Arvo Pärt - Kanon Pokajanen mp3 flac

World premiere recordings of music for choir by Arvo Pärt, based on the canon of repentance of the Russian Orthodox Church. The canon had long fascinated the Estonian composer who finally decided to set it in its entirety in music written to mark the 750th anniversary of Cologne Cathedral. Pärt: "It took over two years to compose the Kanon pokajanen, and its hold on me did not abate until I had finished the score...That may explain why this music means so much to me." As writer Uwe Schweikert has noted, it is "music full of austere, painful beauty."

It's a work that, to me, reflects Arvo Pärt's deepest interests and concerns more so than any other work. This is not to say the rest of his œuvre is less sincere. But here, it seems everything he's been developing cultivates and culminates into this one work. It's as if it were to have been his last work ever, it would be a great end.Yes I did write a thesis on this piece, which earned me High Honors from the Department of Music at the College of William and Mary. And this was for a Bachelor of Arts degree too. So for me, I myself have a deep appreciation of the work given I've spent a considerable amount of time with not only the music and the words, but also the content and its underlining theology. It does help to understand a bit about [Eastern] Orthodox theology, especially its liturgics, to appreciate what Pärt is doing here. But all the same, it will stir something in the soul as the text itself is a call to repentance, which includes inner contemplation and the impetus to change and to change well.The text itself uses a large structured hymn genre, typically sung during the Matins/Orthros service. The kanon itself is a means of contemplating a particular event or idea by first evoking the Old Testament and connecting it to what has come since and will come in time. (Time is never as constant when reading Orthodox texts). This particular kanon is more often used in private devotion and in monasteries, though it is understood by a few lay parishioners. And here the subject is personal repentance. The pacing is more to give a contemplative air and less to present a mournful dirge. The tonality stays in D minor with subtle changes in resonance at key moments in the text. The emphasis is more on harmony as in the later Russian chant tradition with some forays into the melodic Znammeny chant style (which itself came from the Byzantine tradition). All of these elements together create a space for inner contemplation of the text itself and the ideas behind the text.So basically, this piece is excellent for Eastern Orthodox (as well as Eastern Catholics ... any Catholics will benefit from it too) looking for a musical vehicle in their spiritual lives (especially during Lent). For those who are not on the path for whatever reason, it is a piece that reflects the desires of the composer's soul in the hopes that others can see and maybe emulate, incorporate and practice for themselves to be better human beings for the world around them as well as for their own benefit.