Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Fratres by Arvo Pärt

I have the alarm next to my bed set to turn on to the local classical music radio station. When I woke up today it was to the sounds of this gorgeous piece. I immediately came here to the computer to learn more about it.



It's a neoclassical piece written in 1977 by the Estonian, Arvo Pärt. The foundation is a 9-chord mathematical phrase with a percussion bridge. It starts out harsh. Get yourself past the first 75 seconds of that and listen to what comes after... it keeps getting better and sweeter.

3 comments:

Mike said...

Jil, I sit silently in the background reading your blog. I know you are a phenomenal keyboard user (typing)and you attribute it to your piano playing skills so you will appreciate this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx1uTzA4hu4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
let me know your thoughts and comments.

Jil Wrinkle said...

Great link Mike. That was a lot of fun to watch. I especially loved the percussion pedals. I tried watching some of her other videos (YYZ by Rush) and they weren't as good because she was using programmed drums, which kind of spoils it for me.

Mike said...

I thought you might appreciate it. I too was a little disappointed by the others but if you notice she has improved dramatically over the years, my selection being the latest of her vids and the first one I heard. I am hoping that she does more soon and keeps improving.