Name: Tabula Rasa
Brand: Arvo Part

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

4763878

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

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Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

The 1984 ECM album Tabula Rasa was the vehicle that introduced the revolutionary music of Arvo Pärt to audiences outside

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2019-03-01

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Proper

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

28947638780

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Arvo Part

Genre GB

Modern Composition

Label GB

ECM Records, also known as "The Creative Label," is a German independent label that was co-founded by producer Manfred Eicher, Manfred Scheffner, and Karl Egger in Munich (Pasing) in 1969. With the label code LC 2516 / LC 02516, ECM stands for Edition of Contemporary Music and focuses on jazz and Western classical music. They showcase both acoustic and electronic artists who produce eclectic versions of contemporary music.

ECM's extensive catalog features a wide range of genres, from contemporary works by renowned composers like Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, and Philip Glass to experimental and electronic jazz from artists such as Nils Petter Molvær, Pat Metheny Group, and Jan Garbarek. Over the past 40+ years, ECM has released more than 1500 recordings that have been acclaimed for their exceptional music quality, creative production techniques, and outstanding sound.

Although an independent label, ECM titles are distributed by Universal Music Group (UMG) in the US, Japan, and throughout Europe. However, they have also collaborated with other distributors over the years. Notably during the period when Polydor distributed ECM products in Germany; [l447694] was used for pressing identified by a CP suffix on labels and runouts. Afterward,[l25946] became their primary distributor.

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The 1984 ECM album Tabula Rasa was the vehicle that introduced the revolutionary music of Arvo Pärt to audiences outside Eastern Europe and initiated what was to become one of the most extraordinary musical careers of the late 20th century. Like many of the first generation American minimalists, he limited himself to diatonic harmonies and generated pieces by setting processes in motion, but the radical simplicity he achieved was the result of religious contemplation that was at least as, if not more, formative than his quest for a new musical aesthetic. The result was music suffused by an unhurried, luminous serenity, and while it was distinctly contemporary, it had an archaic quality that tied it to the music of the very distant past. 

The three instrumental pieces recorded here (one of which appears in two versions) were among the first Pärt wrote in his newly developed style, which came to be known popularly as holy minimalism. (The composer prefers the term tintinnabulation, because in his words, "The three notes of the triad are like bells.") Fratres, originally for chamber orchestra, is undeniably Pärt's most popular work and exists in well over a dozen versions, two of which are included here. Gidon Kremer and Keith Jarrett bring great nuance and sensitivity to the version for violin and piano. They play somewhat loosely with details of the score, but they are entirely in sync with the spirit of the piece, and it's a gripping performance. The violin part is hugely virtuosic and Kremer is breathtaking, particularly in the crystalline purity of the outrageously high harmonics that end the piece. The arrangement of Fratres for 12 cellos is an altogether more lyrical and meditative version, and the cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra play it with gorgeous tone and depth. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bell is at once one of the composer's most brilliantly simple and profound pieces. 

Tabula Rasa

Music GB