Arvo Pärt
Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Duration: 6'
Instrumentation details:
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
double bass
bells
Pärt - Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bell
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Arvo Pärt
Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin BrittenOrchestration: für Streichorchester und eine Glocke
Type: Dirigierpartitur
Arvo Pärt
Pärt: Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bellOrchestration: for string orchestra and bell
Type: Studienpartitur
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Work introduction
In the past years we have had many losses in the world of music to mourn. Why did the date of Benjamin Britten’s death – 4 December 1976 – touch such a chord in me? During this time I was obviously at the point where I could recognize the magnitude of such a loss. Inexplicable feelings of guilt, more than that even, arose in me. I had just discovered Britten for myself. Just before his death I began to appreciate the unusual purity of his music – I had had the impression of the same kind of purity in the ballads of Guillaume de Machaut. And besides, for a long time I had wanted to meet Britten personally – and now it would not come to that.
Arvo Pärt