There is an adage that composers, as they age, write music of increasing contrapuntal complexity.
The phenomenon can be heard in the music of Mahler and John Adams, but Estonian minimalist Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) followed a decidedly different path.
In his youth, Pärt embraced the prevailing modernism, and the 12-tone system of Arnold Schoenberg, in which the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are treated equally so as to negate the harmonic “pull” and hierarchies of tonal music. All of this chromatic complexity came to an explosive head with the 1968 composition, Credo, scored for solo piano, mixed choir, and orchestra. It is a powerful work which moves from violent cacophony to the purity and order of the harmonic series, as expressed in the serene C Major Prelude from the opening of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. In the early 1970s, Pärt withdrew into a self-imposed compositional “silence.” When he resumed, the music was radically different. Meditative and rooted in Gregorian chant and other early sacred music, it celebrated the sanctity of a single pitch, or triad. “The complex and many-faceted only confuses me, and I must search for unity,” Pärt explained.
Listening to Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, “Polyphonic,” we have a chance to reexamine the often-neglected early music of Arvo Pärt. Composed in 1963 shortly after the composer’s graduation from Tallinn Conservatory, and dedicated to his composition professor, Heino Eller, the Symphony is an exuberant and playful exploration of counterpoint. Its subtitle refers to polyphony, the simultaneous combination of multiple melodic lines.
The Symphony is set in two movements. The first movement (Canons) begins with a harsh brass tone cluster which is repeated over a brash rhythmic motif. It is answered by timpani drum beats. As the music continues, it is propelled forward briefly by a hi-hat which seems to have wandered in from a jazz chart. The canons of the title erupt as spirited, irrepressible contrapuntal lines which occasionally seem in danger of spinning out of control. Taking a shadowy and ominous turn, the movement’s final bars dissolve into a single pizzicato line in the low strings, which fades away.
The second movement (Prelude and Fugue) begins with a searching violin solo, accompanied by suspended cymbal. The woodwinds answer with chirpy statements evocative of birdcalls. The movement is launched into motion with a walking bass line, played by the low strings. The climax comes with a fugue confined strictly to rhythm. It begins with a tattoo drum beat, played on a single “C” by the violas. Gradually, the other instruments join in, creating layers of tension-filled tone clusters. Building in an exhilarating, heart-pounding crescendo, it is the ultimate rock and roll.
Neeme Järvi led the Estonian Radio Symphony Orchestra in the premiere on February 7, 1964. This recording features his son with the same ensemble:
I. Canons:
II. Prelude and Fugue:
Recordings
- Pärt: Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, “Polyphonic” Paavo Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra Amazon