Arvo Pärt and Fratres The use of his compositional Tintinnabuli Style

Zachary Payne

University of Mary Washington

Department of Music

Under the direction of Dr. Mark Snyder, Kristen Presley, Dr. David Long, and Dr.

Theresa Steward

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Abstract

In this lecture recital, I wish to present the violin concerto Fratres and the

piece’s composer Arvo Pärt. Pärt’s music, specifically Fratres, is an example of

modern 20th century minimalist music. Pärt’s minimalist work is unique due to a

compositional technique he created called Tintinnabuli. My goal is to demonstrate

how his music used his style to create musical sequences inspired by Gregorian

chant and sequential chord sets. In my performance of Fratres, my goal is to show

how a musical formula and the Tintinnabuli style is used to create sequential

patterns and melodies that explore the space Pärt creates with his style. While

doing so, I hope to illustrate the unique voice of minimalism Fratres achieves.

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Table of Contents

Page 1: Cover Page

Page 2: Abstract

Page 3: Table of Contents

Page 4: Thesis Statement

Page 5: Introduction

Page 6: The Tintinnabuli Technique

Page 8: Fratres

Page 11: Melody, Root and Code

Page 13: Use of Tintinnabuli in Fratres

Page 16: Conclusion

Page 17: References

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Thesis

Arvo Pärt’s Fratres uses a musical structured formula and compositional

tool called Tintinnabuli. This compositional style, technique, and philosophy is not

just a word to describe the sound of Pärt’s greatest works, but it showcases tools

and techniques that can be learned and applied to composition to create minimalist

works that are related to, or emulate, Fratres.

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Introduction

Since the minimalist movement began around the 1960s, the diverse field

has become a staple in musical history. As this scope of music continues to grow

and vary, new composers create fresh techniques, systems, or philosophies that

apply to minimalist music and give later composers not only inspirations, but

compositional tools and rules that can be followed to emulate a chosen style, or to

create something new.

Arvo Pärt, a 20th and 21st century composer, wrote and innovated in the field

of minimalist music during the early half of his career.1 Upon first listening, many

knowledgeable people in the subject matter might say that his music is reminiscent

of American minimalist music due to some shared notes with the style and the

seeming nature of the repetition.2 However, Pärt cannot really be placed in this

category. While he created his excellent examples of this style of music, Pärt also

created a unique compositional technique known as Tintinnabuli. This

compositional technique uses influences from Gregorian chant and medieval

heterophony, Stravinsky’s liturgical music, as well as his own stylings inspired by

his own beliefs on how Tintinnabuli should be perceived. This style can be useful

as a tool for study, and for application in the creation of minimalist music. Fratres

will be examined to identify how simple structure and symmetry can be combined

with tintinnabuli to create beautiful minimalist music.

1 http://www.arvopart.org/bio.html 2 Arvo Part’s Fratres and his Tintinnabuli Technique, Zivanovic

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The Tintinnabuli technique

Before one can truly observe and understand Fratres, one must understand

Tintinnabuli. This technique was created by Pärt himself during the early half of

his compositional career for his minimalist work. Pärt himself explains how,

“When the complex and multifaceted confuse me, I must search for unity.

Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for

answers.” Pärt then explains how when he searches for this unity, “ …that traces of

this perfect thing appear in many guises.” He then notes that when observing this

unity, “…everything that is unimportant falls away.” Arvo Pärt names and

identifies this feeling, and he uses it when he creates his technique,

“Tintinnabulation is like this… The three notes of a triad are like bells, and that is

why I call it tintinnabulation.”3 With that explanation, he identifies the technique

and resultant affect. This is an affect that replicates in music like the bell tones of

wind chimes.

The tintinnabuli technique is predominately the use of a single triad. Using

influences from Gregorian chant, this technique operates with two to four voices,

where each voice is named and traceable. The melodic line is where the main

melody is portrayed in this minimalist style. This line typically is monophonic,

meaning the voice is always expressed with a single line, and the melody never is

portrayed with layers. It usually moves in a predominantly stepwise motion and

can be doubled with two separate voices. The held 5th voice is an optional part,

inspired by Gregorian chant, that is occasionally used to provide stability to the

piece. The tintinnabuli baseline is the line that shadows the melodic line; however,

3 http://www.arvopart.org/tintinnabulation.html

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the baseline only uses tones from the chosen triad. The base can be doubled in the

voices, and can be located above (Superior) the melody, below(inferior) the

melody, and interwoven (alternating) with the melody4. For example, these are

examples of the tintinnabulation with superior, inferior, and interwoven lines with

the two main tintinnabuli voices:

4 Arvo Part’s Fratres and his Tintinnabuli Technique, Zivanovic

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Fratres

To illustrate a potent use of Tintinnabuli, one must look at Arvo Pärt’s

compositional work Fratres for violin and piano. Fratres was created as a general

melody in 1978, by Arvo Pärt and over the next few years was modified for

different ensembles. The version used in this analysis is Fratres für violin und

clavier, created in 1980. It is for violin and piano. General themes of Fratres are

patterns and mirrored symmetry. These themes can be found on the surface of the

piece, as well as woven into the structure, pitch cells, and the over arching

movement of the piece.

Of interesting note for the piano and violin version, is that the piece has a lot

of give and take from both players in terms of musical phrasing. This is an

interesting deviation from a lot of standard violin works with piano

accompaniment. In many pieces, the violin is centerpiece with the piano in a

supporting role. In Fratres however, the two parts must play much more like a

duet, taking cues from one another and molding their shape of phrasing with the

other to get the most precise sound required for the piece. Arvo Pärt utilizes most

techniques for virtuosic violin, including Arpeggiated chords, double and triple

stops, harmonic chords and col legno as well as requiring the violinist to know

much of the range of the fingerboard.

Over the piece’s running time, a sort of theme and variations is observed.

The central theme presented by the violin is followed by eight variations for nine

parts total. An example of mirrored symmetry is found in the overall arc of the

piece in terms of various intensities. The piece raises in volumetric intensity up

until the height of motion and tension at rehearsal number 4 before the center

variation at 5. This is the gentle center point of the piece. After the mirror point,

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the 6th variation has a similar intensity to the 4th variation. The piece then weakens

in intensity for every following variation. This culminates in the whispered

harmonics at the final 9th variation followed by the barely audible col legno at the

piece’s end. Some of the various fluxes in intensity besides volumetric intensity,

include individual pitch per beat intensity (the upward trend of intensity), and

chord dissonance intensity (the declining trend of intensity). The following basic

arc shows the basic form for reference.

The piece exists within the following eight pitch cell. One can note how the

distances between the tones, when spread out C# to C#, are mirrored at the center

note of the scale (G). This is another example of the theme of mirrored symmetry.

|

[C# D E F G A Bb C C#]

S T S T | T S T S

Both the main theme, first and the last variation’s central pitch is the C#.

The entire piece is panmodel, a scale system rooted in tradition. This is where the

tonal centers of a piece shift, but they always stay within the pieces 8 pitch cell.

The variations have the pitch centers descend by 3rds.5 All the while the melody is

5 http://www.linusakesson.net/music/fratres/index.php

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shadowed by the major third below the central pitch, creating a harmony. This

pattern keeps up until the 8th variation when the central pitch returns to C# within

the pitch cell.

Main Theme 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Central pitch C# C# A F D Bb G E C#

Harm. pitch NA A F D Bb G E C# A

After the violin solo “theme”, every “variation” ends with a piano interlude

accentuated by a rolling chord of the open violin strings (a set of 5ths starting on

G55). Whenever this segment is played, the previous variation seems to disappear.

All leftover tension and momentum that was built up before seems to suddenly

clear. Arvo Pärt uses this like a pallet cleanser to clear the listeners mind of the

previous variation in preparation for the new variation that follows. The form of

this interlude is as follows,

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The Melody, Root, and Code

Looking closely at Fratres reveals a musical formula throughout the piece.

This is where the theme of structure can be found. Both the violin and the piano

take part in playing the chord tones that act as the foundation of the piece. The root

of the formula is a set of four notes.

This structure expands before mirroring itself. What is fascinating is that pthe way

it expands is set and structural. The formula is so exact even, that it can be

represented in a computer assembly language like C++, java, or python. For

readings sake, this computer program version of Fratre’s underlying formula can

be represented in asuedo-code (a form of writing code not using proper syntax, but

a very easy to read version of code) using the syntax of C++.

Do

pitchValues = [55, 57, 58, 61, 62, 64, 65]

home = 4

If mirror = False

For(X = 1; X < 4; X++)

Y = X

Z = X

play(pitchValues[home], length = 2)

while(Y != pitchValues[home])

play(pitchValues[home-Y])

Y = Y + 1

while(Z != pitchValues[home])

play(pitchValues[home+Z])

Z = Z - 1

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play (pitchValues[home], length = 3)

mirror = True

else

for(X = 1; X < 4; X++)

Y = pitchValues[home]) + 1

Z = pitchValues[home]) - X

play(pitchValues[home], length = 2)

while(Y != X)

Play(pitchValues[Y])

Y = Y + 1

while(Z != pitchValues[home])

Play(pitchValues [X])

Z = Z + 1

play(pitchValues[home], length = 3)

mirror = False

while(formula != 2)

To help showcase the flow of this formula, one can consult this visual aid.

Note that the design here also incorporates the mirror at the exact midway point.

This shows how the formula itself follows the theme of mirrored symmetry.

This system outlines the basic melodic formula of Fratres in the piano barring

some minor variations.

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Use of Tintinnabuli in Fratres

Now that the melody is identified, and the technique is quantified, one can

now pick out the use of tintinnabuli within the theme and variations of Fratres.

The variations of this piece often use two voices doubling the melodic lines (major

thirds apart), as well as two voices doubling the base tintinnabuli line.

The opening violin solo uses a sequence of rolling chords in within the pitch

cell. The central pitch used within the cell is C#. This is where the melody is

established, and it is where the violinist can showcase virtuosic ability. The

formula for the melody line of the piece can be found outlined in the lowest pitch

of each chord.

After the theme suddenly halts with the first interlude cell, the first variation

begins. This is where the melodic line and base line of tintinnabuli begin to interact

powerfully with a bell like affect.

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To best illustrate the interactions with the base and melody lines in this variation,

one must look to the mid-point of the variation when the melody is mirrored.

The violin and alto lines of the part are

used to double the tintinnabuli baseline.

While the upper lines in each of the pianos

hands double the melody major thirds

apart. The baseline is in octaves both

above and below the melody focused on

the main melody. This is a case of superior

and inferior tintinnabuli. Both types are in

position 2.

The second variation begins the interpolation of the tintinnabuli baseline that

Pärt will use to add movement and complexity to the variations. Every cell of 4

sixteenth notes devotes the 1st and 3rd notes of the cell to the current note in the

baseline found in the bottom voice of the right hand of the piano part. The baseline

also uses octaves above and below the base note for variations. The type of

tintinnabuli is inferior tintinnabuli in 2nd position according to the types list in the

section defining tintinnabuli

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Variation 4 is the height of the tension that is built up from the opening theme.

This height in tension is due to the rapid use of 32nd notes coupled with the first

full forte of the piece. The violin part also has one of the most busy and rich

sections that can be found in the tintinnabuli style. The 32nd notes are an

interpolation of the tintinnabuli baseline with more notes similar to the 3rd

movement. However, the extra notes in this case belong to the melody in the

central and harmonizing pitches.

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Conclusion

Fratres showcases the effect that what seems like a simple, minimalistic

piece, can have on the listener. After examining the tintinnabuli technique Arvo

Pärt created, one can see how this effect is achieved by combining new ideas with

old. The theme of mirrored symmetry is integral to all aspects of the piece, and can

be found in the overall arcs the piece takes, in the arrangement of the piece’s pitch

cell, and in the code and formula of Fratres. The theme of structure and formula

can be found in the theme and in every variation of the piece as the main constant

of Fratres. Tintinnabuli is indeed a perfect tool in the belt of minimalist composers

seeking to add serenity by simple perfection to their piece. Because when the

artistry of the structural symmetry of Fratres combines with the simple perfection

tintinnabuli provides, what would be a simple piece comes together as a minimalist

marvel.

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References

Score used for study and examples:

Arvo Pärt, Fratres für violin und clavier (1980), ue 17274, universal edition

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-minimalism.htm

https://calvertjournal.com/news/show/5271/estonian-arvo-paert-listed-as-most-

performed-living-composer

http://www.arvopart.org/tintinnabulation.html

http://www.linusakesson.net/music/fratres/index.php

https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/ceremonies/congregation/part_arvo.pdf

http://www.svots.edu/sites/default/files/doctoral_citation_final.pdf

https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/138506/Oppgave%20Rade%

20Zivanovic.pdf?sequence=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vdgZAJVnes