In spe

The 2010 composition is based on the opus of the same name from 1976, dedicated to the Hortus Musicus ensemble. On the invitation of John Metcalf, artistic director of the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales, Pärt was able to realise an idea which he had been developing for some time: the transposition and expansion of the work for a larger instrumental setup. Thus, a version was created for wind quintet and string orchestra, which was premiered on 9 September 2010 at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Tõnu Kaljuste.

In musical terms, it is a work in rigorous tintinnabuli technique, based on extremely sparse and concentrated material. Moving stepwise, the melodies are formed by segments around the main pitch, prolonged note by n…

The 2010 composition is based on the opus of the same name from 1976, dedicated to the Hortus Musicus ensemble. On the invitation of John Metcalf, artistic director of the Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales, Pärt was able to realise an idea which he had been developing for some time: the transposition and expansion of the work for a larger instrumental setup. Thus, a version was created for wind quintet and string orchestra, which was premiered on 9 September 2010 at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Tõnu Kaljuste.

In musical terms, it is a work in rigorous tintinnabuli technique, based on extremely sparse and concentrated material. Moving stepwise, the melodies are formed by segments around the main pitch, prolonged note by note, once moving up, once down, according to pre-determined rules. One or more tintinnabuli voices move along the triads corresponding to each melodic voice. These, in turn, are accompanied by one or more pedal notes.

The sung text of the original piece, In spe (Latin for “in the hope”) only consists of the vowels “i”, “e” and “o” from the opening part of the ordinary of the mass, Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.). In the political situation of the Soviet time this was like coded writing. In the case of the instrumental version, the unheard text is even more difficult for the listener to perceive, but it still exists in the music as the hidden message and the initial impulse.

The composer has repeatedly arranged the piece for various instrumental and vocal combinations and given it a new title, An den Wassern zu Babel saßen wir und weinten (By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept), borrowed from Psalm 137, the song of David about the Babylonian exile of the Jews. Exile, rootlessness and the longing to return home were undoubtedly very personal and timely topics for Arvo Pärt, after his emigration from Estonia to Austria and later to Germany. However, in a deeper sense, these feelings define the entire Judeo-Christian worldview. Under the title of An den Wassern…, the composition has been arranged for soloists or choir and organ (1984), for trombone and chamber orchestra (1995) and for soloists and instrumental ensemble (1996).