Ninety years ago, on September 11, 1935, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt was born. In his early years, he experimented with serial music, often as a protest against the oppressive Soviet regime. However, from the seventies onwards, he found his own voice: a personal style often described as mystical or religious minimalism. He drew inspiration from Gregorian chants, Flemish polyphony from the 15th and 16th centuries and Byzantine church music, in connection with his conversion to Russian Orthodox faith.
His tintinnabuli style, in which simplicity, clarity and a return to the essence are central, manages to touch universally. Pärt's music transcends time and place and sounds like a soul language of stillness, transcendence and inner joy in a world that is often noisy and conflicted.
A well-deserved tribute
With this concert, Polyfoon pays homage to Arvo Pärt. The ensemble invites several Sint-Niklaas musicians to present a rich palette of works by this special composer together. In this way, the audience is taken through intimate pieces for piano and cello, but also through impressive choir sounds, accompanied or a capella. The program features some of Pärt's most beloved compositions. The austere and meditative Für Alina for solo piano, and the world-beloved Spiegel im Spiegel, performed here in the version for cello and piano, form the instrumental highlights. In addition, a selection of his sacred choral works are heard. The serene Summa and the deeply religious Magnificat are performed a capella, while the powerful De Profundis is supported by organ sounds from Katrien Mannaert, titular at the O.L.V.-church.
The performance is carried by Dieter Van Handenhoven on piano and cellist Pieter Stas, who together create an intimate dialogue in the chamber works. The Flanders Boys Choir, the boys' choir under the direction of conductor Lieven Deroo, lends the concert a special warmth by singing among others Vater Unser and Kuss Kuss Kallike.