

Looking inward: La Monte Young, Arvo Pärt, and the spatiotemporal dwelling environment of minimalist music

Mid-century phenomenology suggested that works of art disclose a sort of ‘world’, which can be understood as a phenomenal ‘space’, or the total lived experience. Indeed, this is found to be a common theme throughout the writings of philosophers such as Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. As both contend, although the phenomenal realm encompasses sensory stimuli, it is concerned with essences and will, at some point, transcend the merely perceptual. In minimalist music, the essential typically points inward, toward dwelling inside a sound, process, or texture. The aim of this paper is to posit the effect of certain minimalist devices namely reduction, stasis, and automatism in constructing a particularly innate spatiotemporal environment, and to distinguish between the perceptual and phenomenal experiences associated with the music of La Monte Young and Arvo Part. Young has expressed notions of entering inside the ‘world’ of sound, and, although less explicit, several of the works Part composed during his tintinnabuli period can be considered an extension of reaching into the sensorial experience. However, whereas Young’s landscapes evoke the suspended moment, the circularity of Part’s work impresses a sort of mythic or immersed time and space. Thus, although the psychosomatic particularities diverge in certain ways with each composer, the common appearance of outer stasis nevertheless exposes the more meaningful movements that occur within.

Torn by Ene Mihkelson , Mari Kaljuste (review)

"I havea heartpierced bya rib./ Fragments ofglassfloat through my blood/ and cloudshiddenbehind white cells." ForNikolaMadzirov, to separatefrom one'sself, tobe alone - in order tocommit oneself toair,fire, stars, andangels - meansthereturn home, toearth, tothose ancient habitatsthatpreserve theremnants of bygone ages. Bojana Stojanovic Pantovic University ofNovi Sad Ashley AnnaMcHugh.Into These Knots. Lanham, Maryland. Ivan R.Dee. 2010.68 pages.$22.50.isbn 978-156663 -878-4 The New Criterion PoetryPrize was established in 1999to recognize "manuscripts thatpay close attention to form."AshleyAnna McHugh's Into These Knots, the2009 winningmanuscript, pays close attention notonly toform butalsoto depth ofemotion andcomplex metaphor .McHughmakesgooduseof severalpoeticforms in thiscollection ,amongthemthesonnet, sestina ,and rhymed quatrain. Rather than allowing prosody todictate her poetics, McHughmakestheforms bend to her purposes.Moreover, thepoetdoesso (inmostinstances) withsubtlety and grace.McHugh's mastery ofform rarely falters, and whenit does,one wondersifperhaps thefailure is intentional. For instance,in the pantoum "Sure Enough,"therhymes are predictable and therhythm pedestrian - a major departure from thesubtlety of therest ofthebook.However, since "SureEnough"is botha drinking songanda lost-love lament, perhaps thecountry-music rhyme scheme is appropriate after all. Anotherdelightthesepoems offer is thatthepoet'swordchoice andsyntax arelushandrich; every word seems necessary and exact. Whileall thesevirtuesmightbe expected ofa formalist incommand ofherart, whatislessexpected isthe rangeofevents, characters, andcircumstances towhich sheappliesher impressive gift ofversification. The collection includes several challenges and responses to religious feelingwritten ina contemporary voice but witha tonefamiliar to those whoreadtheMetaphysical poetsof theseventeenth century (although McHughoften quotesDante).There are poems thatexpress,fromthe inside,thestruggle againstmental illnessand thelureof suicide.A father's hunting accident istreated in three separate poems,eachoneless desperately searching foranswers thanthelast;theunconnected series movesemotionally fromshock,to prayer and disbelief, toa profound acceptance ofmortality. Themostcompelling section of thebook is an interrelated series of sonnetsand coupletsentitled "Cairns.""Cairns"foldstogether a hikeon theMonongahela Trail, cairnsthatmarkbothland mines and forks in thetrail, and a son's burden ofguilt for hisfather's death. Itisimpossible heretofully describe thepowerful intertwining of trails takenand not taken,choicesand theirrepercussions, thatMcHugh bindstogether in thisseries; nevertheless itis possibletorecommend readingthe collectionagain and again.IntoThese Knots is a remarkable book,even moreremarkable becauseitisAshley AnnaMcHugh's first full-length volume.It should puttorest anylingering question of whether formal poetry is adequate to expresscontemporary thought andemotion. Jeanetta Calhoun Mish Oklahoma City University Ene Mihkelson. Torn.MariKaljuste, ill.Tallinn, Estonia. Varrak. 2010.102 pages. €1 1.25. isbn 978-9985-3-2091-4 Secondonlyto thelateJaanKross and alongsideMatsTraat,thecreatorof a lengthy ruralseries,Ene Mihkelson(b. 1944) is the most prominent contemporary Estonian novelist. Mihkelson's elevencollectionsof free-verse poetryand six tensely interwoven novels constitute a new,Mihkelsonian highliterature. Last year,Mihkelson received the BalticAssembly literary prize forTorn (Thetower). Hercollection ofpoemsamounts toa poeticcoda, a "tetrastic" following her noveltriptych NimeVaev(Thetorment of a name),Ahaveeruse uni(Thesleep ofAhasuerus), and Katkuhaud (The plaguegrave;see WLT,July 2008, 67). Torndisplaysthe same seriousattitude , anguish, andsorrow to which rich experience givesrise, and offers harshcriticism ofcontemporary life.Butunliketherather dark 74 1 World Literature Today introspection thatlies at theheart ofMihkelson's previous work, Torn evokesa stimulating opennessto theworld. Mihkelson's poemsarecrystallized outlinesof prose narratives concernedwith pressing social issues:a constant worry aboutthe persistence ofnational identity and moral memory, theenduring, loomingdangerofa cultural holocaust: "Onlywe keepspeaking a strange worn out / languagewhen one shouldsaydirectly Putyourself in prison /Establish censorship Do not cheer before evening /TheNight of theLongKnivesmaycomeagain" (from "Retreat intotower").Those whoignore thetorments ofbygone totalitarianism areat riskoflosing their soul: "Butwe mustspeakof pain to cut off/ theglorification ofvictimhood" (from "WhenGeneralLaidonerorderedtheopening ofborders"). Mihkelson's poeticsresembles thetechnique ofEstonian composer Arvo Part'stintinnabuli: the more distance tohitmusic, thecloser toa symphony. Hertexts arenotmetrical yetare composedwithutmost precision. Each and everyphrase is important in its analytic difference ,displaying distinct pausesand stresses. Shemakesfrequent use of enjambment: a regulartransmission betweentwo versesas well as semantic crossovers insidesingle lines - the internal enjambment. Withitsstyleofdignified thought units, Torn is likethepoetichadron accelerator of cern (to whichshe refers in herbook),creating collisionsofmotives andphrases on its magnetic memory field: someofthe particles willbe tornapart,others infused with hope. "Theinitial ideawastheimpossibility ofclosure," thepoetrevealed in an interview. The finalcycleof the book bears the title"Caspar Hauser" - a reference to thesatire byJakob Wassermann (1908)about an autistic foundling withhis private languagewho had spenthis entirechildhoodin a darkprison towerbeforethe "humane"societydecidedto "civilize"him.On behalf ofherself andherhomeland, Mihkelson posessarcastic questions, suchas: "How togrowout / from thecocoonofbeinga victim andto saythat itwas /wrong tosparemy life...

György Kurtág--The Matchstick Man and Peter Eötvös--The Seventh Door (review)

Gyorgy Kurtag-The Matchstick Man and Peter Eotvos-The Seventh Door. (Juxtapositions, 7.) DVD. Directed by Judit Kele. Paris: Ideale Audience International, 2005. DVD9DS16. $28.99. Halfway through The Seventh Door, Pierre Boulez off-handedly remarks that Hungarians are the best export in the world. It seems an odd comment, until you stop to consider the disproportionate impact musicians from this small Eastern European nation have had throughout Western Europe on music since 1945. This addition to Ideale Audience International's Juxtapositions series features Hungarian film-maker Judit Kele exploring two of these exports, Gyorgy Kurtag and Peter Eotvos, delving into their distinct musical universes to craft portraits of the composers at work and helping us discover why Hungary has played such an important role in defining Europe's contemporary musical culture. The Juxtapositions series seeks to understand music by combining it with film and observing what the synthesis can tell us about each medium. Some releases, such as Frank Scheffer's probing The Final Chorale, focus on individual pieces of music. Others, such as Dorian Supin's 24 Preludes for a Fugue about Arvo Part and Eric Darmon's appropriately titled Looking Glass about Philip Glass, document their subject's lives by using music as the structure, the glue that holds the films together. In her films, Kele takes the second approach, offering slices of Gyorgy Kurtag's and Peter Eotvos's lives and splicing them together in ways that hopefully illuminate rather than obfuscate their aesthetics. Her method works beautifully in her portrait of Eotvos, but only adds to the enigmatic aura that surrounds Kurtag. Filmed in 1996, The Matchslick Man was Kele's first documentary, and in her notes accompanying the film, she candidly remarks that Kurtag was hesitant about the project. As a result, she first developed a fictional story, a template from which to shoot. Although almost nothing remains of this original story, save for an awkward recreation of a moment from Kurtag's childhood, that initial idea must have colored her approach. The result is a film that talks about Kurtag and his music, but rarely delves under the surface into his motivations and desires. Kele appears throughout the film as a detective, interviewing composers and performers associated with Kurtag and filming the composer at rehearsals, but her subject remains a mystery. This is not to say that the film is not beautifully shot nor lacks exquisite moments. The film's emotional center is a rehearsal of Samuel Beckett: What is the Word, op. …

Laus deo? On composers' expression of their spirituality

We might assume that composers of previous epochs were deeply religious people - but have we any proof of that? On the other hand the second half of the twentieth century witnessed the rise and rise of the overtly spiritual composer. Postmodern composers after Messaien seem to wear their spirituality on their sleeves. It becomes for them a readily expressed identification tag - a label, for all to see. But is it for real, and can audiences today really empathize with the spiritual in a composer's music or are they only bewitched by the seductive texture, the return of consonance, the almost-singable tune? The reputations of John Taverner, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Part, James MacMillan et al. have been built on such as this. Where God is in the midst of such composers, what are the common threads that bind them and how do they understand the nature of their inspiration? Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

'Ex oriente...-II': Nine Composers from the Former USSR by Valeria Tsenova and 'Ex orienta...-III': Eight Composers from the Former USSR by Valeria Tsenova (review) (review)

340 SEER, 82, 2, 2004 Tsenova, Valeria (ed.). 'Exoriente. ..-II'. Nine Composers fromtheFormer USSR. Valentin Silvestrov, RomanLedenyov, FarajKaraev,Victor Ekimovsky, Nikolai Karetnikov, Alemdar Karamanov, Vladimir Tarnopolsky, Sergei Slonimsky, Andrei Volkonsky. Studia Slavica Musicologica: Texte und Abhandlungen zur osteuropaischenMusik,30. ErnstKuhn, Berlin, 2003. viii + 245 pp. Lists of PrincipalWorks.Musical Illustrations.Index. ?49.95 (paperback). Tsenova, Valeria (ed.). 'Exorienta. . .-III'. EightComposersfrom theFormer USSR. Alexander Knaifel, Sergei Pavlenko, BorisTishchenko, Alexander Vustin, Alexander Raskatov, Vladislav Shoot, PhilipGershkovich, Leonid Grabovsky. Studia Slavica Musicologica:Texte und Abhandlungen zur osteuropaischenMusik, 31. ErnstKuhn, Berlin,2003. viii + 207 pp. Listsof PrincipalWorks.Musical Illustrations.Index. ?49.95 (paperback). THIs remarkable series of articles about prominent contemporary Russian composers began in 2002 with the first collection of ten musicians, unfortunately not received by SEER:Viktor Suslin,Dmitrii Smirnov,Arvo Part,Iurii Kasparov, Galina Ustvol'skaia, Nikolai Sidel'nikov, Elena Firsova, Boris Chaikovskii, Vladimir Martynov, and Andrei Eshpai. Its predecessor, however , also edited by Valeriia Tsenova, was Underground Musicfrom theFormer USSR (Amsterdam, I997) (see SEER, 77, I999, I, pp. I62-65), and some of the articles in Kuhn's publications are reprinted from there: Iurii Kholopov on Volkonskii, Gershkovich and Karamanov; Valentina Kholopova on Slonimskii, Tishchenko, Ledenev and Shut' (who, incidentally, himself uses the transliterationShoot); Svetlana Savenko on Sil'vestrov, Grabovskii and Knaifel; Mikhail Tarakanov on Artemov; and Vladimir Barskiion Karaev. Fourteen of the composers in the three Kuhn volumes were not included in the I980 version of New Grove, but by the 200I edition they had all found a place. Many, although not all, have also had their music recorded, either by commercial companies or by themselves. The problems of performance, however, let alone entering the repertoire, is as difficult as it ever was, particularlyin view of contemporaryaudiences' continuing resistanceto new musical idioms, but none of these composers has been completely unperformed . ErnstKuhn has become a majorpublisherof workon Russianmusic, including collections devoted to just one composer, such as Shostakovich (several) or Aleksandr Lokshin (2002), for instance. Ex oriente... is a central part of this most commendable enterprise. The articles here go far beyond the New Grove entries, and are extremely valuable at the informational level. They are written, for the most part, by outstanding musicologists who have been prominent in fostering new music by their teaching and academic writing. This particularly applies to Iurii Kholopov and Valentina Kholopova; the former's death in 2003 was a sad blow indeed for the study and encouragement of contemporary Russian music. The general format of the articles is to outline the composer's backgroundand experience, before illustratingthe particularfeaturesof their writingwith analysisand musicalexamples, followedby a chronologicallist of principal works, in some cases going up to early 2003. The composers vary tremendouslyin manner and style, from the lyrical,often melodious Valentin Sil'vestrov to the challengingly uncompromising work of Vladislav Shut' or REVIEWS 341 the ludic extravagances of Viktor Ekimovskii.The latter'sBalletto(I974), for instance, contains a choreographed part for the conductor, and could be performed on any type of ensemble from a rock group to a symphony orchestra. An illustration of how this looks in the score is to be found in volume2,p. I93. The following list of the contents of these volumes should give some inkling of their nature and scope. Volume 2 contains: Kholopov, Andrei Volkonsky the initiator:a profileof his life and work';Kholopova, 'Sergei Slonimsky:the impetus to innovation and cultural synthesis';Kholopov, 'AlemdarKaramanov : an outsider in Soviet music'; Savenko, 'Valentin Silvestrov's lyrical universe'; Tarakanov, 'A drama of non-recognition: a profile of Nikolai Karetnikov's life and work'; Kholopova, 'The labyrinths of Roman Ledenyov 's creative work';Barskii,'FarajKarayev: "genug" or "not genug"'; and Tsenova, 'The "culturology"of Vladimir Tarnopolsky'.Volume 3 contains: Kholopov, 'Philip Gershkovich's search for the lost essence of music'; Kholopova, 'Boris Tischenko: striking spontaneity against a rationalistic background';Savenko, 'The magic of Alexander Knaifel's message'; Kholopova , 'Secrets of the Moscow composition school in Vladislav Shoot's "pure music"'; Tsenova, 'Alexander Vustin: the battlefield is the soul'; Barskii, 'Apologiaof Raskatov';andBarskii,'SergeiPavlenko:on thewayto simplicity'. It has never been easy to be a genuine composer, and in the Soviet Union most of the musiciansfeaturedhere had little, if any, help from the...

Part II: A Cross-Country Checkup A. Universities

Conceived as a pulse-check for medieval studies in Canada, this project found that the pulse is pounding. Universities that had hitherto not replaced retired medievalists now appear to be so doing. Many of us are expanding or developing courses, and especially programs, in medieval studies at the undergraduate level. The evidence provided in these pages is by no means all positive, but for every lament or conclusion that the bleak future will be odd mentions of our field in classes about medievalism or Harry Potter or Arvo Part, there appears here a paean of praise to new life and new accomplishments. Sometimes, though surprisingly infrequently, these new accomplishments have to do with integrating our work into the new academic world of cultural studies—especially since, as we all know, cultural studies did not start with the first Batman comic. This trend may well accelerate, particularly as we find our balance in this new world of students obsessed by role-playing games, Lord of the Rings, and the effects of religious fervour on human endeavour. At the same time, we seem to be standing firm on the traditional courses which anchor our field, with undergraduate program requirements in Latin or in at least two disciplines, and with introductory courses focused on classic medieval themes or centuries.

Drei Stucke fur Klarinette und Klavier (1973), and: Moments musicaux: Fur Klarinette in B solo (1977), and: Pieskarieni = Beruhrungen/Touches: Fur Oboe solo, and: Vasaras dziedadjumi: 2. stigu kvartets = Sommerweisen: 2. Streichquartett (1984), and: Simfonija stigu orkestrim "Balsis" = Symphonie fur Streicher "Stimmen" (1991), and: Fantasia Izdegusas zemes ainavas = Landschaften der ausgebrannten Erde: Fur Klavier (1992), and: Litene

Peteris Vasks. Drei Stucke fur Klarinette und Klavier (1973). (Clarinet Library = Klarinetten-Bibliothek.) Mainz: Schott, c1996. [Notes, 1 p.; score, p. 3-16; and part. ISMN M-001-11370-0; KLB 42. [pounds sterling]16.5O.] Peteris Vasks. Moments musicaux: Fur Klarinette in B solo (1977). Mainz: Schott, c1996. (Clarinet Library = Klarinetten-Bibliothek.) [Notes, 3 p.; score, p. 5--8. ISMN M-001-11369-4; KLB 41. Duration, Ca. 10 min. [pounds sterling]9.95.] Peteris Vasks. Pieskarieni = Beruhrungen/Toughes: Fur Oboe solo. (Oboe Library = Oboen-Bibliothek.) Mainz: Schott, c1996. [Notes, 3 p.; score, p. 5-8. ISMN M-001-11371-7; OBB 37. Duration, Ca. 7 min. [pounds sterling]11.50.] Peteris Vasks. Vasaras dziedajumi: 2. stigu kvartets = Sommerweisen: 2. Streichquartett (1984). Mainz: Schott, c1997. [Notes, 2 p.; score, p. 5-19; and 4 parts. ISMN M-001-11366-3; ED 8512. Duration, ca. 23 min. [pounds sterling]39.95.] Peteris Vasks. Simfonija stigu orkestrim Balsis = Symphonie fur Streicher Stimmen (1991). (Musik unserer Zeit.) Mainz: Schott, c1993. Studienpartitur. [Notes, 3 p.; score, p. 7-67. ED 8032. Duration, ca. 27 min. [pounds sterling]29.95.] Peteris Vasks. Fantasia Izdegusas zemes ainavas = Landschaften der ausgebrannten Erde: Fur Klavier (1992). Mainz: Schott, c1993. [Notes, 2 p.; score, p. 5-19. ED 8102. Duration, ca. 15 min. [pounds sterling]14.50.] Peteris Vasks. Litene (Uldis Berzins): Cemischter Chor (SSSAAATTTBBB) a cappella [1993]. (Kammerchor = Chamber Choir.) Mainz: Schott, c1998. [Notes, 3 p.; score, p. 5-42. ISMN M-001-10158-5; SKR 20030. Duration, 11 min. [pounds sterling]12.] renewed and reimagined nationalisms that continue to transform the identity of the New Europe and to reframe its boundaries have variously mobilized the figure of the national composer as an authentic and cosmopolitan representative of the nation. This role for contemporary composers has been a remarkable aspect of nationalisms in the Baltic states and elsewhere. In Estonia, such figures include Arvo Part, Veljo Tormis, and Erkki-Sven Tuur; in Latvia, Peteris Plakidis and Peteris Vasks; in Lithuania, Osvaldas Balakauskas and Vytautas Barkauskas; and in Georgia, Giya Kancheli. As figures of national authenticity, these composers embody the folk traditions, the religious practices, and the natural environment of the nation while giving voice to its Soviet, post-Soviet, and new-European experiences. As cosmopolitan figures, such composers demonstrate the ways in which these national or local values are transformed into more universal categories of human experience as their music circulates transnationally th rough the media of recordings and films and among elite cultural institutions. Peteris Vasks (b. 1946 in Aizpute, Latvia) is Latvia's most internationally renowned composer and, from a global perspective, Latvia's national composer. Through the dedicated advocacy of fellow Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica, Vasks's music has helped articulate a specific national and regional musical identity. Indeed, Vasks understands his expressive and creative work in national terms: For me what is important is to speak as a representative of a very small, unhappy but courageous country which has suffered much. In my music I speak Latvian (notes accompanying the CD Peteris Vasks, Chamber Music [Conifer Classics 75605 51272 2, 1996]). forms such enunciation take in Vasks's music, however, are symbolic absolutes rather than distinctly national signifiers: good and evil, hope and despair, idealism and nihilism, freedom and oppression, as Vasks himself suggests in his article The Suffering and Joy of Creation: A Composer's Perspective (Musicworks: Journal of Sound Explorat ion 63 [1995]: 40-44). Such archetypal musical symbolism is informed by Vasks's background as the son of a Baptist minister in Soviet Latvia, by the environmental catastrophes brought about through Soviet industrialization and now part of a global threat, by the Dziesmota revotucija (Singing Revolution) of the late 1980s and early 1990s and by the postindependence hardships endured during the dynamic process of building the nation-state. …

THE RETURN OF RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC

The intent of this article is to show some evidence towards the hypothesis that takes the relatively recent (re)turn of art towards religion as a part of a larger spiritual phenomenon rather than as an exclusively artistic trend. The art and the views of some contemporary composers whose art expresses the return of the sacred, mainly Henryk Gorecki Arvo Part and John Tavener, are examined here Music by the three composers who can be said to represent the New Simplicity, an artistic trend that epitomizes the vanguard of art while expressing spiritual and religious contemporary concerns at the same time, is discussed within the philosophical background of the end of modernism and the return of the sacred.

An Interview with Arvo Part: Sources of Invention

An Interview with Arvo Part: Sources of Invention

Parting Glances: David Clarke Reappraises the Music and the Aesthetics of Arvo Part

Parting Glances: David Clarke Reappraises the Music and the Aesthetics of Arvo Part

An Interview with Arvo Part

An Interview with Arvo Part