Virgencita

Pärt’s choir piece Virgencita was inspired by the invitation of the Mexican ambassador Agustín Gutiérrez Canet to participate at the international Cervantino Festival in Mexico with Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. It is one of the most important multidisciplinary festivals in Latin America. Pärt himself has said about the composition: “When Agustín Gutiérrez Canet, the Mexican ambassador to Estonia, invited me to Mexico, my interest and notions of the country were strongly affected by the famous legend of Juan Diego and his reports of the apparition of the Virgin Mary. The happy anticipation of being in Mexico very soon and the name Guadalupe left me no peace; they inspired me to write a choral work which I took along as a present to the people of Mex…

Pärt’s choir piece Virgencita was inspired by the invitation of the Mexican ambassador Agustín Gutiérrez Canet to participate at the international Cervantino Festival in Mexico with Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. It is one of the most important multidisciplinary festivals in Latin America. Pärt himself has said about the composition: “When Agustín Gutiérrez Canet, the Mexican ambassador to Estonia, invited me to Mexico, my interest and notions of the country were strongly affected by the famous legend of Juan Diego and his reports of the apparition of the Virgin Mary. The happy anticipation of being in Mexico very soon and the name Guadalupe left me no peace; they inspired me to write a choral work which I took along as a present to the people of Mexico.”

Pärt has made a selection of lines from prayers in Spanish, turning to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the symbol of the Catholic Mexico. The composition premiered on 18, 19 and 20 October 2012 in León, Guanajuato and México City, with Tõnu Kaljuste conducing the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. The Cervantino Festival awarded Arvo Pärt their lifetime achievement award in 2012, while celebrating their 40th anniversary.