Arvo Pärt's assembly for ECM is a paler shade of brilliant. There are fewer extremes -- the sort of compositions that have made him a standout in classical music. Here, the eternally pious Estonian explores the colors in the middle of the spectrum and stirs them about in confident strokes. Gone are the days where he wrestled with his own voice in orchestral settings, or filled in portions of it with course patchworks of
Bach in brilliant and unsettling collages. Although Orient & Occident sounds like a compromise of those extremes, it could actually be a new chapter. "Ein Wallfahrtslied" is a hushed tension of strings shifting beneath male voices and low stabs of brass. As it progresses, the same strings crescendo to jagged spikes of beauty, then subside again into a harmonic fog. Similar in respect to the work of
Elliot Goldenthal (whose film scores thrive on such elements), there is a medieval tonality that runs through the varying dynamics. The featured piece "Orient & Occident" alternates restlessly between Eastern and Western tonalities -- phrasings that bloom chord clusters and menacing slides, like a horrific dragon that tilts its thorny head in pensive curiosity. This piece is majestic, tortured, and bittersweet, but restrained enough that the dragon never breathes fire. The movements that comprise "Como Cierve Sedenta" resonate with tenderness, lament, and triumph. His first composition to use Spanish text, the language made considerable impact on musical structure and phrasing.
Pärt is usually sensitive enough to text that syllabication determines the flow his pieces take. Fellow Estonian and frequent collaborator
Tönu Kaljuste conducts the Swedish Radio Choir and the Swedish Radio Orchestra with fluidity and trusts the value of silence and breath. Mastering the orchestra like a tool, he can wield it like a hammer or suspend it mid-air like a silken thread. He and the composer are well suited for each other, and any release that bears both names deserves special attention. Orient & Occident may not have the same pyrotechnics as his other albums, yet
Arvo Pärt reveals to listeners here the modest eternal flame. ~ Glenn Swan