Tag: Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt (born 1935) is an Estonian composer known for his minimalist, deeply spiritual music. He created the iconic “tintinnabuli” compositional style, making him one of the most performed living classical composers in the world.

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In the years leading up to my conversion, I gradually became fascinated by Thomas á Kempis’s devotional text, The Imitation of Christ. I encountered it first in the letters of the young Samuel Beckett, and next in the interviews of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, and then in all kinds of other unexpected places. Among them, this 1877 letter from Vincent Van Gogh to his beloved brother, Theo:

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“All important things in life are simple.” — Arvo Pärt

In July, Jenn and I travelled to Estonia to visit the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa. Pärt is the most-performed living composer in the world, and his life and work played a key role in the development of my faith. We even saw Arvo Pärt and his wife Nora shopping at their local village supermarket! Included here are some images from our day, although we did not take any photographs of or approach the Pärts out of respect for their privacy.

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I recently had an opportunity to see David Lynch: The Art Life, a wonderful documentary about the American filmmaker David Lynch, directed by Jon Nguyen. The film offers unparalleled access to Lynch, and cobbles together a series of telling anecdotes about Lynch’s childhood in the suburbs, and his early days as a painter. ‘The Art Life’ refers to a lifestyle choice that Lynch adopted after reading Robert Henri’s book about painting, The Art Spirit: “The art spirit sort of became the art life, and I had this idea that you drink coffee, you smoke cigarettes, and you paint, and that’s it.” (more…)

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I have been revisiting the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt recently, which I find very consoling. Back in 2014, Tom Huizenga (NPR) managed to secure an interview with Pärt, where he reflected on the use of space and silence in his work:

“[W]hen we speak about silence, we must keep in mind that it has two different wings, so to speak. Silence can be both that which is outside of us and that which is inside a person. The silence of our soul, which isn’t even affected by external distractions, is actually more crucial but more difficult to achieve.”

Source: The Silence And Awe Of Arvo Pärt : Deceptive Cadence : NPR