Chor Des Bayerichen Rundfunks / Muchner Rundfunkorchestra, Peter Dijkstra: Arvo Pärt: Te Deum

With the death of British choral composer John Tavener in 2013, we are left with a single living composer of similar distinction: Arvo Pärt. Estonian by birth (b. 1935), Pärt emigrated from the Communist East with his wife and two sons, initially living in Vienna and eventually relocating to Berlin in 1981. After the fall of Communism, Pärt began to divide his time between Berlin and Tallinn (near his birthplace of Paide). Like Tavener, Pärt converted to Orthodox Christianity, a move reflected in his composition.

Pärt has provided settings for many traditionally sacred texts such as Passio Domini ("Passion of Our Lord"), Te Deum (from Te Deum Laudamus "Thee, O God We Praise"), Stabat mater (from Stabat mater dolorosa "The Sorrowful Mother Stood"), Magnificat ("My soul magnifies" Canticle of Mary), Miserere ("Lord Have Mercy") and the traditional Mass -Berliner Misse (Berlin Mass). The present offering by Peter Dijkstra and the Chor Des Bayerichen Rundfunks / Muchner Rundfunkorchestra, programs Pärt's settings of Te Deum and Berliner Messe with the secular Wallfahrtsleid (Pilgrim's Song) and Dopo la vittoria (After the Victory).

The sound drawn from the Chor Des Bayerichen Rundfunks by Dutch conductor Peter Dijkstra is sumptuous and powerful. Te Deum is grand and stately, melding the old of plainchant with the new of Pärt's own Tintinnabuli. Thematically manifold with shifting sonority, this Te Deum explodes with its simple message and method. The Mass is a simpler and more restive affair, quietly brimming with adoration and repose. The "Kyrie" shimmers with its undulating volume and tempi. The "Sanctus" is almost impressionistic in its stark simplicity.

Stark simplicity is the charm of Pärt's more recent compositions and Dijkstra guides Pärt's efforts into a concentrated beam of beautiful.