Arvo Prt: Magister Ludi

Author(s): Paul Hillier

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 130, No. 1753 (Mar., 1989), pp. 134-137
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
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Arvo

Part

Magister

Ludi

Paul Hillier

All music emerges from silence, to which sooner or later

it must return. At its simplest we may conceive of music
as the relationship between sounds and the silence that
surroundsthem. Yet silence is an imaginarystatein which
all sounds are absent, akin perhaps to the infinity of time
and space that surrounds us. We cannot ever hear utter
silence, nor can we fully conceive of infinity and eternity.
When we create music, we express life. But the source
of music is silence, which is the ground of our musical
being, the fundamentalnote of life. How we live depends
on our relationship with death; how we make music
depends on our relationship with silence.
Arvo Part's music accepts silence and death, and thus
reaffirmsthe basic truth of life, its frailtycompassionately
realised, its sacred beauty observed and celebrated. He
uses the simplest of means - a single note, a triad, words
- and with them creates an intense, vibrant music that
stands apart from the world and beckons us to an inner
quietness and an inner exaltation.
*

The prize-winningcantataMeieAed (My Garden)was the

first work to bring Part's name to prominence in the
USSR. Writtenin 1959for children'schoir and orchestra,
it is an exuberantly tonal piece, melodious and quickwitted, and stands firmly rooted in the Estonian choral
tradition which thrives to this day.
From prominence Part moved to notoriety as a composer of atonalmusic. Completed in 1966, the Symphony
no.2 uses a 12-note row whose intervals create a regular
pattern(counting semitones: 12321232123).The melodic
enunciation of this row is countered by two contrasting
textures: chordal clusters and a rapid staccato semitone
figure distributedto createan irregularpointillisticeffect.
But then come sudden bursts of tonality - a full woodwind chord of B major is announced after the first complete statementof the row, and this is only the firstof many
instances. The end of the work is heralded by a melody
in A minor, harmonisedsimply, and reachinga brief conclusion in B major.
The Symphony no.3 (which I had the good fortune to
hear recently in Estonia) is a powerful work lasting some
20 minutes. Tonalityemergesas a necessity, often asserted
in some resonantgesture, but also arisinginevitably from
the chant-like motifs that frequently occur. The work is
a richly woven patchwork quilt that graduallyunfolds to
reveala strongand emotionallycompellingstructure.The
134

tendency to pare awayinessential development, to isolate

the significantmusicalthought and placeit in justthe right
context now becomes especiallyapparent.With hindsight
this work will inevitably be viewed as transitional, and
as such offers a fascinating experience; but if this is all
it will be a shame, for it needs to be heard for its own sake
- and there is one climactic solo which will linger in the
imagination of anyone who hears it.
Not long after this, Part realised a need to search for
a new musicallanguageand, much to the surpriseof those
just getting used to his music, he stopped composing.
*

Arvo Part emerged from his silence of some seven years

with a new style of music, characterisedas 'tintinnabuli'.
This word refers to the ringing of bells, music in which
the sound materialsarein constantflux, though the overall
image is one of stasis, of constant recognition. Listening
to a good sonorouspeal of bells you may notice that, apart
from the rich jangleof overtones, the reiterationof lower
notes creates an undertow of strange pitches that both
belong and do not belong, revealing melodic numeration
and variation known as 'ringing the changes'; and at its
simplest there is the single tolling bell with its ominous
insistence. Each of these phenonemenais present in some
way in Part's tintinnabuli music.
In this music, Part takes the sound of the triad as a
phenomenon of nature. It rings constantly through the
tintinnabulation, and is both the means of originating
sounds and the audible result of such work. This triad
has little to do with structuraltonality; there is no sense
of modulation, or of the tension and release normally
associated with tonal harmony. It is simply the ringing
out of one sound based on a centralnote. The music does
not develop (in the usual sense of this word). It expands
and contracts - in short, it breathes.
The use of a tonalcentreis akinto the use in modalmusic
of a drone (sounded or implied), but with the important
difference that the full triad is a constant presence. The
tonal centre may shift (it does so in the largerworks) but
it is always to a closely related pitch, usually maintaining
the same diatonic scale, so that there is the impression of
looking at the same view from a different position.
The tintinnabuli style developed by Part is not just a
distinctive sound, but a very clearly defined technique.
Not only does it proceed systematicallyin a purelymusical
sense, but in the vocal works (a large proportion of his

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music is vocal) the text yields up the individual melodic

shapesand rhythmsas well as the phrase-lengthsandlarger
detailsof form. Parthas saidthatthe wordswritethe music
for him. In a sense this is true, but like all systems this
one is only as good as the person using it. The skill lies
in creating the appropriatesituation for such a system to
work in: seeing what parametersof pitch and metre, what
combination of voices and instruments will yield the best
results. Part's success lies not only in having created this
system - which has the beauty of simplicity and the
simplicity of beauty - but he has revealedtime and again
an uncanny instinct for the right applicationof his ideas.
Each work grows organicallyfrom the seed of a particular
vision. In each work fresh use is found for the tintinnabuli
style, so what seems to be a restrictive or limited means
of composing is shown to be an abundantly rich source
of musical possibilities. A study of the actual workings
of this technique follows in a brief survey of three works:
Missa sillabica, Tabula rasa and Stabat mater.
*

Although not quite the earliest work in the tintinnabuli

style, the Missa sillabicaoffers a fine example of the basic
technique and how it can be subtly varied in the different
sections of the Mass. The Kyrie is written in a two-part
texture, the basis of the tintinnabuli style. It consists of
a melodic voice proceeding by step up or down the scale,
and an accompanying voice - the tintinnabuli part which soundsonly the notes of the D minortriad(seeex. 1).
Thus we have the basis of melody - scales and arpeggios
- and thus we witness two different ways of expanding
upon the tonal centre, two contrasting principles
perpetually joined together. (Although we may refer to
two separatevoices as in polyphony, it should be clearthat
the tintinnabuli part, whether sung or played, is
homophonically conceived.)
Ex. la

lb

A r

vL n
(CL.)

The melodic voice always begins or ends on its tonal

centre. In the first section of the Kyrie (tonal centre: D)
it begins on the third note of the scale (F) as the word
'Kyrie' has three syllables: the next word 'eleison' starts
on the fourth note (G) as there are four syllables. In the
second section - Christe eleison - the same principle is
applied, but approachingthe tonalcentrefrombelow. The
tintinnabuli voice uses only the notes in the triad of the
tonal centre (in this case, D minor). The composer selects
that note in the arpeggio adjacent to the melodic voice,
alternating the nearest above and the nearest below.
In the Gloriathis technique is extended, the texture is
now three-part with two melodic voices, the upper one
based on A, and the lower one remainingon D. The tintin-

nabulipartfollows the uppervoice (still using the D minor

arpeggio). The lower voice introduces an alternative
melodic formula beginning on the tonal centre and moving awayin accordancewith the numberof syllables.There
are thus four melodic types or 'melodic modes': two starting on the tonal centre and either ascending or descending from it, and two starting above or below the tonal
centre and rising or falling to it (see ex.2).
2b

Ex. 2a
A

i' |b
Glo-ri-a

I ll

ll

in ex-cel-sii De-o et.-

- *I

||

Lau- da-mu&te, be- ne- di- ci-mus te, adoramus

Already in the Gloria's three-part texture this technique is yielding unpremeditated harmonies whose effect
is not dissonant but which form clusters of tones and
semitones that cause the tonal centre to vibrate with an
unsuspected immanence. This process is further enriched in the Credo where the texture becomes four-part. In
this section high and low pairsof voices alternate,creating
a sense of antiphony. In each pairthe upper voice ascends
from A while the lower voice descends onto D. Each voice
is accompanied by a tintinnabuli part.
The Sanctusdemonstrateswell how a shift of tonal centre can respond to the text. The music is now based on
F and the mood of exultation is further enhanced by the
use of full choir and instruments, effectively in eight parts
(though in fact four doubled at the octave). The Agnus
returns to the mood of the Kyrie (time is nearly vertical)
though the texture is three-part. The final salutation 'Ite
Missa Est' restores all melodic voices to a D tonal centre
and has the same texture as the Sanctus.
The text determinesnot only the melodicsubstance(and
thereby the harmonic as well), but also the rhythms of
the work in all its respects. The exact formulation of this
variesfromwork to work, but the setting is alwayssyllabic
and uses equal note-lengthsexcept for the ends of phrases.
These cadentialpoints arealwaysestablishedby the punctuation, and different lengthenings may apply to commas
and to full-stops. Sometimes it is the initial syllable of the
final word that is lengthened, sometimes the whole word;
sometimes the initial word or syllable is also lengthened.
Whatever the particular scheme, it is adhered to
completely.
This approachis obliquely reminiscent of John Cage's
removal of personal choice (and therefore taste) from the
job of composition, so that the composer's task is 'to ask
the right questions'. Part does apply personal taste of
course and the end results are very different, but the
obliteration of the ego is a philosophical or spiritual goal
shared by both composers.
While it may be a little austerefor concert performance,
the Missa sillabicais a perfect setting for church use (if the
135

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Latin text is not a problem), and as such is to be highly

recommended - the instrumental parts may be played
on the organ.
*

to the ninth section which introduces two chromatic

pitches - F#and E b.The resultantchords pulsate loudly
while the soloists articulaterapidarpeggios;but A minor,
never entirelyabandoned,reassertsitself first throughthe
tutti stringsand then the soloists. Finallyan A minortriad,
sustainedfor a long while, brings an end to all movement.
The second movement, Silentium (senzamoto), begins
with a piano arpeggiowhich immediately places the new
tonal centre as D. This arpeggio recurs throughout the
movement at intervals that grow steadily longer by one
bar at a time. The material is utter simplicity. The first
soloist, the first tutti violins and the cellos createand everwidening melodic arc, startingon D and adding first the
pitch above and then the one below, then the second pitch
above and so on, always proceeding by step and returning through D. While the cellos play dc/, the first violins
proceed more slowly with o c, and the first soloist slower
still witho.do in a slightlydifferentpattern.The otherparts
function as tintinnabuli voices (the two soloists later exchange roles). Finally the cellos describetheir melodic arc
again (grown to four octaves), then taken over by the
double-basseswhose descent towardsa finallow D merges
into inaudibility. The last note actually sounded is a low
E, the penultimate.
Thus a beautiful,subtleworkis createdby the interlocking of severalclosely related patterns or ideas: these arise
from the steady assembly of a melodic scale, the tintinnabuli principle and the harmonic clusters that it forms,
and the use of proportional, additive and reductive time
procedures.
*
The Stabatmateris a double trio for three voices and three
strings. The text consists of 20 stanzas grouped in pairs
followingthe rhyme schemeAAB/CBB. Partdividesthem
into four groups - 4,6,6,4 - with an instrumental
ritornelloof much faster music between each group. The
work begins and ends with a slow unwinding of the A
minor triad (the voices singing 'Amen') which forms the
basis of this piece (see ex.3). In the opening and closing
sections the dominant note-length is a dotted semibreve;
during the stanzas it is a minim, and in the ritornellos a
quaver. Thus there arenine (3x3) sections in all, and three
distinct speeds.

In Part's vocal works the music emanatesfrom the words

themselves. In his instrumental works the music issues
from a single note. The double concerto for two violins,
string orchestraand preparedpiano (which has a kind of
obbligatofunction), entitled Tabularasa,providesa good
exampleof music basedon one note, elaboratedmelodically and with the constant application of the tintinnabuli
principle.
The work has two movements, Ludus ('game') and
Silentium, which complement one another. The first is
a gradualmelodicand intensificationof a dynamicgesture,
while the second, about twice as long, also expands a
melodic line, but so slowly that the music is heard as a
long unwinding into silence. With a searing fortissimo A
on both solo violins, four octavesapart,the Ludus begins.
This intense initial utterance is like a wiping clean of the
slate. Nothing is left afterit but silence (for eight minims)
out of which music tentatively distils. It may be described in some detail: working in pairs and starting with the
first violins divisi, the tutti strings repeat the note A four
times accompaniedby the tintannibuli notes C and E, all
in equal crotchets; this pattern descends through the
strings down to the fundamental A reiterated by the
double-basses. The second violin enters with an animated
tintinnabuli figure, answered in triplets an octave lower
by the first soloist, as the piano announces the triad of A
minor at a low pitch. The tutti strings then reverse the
pattern of their entrance, ascending to leave the second
soloist to sound the high A four times, the piano playing
tintannabuli notes. All is piano and pianissimo. This is
followed by silence for seven minims.
This completes the first of nine sectionswhich elaborate
further variationsfrom the opening note. Each section is
longer than the last by alternatelyfour and five bars, while
the pauses between sections grow progressively shorter
(eight minims, seven, and so on down to one). So far the
only pitches soundedarethose of the A minortriad. Beginning with the second section, each section adds two new
pitches (one above A, one below) to the stock of notes in
use. First, B above and G below are added, then C above
Ex. 3
I
,,
sva,
and F below, and so on until step by step a two-octave
been
in
has
created
the
followed
j id r I ?.I
?
sweep
eighth section,
by
I , <i
-V
and
Noofintervah
a candenza. This gradual melodic extension is accom1
*
panied by a general rhythmic intensification and a steady
increase in the dynamic range. As the stock of melodic
We examined earlier the four modes of generating
notes is increased, their interaction with the tintinnabuli melody froma text. In the Missa, as in severalothershorter
notes produces increasingly more complex groupings of works, the melody in any voice either rises or falls. But
tones. Similarly the two soloists' figuration ranges ever in longer works (such as the Passio) it becomes desirable
more widely as new pitches 'become available'.
to have a more frequent change in the melodic direction,
The cadenza introduces rapid fff arpeggios and and accordingly this takes place with each word. Such is
tremolandosas the piano picks out a three-octavedescen- the case in the Stabat mater,but with one added refineding scale, doubled or echoed by the other instruments. ment which takes its cue from the rhyme scheme in which
This scale is arrestedon the penultimate note, B, leading the third line detaches itself from the previous two. The
_
I1
1I
2
a
a
t
pitches:
A diagramatic representation of the violin's opening pasage, imitated by viola and cello beginning on C and E repectively

136

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melodic voice begins on the tonal centre for the first two
lines (alternatelyrising and falling), but starts above and
below that note for the third line (see ex.4). All four
melodic modes can now be present in each melodic voice.
An interesting innovation in the technique occurs when
a single voice sings a tintinnabuli part, following the
'rules', but no melodic part is actually sounding.
Ex. 4
Tenor

'., I Jli.."f

J
Jiol JI .J..

Jir"..1

Sta- bat ma- ter do- lo- roe a jux- ta cru- cem lac- ri- mo- ?a dum pen- de- bat fi- li- us

From the first to last the tintinnabuli voices remain in

A minor, but the melodic voices graduallyclimb through
the arpeggiousing each note in turn as their tonal centre.
Throughout the first section they begin on A, but at the
beginning of the second section the soprano moves onto
C and reversesthe distributionof the melodicmodes;other
melodic and rhythmicvariationsare also introduced. The
tenor begins the third section on E, and now the voices
sometimesexchangemelodic and tintinnabuliroleswithin
a stanza. The fourth section begins with the soprano on
high A (and the rules prescribe an unavoidable high C)
but now the melodic basis moves back down through the
arpeggio, stanza by stanza, until the final stanza is sung
in unison (tenor at the octave below) - a magical effect
that ushers in the high string music with which the work
began, though now the singers sing 'Amen' in turn and
the strings descend to a low A minor triad to bring the
work to a close.
Most would agree that the presence of the composer during the preparationand performanceof one of his works
lends a special authenticity to the occasion. The precise
implications of this thought raise a host of questions, particularly for anyone in the field of early music, but in contemporarymusic it is naturallyassumedthat the composer
is useful to explain what he wants - as if the score is not
enough, no matter how complex its instructions. A page
of music by Arvo Part is empty of all but the notes
themselves and occasional dynamic markings. There are
few accidentals, no crescendos or rallentandos, no verbal
instructions and often just one basic rhythm. Either this
music is very simple, or so complex that nothing suficient
can be said!
My approach to the music was encouraged by my experience of working with medieval and renaissance
polyphony which has similar 'limitations'. Nevertheless,
some of the scores posed questions which would obviously benefit from discussion with the composer (this applied
to the scores on hire only: those for sale contained all the
information that was needed).
Working with Part in fact proved not only practical in
the obvious sense, but enlightening in a more fundamental way. First there were details of scoring to clarify many of the works offer various options with regard to
the number and type of instruments, and our earlydiscus-

sion centred on these possibilities. As with the music itself

and its compositional process, there are open choices to
be made, but in choosing one thing it soon became clear
that other questions had thereby been decided. I was also
naturallycuriousas to the composer'sidea of tempos. The
realisationof a particularatmospherewas clearly of great
significance, and so the actual tempo might change according to the building, the performers and all other
variables.Of specialimportancewere the silencesbetween
phrases, which in turn affected the phrases themselves:
the notes are (relatively)easy, yet performerscan so easily make things hard for themselves.
In this respect one should not overlook Part's earlier
careeras a 'professional' composer of film music and also
many years spent as a sound engineer at Tallinn radio.
He has a keen ear and makes extremely practical suggestions about all aspects of a performance or recording including the positioning of the artists and the quality of
light. Yet he never imposes his ideas on the performers;
he does not have to, as his suggestions are so innately appropriate. On the other hand, he has an open mind about
many details of a work and will hear alternativesand still
not always insist on one, though a preference once stated
will naturally be respected.
Pirt has the abilityto characterisehis music in a physical
gesture: to illustrate the opening of 'An den Wassern' he
tore off a narrow strip of paper and cast it into the air,
to drop flutteringly to the ground. But perhaps of greater
value is his sense of humour and generosity of spirit. (He
once arrivedat a rehearsalwith renewed alterationsto the
organ part, and slices of fruit cake for everyone.) Working last yearwith a group of student singers, his approach
was not to instruct with musical terms, but ratherto talk
about what lay behind the music. The Kyrie of the Missa
for example - we who have nothing ask God for what we
truly need. (How does the music express this? Pictorially
it does not, though there is certainly an emotional
framework befitting the situation.) He then explained
briefly how the words compose the music.
Each phrase must 'live' - it seems so obvious, yet it
might be overlooked in a music so superficially empty.
Gregorianchantand earlypolyphonymust live in the same
way - fervently, not overtly as an extension of the performer's persona, but from an inner state of heedfulness.
*

Part's music is once again being performed in Estonia

where, until recently, it was forbidden. Meanwhile, his
reputationcontinues to grow rapidlyin the West. Within
the next two years, most of the works in tintinnabuli style
will have been recordedand plans areunderwayto record
the earlier music as well, beginning with the three symphonies. As for new works, it is agreed not to talk about
them until they are ready.
Paul Hillier will conducta performanceof Arvo Pirt's St John
Passion at St Luke's Church, Chelseaon 21 March at 8p.m.
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