A recent article on Ludwig van Toronto aptly likened the minimalist purity of Arvo Pärt's 1978 composition, Spiegel im Spiegel, to the current Marie Kondō-inspired craze for decluttering.
"The piece was an example of Pärt’s tintinnabular style, which sought to strip the music to its bare essentials, leaving only a melodic line floating atop arpeggiated triads that hold the whole 10 minutes up like a pile of zen rocks," writes Michael Vincent.
While it's true that many people turn to minimalist music for a serene escape, we actually find it quite dramatic: the repetition serves to accentuate even the smallest musical event, be it a subtle change of harmony, a note that suddenly extends the piece's melodic range, or even an unexpected rest. The small becomes big; the temporary endures; the insignificant becomes epic.
We invited cellist Roman Borys and pianist Jamie Parker to play Spiegel im Spiegel in Glenn Gould Studio. Watch below.
Related:
Watch Gryphon Trio play Mozart, Hardn and Piazzolla