Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Fratres, for strings & percussion
2. Fratres, for strings & percussion
3. Festina lente, for strings & harp ad lib
4. Fratres, for string quartet
5. Fratres, for cello & piano
6. Summa, for string orchestra
7. Fratres, for 4, 8 or 12 cellos
8. Fratres, for wind octet & percussion
9. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, for string orchestra & bell

Disc 2:

1. Tabula rasa, concerto for 2 violins (or violin & viola), prepared piano & string orchestra: Ludus (With Movement)
2. Tabula rasa, concerto for 2 violins (or violin & viola), prepared piano & string orchestra: Silemtium (Without Movement)
3. Collage over B-A-C-H, for strings, oboe, harpsichord & piano: I. Toccata
4. Collage over B-A-C-H, for strings, oboe, harpsichord & piano: II. Sarabande
5. Collage over B-A-C-H, for strings, oboe, harpsichord & piano: III. Ricercar
6. Symphony No. 3: Movement 1
7. Symphony No. 3: Movement 2
8. Symphony No. 3: Movement 3

Disc 3:

1. Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem: Jesus is betrayed and arrested in Gesthsemane
2. Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem: Jesus is interrogated by the high priest and denied by Peter
3. Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem: Jesus is judged by Pilate and reviled by the people
4. Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem: Jesus is crucified at Golgotha

Disc 4:

1. Cantate Domino, for SATB chorus or soloists & organ
2. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Kyrie
3. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Gloria
4. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Alleluia Verses 1 & 2
5. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Veni Sancte Spiritus
6. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Credo
7. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Sanctus
8. Berliner Messe, for SATB chorus & string orchestra: Agnus Dei
9. De Profundis, for male chorus, percussion & organ
10. Summa, for SATB chorus or soloists
11. The Beatitudes, for chorus & organ
12. Magnificat, for chorus

Disc 5:

1. Triodion, for chorus: Introduction: ad libitum / Ode 1: "O Jesus the Son of God, Have Mercy upon Us"
2. Triodion, for chorus: Ode 2: "O Most Holy Birth-giver of God, Save Us"
3. Triodion, for chorus: Ode 3: "O Holy Saint Nicholas, Pray to God for Us" Coda: ad libitum
4. Tribute to Caesar, for chorus
5. Nunc dimittis, for chorus
6. Kanon Pokajanen, (9 odes, Kontakion-Ikos & Prayer) for chorus: Ode 7 (Memento)
7. I Am the True Vine, for chorus
8. The Woman with the Alabaster Box, for chorus
9. Dopo la vittoria, little cantata for chorus
10. Bogoróditse dyévo (Hail Mary), for chorus

Disc 6:

1. Symphony No. 4 ('Heroes'), for orchestra: Neuköln
2. Threnody (for the Victims of Hiroshima), for 52 strings
3. Toccata for violin & player piano
4. Sonatas and Interludes, for prepared piano: First Interlude
5. Fünf Nachtstücke, for violin & piano: 1. Elegie
6. Quattro Pezzi su una nota sola (Four Pieces on Only One Note), for 25 musicians: 1.
7. In C, for unspecified performers: [Excerpt]
8. String Quartet No 2
9. Déserts for brass, percussion, piano & tape: Beginning
10. Songs, Drones and Refrains of Death, for baritone, electric guitar & double bass, amplified piano & harpsichord & 2 percissionists: D
11. Bagatelles (6) for wind quintet: Allegro grazioso
12. Silenzio, pieces (5) for bayan, violin & cello: II
13. Beta, electronic work
14. Shaker Loops, for 7 strings or string orchestra: A Final Shaking
15. Piano Concerto No.1
16. Fratres, for strings & percussion

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13647 in Music
• Released on: 2008-03-25
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, Deluxe Edition
• Dimensions: 1.31 pounds

Baker & Taylor, CD Hotlist, Rick Anderson, June 2008
What might sound like a complete works is actually a selection of Pärt's music drawn from five previously released recordings that focus a little more on his choral compositions. This set includes: Passio (8.555860); Fratres (8.553750); Orchestral Works (8.554591); Berliner Messe (8.557299); and Music for Unaccompanied Choir (8.570239). Also included is a sampler bonus disc (entitled Sonic Rebellion) that features the music of a variety of modern composers, including Pärt.

Customer Reviews

A great place to begin a Pärt collection if you have the funds to buy it.
Four weeks ago, my Music Theory teacher explained to the class that each of us were to do a short report on a classical composer of the twentieth century. I immediately called Arvo Pärt. Nothing else could have competed. I spent a weekend listening to his music and researching him at my local library. That weekend, I had a visit to Borders and by chance stumbled upon this box set. I walked out of the store having purchased it for approximately $32.

Why it took until 2008 for such a box set to be released is beyond me. How I got away with buying it for $32 is also beyond me.

I can say with great confidence that Arvo Pärt is my favorite composer, although I am probably not alone these days. In a world where classical music is becoming increasingly fashionable for the hip crowd, Pärt reigns supreme with his unique and somewhat legendary body of work.

The Silence of Being is a box set that contains many of the composers most famous or seminal works. Instead of being a sort of greatest hits compilation, this box set is instead a collection of five previously released collections of Pärt's music, divided up somewhat chronologically.

The first disk contains six different recordings of possibly Pärt's most popular song, Fratres, plus a lovely version of Festina Lente, a string version of Summa, and the timeless recording of Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten. The second disk contains the tintinnabuli classic Tabula Rasa as well as some more essential early polyphonic works. The third disk contains the divided entirety of St. John's Passion, perhaps Pärt's longest work, and one of the most respected. The fourth and fifth disks explore the composers post-1980 choral music that has come to characterize him, in great variety, actually.

Rounding up Arvo Pärt music is hard. Your library probably has some, and you can order some for cheap off of amazon. But you will likely never be able to get a single collection with every Pärt essential on it. To be sure, this collection misses many important pieces. It contains neither Fur Alina or Spiegel Im Spiegel, two of his most beautiful minimalist pieces, and it also skips out on Te Deum, Pärt's quintessential choral piece.

These two exclusions alone make this box set's goals seem purely commercial. Also indicative of a money scheme is the inclusion of the Sonic Rebellion compilation, which contains only one of Pärt's pieces which can already be found on disk one of the box set. The subtitle of Sonic Rebellion is "Alternative Classical Rebellion." Clearly aimed toward the indie kids who were already interested in Pärt but wanted more modern music. Pärt doesn't fit in with these other artists, except perhaps Philip Glass, and the rest is essentially a baited hook for listeners who want to experience the more aimless pretensions of modern composition. I also noticed several typos and misprints in the track listing on the back of the box.

So it's a money trick. Yeah. If Pärt had sanctioned and overlooked the release himself, I'm sure we would have gotten a completely new compilation. Instead we get five classic Pärt compilations and a bonus disk of goodies. And for $32? A steal. I should have paid one hundred dollars for this, at least, considering what is in it. If you can find it for a reasonable price, waste no time and buy it. This is a great place to start a Pärt collection, but a bad place to stop.

Didn't know I owned two of the discs!
This is a great collection of some of the works of Arvo Pärt, but pay attention! I bought this off the shelf at Borders, but didn't realize that it was a box set from Naxos, and that I already owned two of the cds within. It would have been cheaper to purchase the other discs separately. Oh well.

The quality of recordings is fantastic, and at a great value typical to the Naxos label. I highly recommend this set, but buyer be warned to check your collection beforehand!