Arvo Part

Listeners often speak of a certain mystery in the way that Arvo Part evokes spirituality through his music, but no one has taken a sustained, close look at how he achieves this. Arvo Part: Out of Silence examines the powerful interplay between Part's music and the composer's own deep roots in the Orthodox Christian faith-a relationship that has born much creative fruit and won the hearts of countless listeners across the globe.From the Introduction:Conversations about this remarkable music, especially by its more avid listeners, often feature a "my first encounter with Arvo Part" story. On our way toward an immersion into that world, I thought I would give you mine so that you might know whose company you are keeping as you read this book.I actually met the man before encountering his music. It was during the early 1990s: Part and I found ourselves visiting the same monastery for a week, where a mutual friend made sure to introduce us. Part was, after all, a famous composer, and I had earned degrees in both music and theology. But as it was, I had never knowingly heard a note of his music. I had not actually even heard of him.

We spent hours walking together and talking on themes of mutual interest, among them the phenomenon of "Holy Foolishness" on which I had just written a thesis. At one point I asked him about his music, what it was like, what kinds of instrumentation he employed. He chatted about it with no pretense or fanfare: "Sometimes I write for choir, sometimes for orchestra. Or the organ ..." I had the sense that if he was famous-and it turned out that by this time, he really was-he was probably enjoying the opportunity to talk to someone who was neither an awestruck admirer nor a jaded music critic. I enjoyed his company immensely, but what did his music sound like? What were the chances that I would even like it?