Five of the discs on this six-CD set are previously released Naxos recordings of a broad variety of works by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The set offers a generous sampling of works spanning the composer's career, from his polystylistic Collage über BACH (1964) for orchestra to his 2001 Nunc dimittis for a cappella chorus. The bulk of the collection is devoted to works with his characteristic holy minimalist sound, using his tintinnabuli technique, in which there is a mathematically exact connection between the various ...
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Five of the discs on this six-CD set are previously released Naxos recordings of a broad variety of works by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The set offers a generous sampling of works spanning the composer's career, from his polystylistic Collage über BACH (1964) for orchestra to his 2001 Nunc dimittis for a cappella chorus. The bulk of the collection is devoted to works with his characteristic holy minimalist sound, using his tintinnabuli technique, in which there is a mathematically exact connection between the various lines. The set includes several of his major large-scale works, such as the St. John Passion, Berliner Messe, and Tabula Rasa, as well as many of his most popular smaller works, like Fratres (in six different arrangements), Cantus in memorium Benjamin Britten, Festina lente, De Profundis, and vocal and instrumental versions of Summa. The avowed Pärt devotee will probably already own performances of most of these pieces, but at the bargain price at which Naxos is offering the set, it...
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