Pärt: Alina

The last CD I bought by Arvo Pärt was the recording of his Kanon Pokajanen (the Canon of Repentance), which is a very long piece of music concerned with transformation. The music is very static; for most of the record the same notes and phrases are used, unchanging, but in a few places the piece seems like it's about to suddenly change into something new, but then... doesn't. I think that the purpose of that music is to not itself change and dance before a stationary audience, as most music does, but the other way around. The music stays the same, but you change; or perhaps what you hear the music saying to you changes.I had this in mind when I was thinking about the unusual structure of this recording. As you may have read elsewhere, the programme is a recording of Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano; a long interpretative performance of Für Alina; Spiegel im Spiegel for violoncello and piano; Für Alina again; and finally Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano again. The last performance of the piece is a little faster than the first.The title of this review derives from how I feel about the pieces aesthetically; they seem like two sides of one coin. Spiegel im spiegel is a rock, always impassively beneath you, bearing you. It is often used in films (like Wit, and Gerry) as a backdrop to death, that great comforting, crushing certainty.Für Alina was written for a girl who was leaving home to go and study at university abroad, and is all about uncertainty, freedom and openness. Not wandering lost, exactly, but definitely going it alone. The performances on here by Alexander Malter are both about 5 times as long as the original score, and just further develop the theme. It's not unusual to say this about Pärt's music, but the beginning and ending of the pieces doesn't seem like an applicable concept - more that it is a place without beginning or end which you come into and out of.So what I am trying to say is that each of the two places you visit on this record complements and, moreover, strengthens the other. The plunging descent on the violin towards the end of the first Spiegel im Spiegel felt like cold, wet comfort; played on the violoncello in the middle track it felt like a hand reaching down to me from above, almost touching me, then pulling back.Should you buy this CD? It is a pretty unconventional recording, and there are plenty of more "straight" recordings of Arvo Pärt, notably Te Deum and Tabula Rasa (both on the ECM label) which are arguably better to hear first if you are a beginner. On the other hand this music is very accessible and, dare I say it, easy to listen to. Basically, if you liked what I wrote above, you will probably like this CD.R.M.

Clean item, as described by sellerThanks

This is beautiful music, wonderfully played. Unfortunately the recording quality on the CD lets it down, being what I can only really describe as fuzzy in places. What a shame. It's more noticeable on some high-end audio equipment than others, but detracts from the purity of the music none the less. Once you've noticed it, it's hard to forget it's there. I contacted ECM who swapped my disc for one in their library, but when told the problem persisted, they were unable to acknowledge or resolve it, so please be aware that if you have sensitive ears, you may have difficulties listening to this disc/recording. It's also a very quiet recording, which ECM did acknowledge and claimed was intentional without offering any explanation. It just means you have to play it at a higher volume than your other CDs to appreciate it which can cause a bit of a shock if you don't adjust the volume before playing something else.

This is the third copy I've had, the other two left behind somewhere. This is simply sublime.

I heard Spiegel im Spiegel at a live concert and was entranced by it. This recording is special because the violinist is Vladimir Spivakov to whom the work was dedicated by the compose. There are three (!) recordings of the work on the disk, which seems like overkill but they are different versions - not the same performance recorded three times. So if you want to hear Spiegel im Spiegel with other compositions by Part go for the Tasmin Little recording - if you want to wallow in the mesmeric atmosphere of the piece go for this one. The recording quality is excellent.

I have always been one for Rachmaninov myself, but on hearing this delightful work, I think I may of changed my mind. You might even say that I had forgotten how beautiful simplicity could be, without ornamentation, without a lush embrace of a 20+ note chord (part dissonance, part assonance) filling space with a ring of grandeur. These 5 pieces each have their own grandeur, their own pride, which is realised through the sparcity of colour.Do sit quietly and listen to this work. Listen to the silences, the breaths between the notes, the expression in the phrases. I am sure if you do, you will be rewarded with a pleasure which only good music can bring you.

These are my two favourite Pärt pieces and this is a wonderful version. Perhaps the definitive version as it involved the composer himself.

Bought purely for Spiegel im Spiegel which is presented three times on this CD with slight changes - one version with cello and piano and the other two for violin and piano and interspersed with two versions of Fur Alina which I did not know but really enjoy. The whole CD is meditative in quality.