Classical Music | Music for Trio

Recorded on 01/23/2007, uploaded on 01/09/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Spiegel Im Spiegel           Arvo Pärt

Spiegel im Spiegel, composed in 1978, was the last work Arvo Pärt completed before leaving his native Estonia. Its extreme tranquility contrasts sharply with the tension and frustration that characterized his music from a decade before. The work is made of slow, steady lines ascending and descending in the viola part, over a serene and uninterrupted arpeggio accompaniment in the harp. This texture is occasionally colored by low, sustained Fs in the bass and high, bell-like consonances in the upper harp register. There is no sense of drama, tension, or ambiguity here--the beauty of the piece is in the creation of an introspective atmosphere made of pure sonority.      Jeremy Grimshaw

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.