Pärt: Berliner Messe; Magnificat; Annum per Annum; 7 Antiphons cover

Pärt: Berliner Messe; Magnificat; Annum per Annum; 7 Antiphons

Composer
Released

In 1990, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a longstanding ban on sacred music was lifted in Estonia, composer Arvo Pärt’s native country; his Berliner Messe was written shortly thereafter in response to a commission. Notably, it includes a resetting of his earlier composition Summa, written in Estonia at a time when it was illegal to publicly profess religious faith; by reusing that melody for the “Credo” (“I believe”) section of his Mass and recasting it in a major key, Pärt makes a powerful politico-religious statement. This program also includes his setting of the Beatitudes and other works in Latin, including a Magnificat setting. The singing by Polyphony is outstanding.

Rick Anderson

Suggestions
Johann Joseph Fux: Concentus Musico-instrumentalis I-VII  cover

Johann Joseph Fux: Concentus Musico-instrumentalis I-VII

Michaël Hell, Lucia Froihofer, Neue Hofkapelle Graz
Alonso Lobo: Lamentations; Masses cover

Alonso Lobo: Lamentations; Masses

The Choir of King's College London, David Trendell
Virsia (Finnish Lutheran Hymns) cover

Virsia (Finnish Lutheran Hymns)

Oulainen Youth Choir, Tapani Tirilä
Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina Volume 4 cover

Giovanni Pierluigi Da Palestrina Volume 4

The Sixteen, Harry Christophers
Byrd: The Three Masses; Ave Verum Corpus cover

Byrd: The Three Masses; Ave Verum Corpus

Westminster Cathedral Choir, Martin Baker
Gavin Bryars: The Fifth Century cover

Gavin Bryars: The Fifth Century

Prism Quartet, The Crossing, Gavin Bryars, Donald Nally
Du Fay: Les messes à teneur cover

Du Fay: Les messes à teneur

Cut Circle, Jesse Rodin
Estonian Religious Folk Chorales cover

Estonian Religious Folk Chorales

Margo Kõlar, Heinavanker
Gloria Dresdensis cover

Gloria Dresdensis

Dresdner Barockorchester, Hans-Christoph Rademann