Pärt: Tractus

Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and ECM’s producer Manfred Eicher are Pärt ’s long-term collaborators, and they make an utterly assured contribution to this concentrated retrospective of the composer’s... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2023, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Release Date: 31st May 2024
Catalogue No: 4859167
Label: ECM

Pärt: Tractus

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Tractus emphasizes Arvo Part compositions that blend the timbres of choir and string orchestra. New versions predominate, with focused performances from the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Tonu Kaljuste's direction that invite alert and concentrated listening. From the opening composition Littlemore Tractus, which takes as its starting point consoling reflections from a sermon by John Henry Newman, the idea of change, transfiguration and renewal resonates, setting a tone for a recording whose character is one of summing up, looking inward, and reconciling with the past. Compositions included are Littlemore Tractus, Greater Antiphons, Cantique des degres, Sequentia, L'abbe Agathon, These Words... and Veni creator. An evocative reworking of Vater unser for choir, strings and piano concludes this album. Recorded in Tallinn last year and produced by Manfred Eicher, Tractus extends the line of definitive Arvo Part albums begun on ECM New Series with the epochal Tabula rasa in 1984.

Maria Listra: soprano (L'Abbe Agathon)

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

Tallinn Chamber Orchestra

Tonu Kaljuste: conductor

Reviews

Christmas 2023

Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and ECM’s producer Manfred Eicher are Pärt ’s long-term collaborators, and they make an utterly assured contribution to this concentrated retrospective of the composer’s approachable, deeply felt compositional style.

The New York Times 30th November 2023

“L’abbé Agathon,” a somber setting of an early Christian parable that at times resembles a verismo aria, is the longest work on the album. At its climax, the soprano (the outstanding Maria Listra) reaches a high passage sung with surpassing quiet and serenity. There, in one radiant yet austere moment, is this composer’s essential voice

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