Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten

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Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten is a composition by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt from 1977. It is considered one of the most famous works by Pärt and is an early example of the Tintinnabuli style he developed .

composition

The piece was composed as a proportional canon in A minor for ten-part string orchestra and bell. This is tuned to the A note and forms the tonal center of the piece. It is an augmentation - canon (Augmentation: lat augmen "propagation, growth" in this context: magnification of note values and intervals.).

The piece is in 6/4 time and contains a constant alternation of short and long note values. It begins with the chimes of the bells, which sound in groups 18 beats apart. Each of these groups consists of three A's, each played 12 beats apart. These chimes run through the whole piece (with an interruption), but the C sharp as the fourth overtone of the bell gives the impression that it is an A major piece (cf. Picardian third ).

The orchestra's instruments include two times two violin parts , as well as violas , cellos and double basses with two voices each. The first voice of each type of instrument plays the descending A minor scale characteristic of the piece, the second voice only plays the notes of the A minor triad that are below the notes of the first voice (example: first voice plays a G, second voice plays an E). All first and second sub-voices each play the same melody, with each main voice playing an octave lower and at half the tempo of the previous voice, creating the above-mentioned augmentation. As a result, the composition ends when the double bass, the lowest voice, has finished the melody.

The piece begins very softly in pianissimo , but gradually builds up a greater volume that is created by the added instruments. The sound impression is complex, although the principle of composition is a relatively simple one. This phenomenon is due to a. in Pärt's Tintinnabuli style.

Musical statement

The piece can be seen as a meditation on death. The author of Pärt's biography, Paul Hillier, says that "the way we live depends on our relationship with death: how music is made depends on the relationship with silence." Accordingly, this piece is characterized by the silence in the beginning as well shaped in the end. Although the different instruments are added one after the other, strictly speaking they play from the beginning. The silence creates a frame around the piece and has a religious or spiritual meaning. It illustrates the thought that we arise from the silence and will also return to the silence.

Even if Arvo Pärt is mainly known for his religious pieces, this piece is not primarily due to religious motifs. According to Pärt's own statement, the “unimportant” is omitted because the complicated confuses him. It is enough if you play a single note nicely. For Pärt it is important that everything becomes one. Therefore the emerging dualism is only apparent. The natural A minor scale has historical connections. Pärt uses different modes of a system that were particularly influenced by early liturgical music and that date back to before major and minor became popular in Western music. Each of these modes has an individual character. The church mode contains an ascending natural, diatonic scale, which in turn is characterized by the fact that the names of the tones that are used must all begin with a different letter and that there may be no reduced or excessive intervals between adjacent levels (Aeolian style) . Arvo Pärt is inspired by this style.

The piece was used as background music in films, television documentaries and series because of its musical nature.

intention

Arvo Pärt composed the piece as a homage to the artist Benjamin Britten , who died in 1976 and whose music he only learned to appreciate shortly before his death. Pärt's wish to meet Britten personally remained unfulfilled due to the political differences between the USSR and England and Britten's untimely death.

In response to Britten's death, Pärt said in a speech: “Why did Benjamin Britten's death date - December 4, 1976 - trigger such a reaction in me? During this time I had obviously come to a point where I realized the magnitude of such a loss. I felt indescribable guilt, even more than that. I had just discovered Britten for myself. It wasn't until shortly before his death that I began to appreciate the purity of his music. It impressed me in a similar way to the ballads by Guillaume de Machaut. I also wanted to get to know Britten personally over a long period of time - and now I will never have the opportunity. "

References

  • Paul Hillier: Arvo Pärt. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-1981-6550-1 .
  • Peter Quinn: Arvo Pärt, "Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten". Goldsmiths' College, University of London, 1991.
  • Wolfram Wallrabenstein. Arvo Pärt: “Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten” . In: Zeitschrift für Musikpädagogik, October 31, 1985, 31. 13–3
  • Gidon Kremer. Sleeve notes to Pärt: Tabula Rasa. ECM New Series, 1988.
  • Harenberg composers lexicon. Mannheim 2004. p. 691