ペルト生誕75歳記念特別企画。
1984年に発表されたクレーメルらによるペルト作品集が特別豪華盤に！
ECMニュー・シリーズにとって特別な存在であるペルト、75歳を祝って、ペルトの出版社であるUniversal EditionとECMのコラボレーションにより、4曲のスコアとCD、そして豪華ブックレットが挿入された「タブラ・ラサ」スペシャル・エディションが誕生しました。
厳粛なまでに美しい簡潔さを追求した作風で知られるペルとの音楽ですが、ピアノとヴァイオリン、12本のチェロという2通りの演奏で収録された《フラトレス》は、アルカイックであると同時に時間を超越した、いかにも彼らしい傑作といえるでしょう。鬼才クレーメルは、禅宗の公案にも似たこの作品の本質をみごとに捉えており、プリペイド・ピアノの神秘的な音色とも共鳴して、繊細かつ霊妙な弱音を巧みに鳴り響かせています。また、《ベンジャミン・ブリテンへの追悼》で鳴る組み鐘が、単純な下降短音階によって、激しい悲しみを表現しているのも聴きどころです。
ユニバーサル ミュージック/IMS

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2010/09/21）

The 1984 ECM album Tabula Rasa was the vehicle that introduced the revolutionary music of Arvo Part to audiences outside Eastern Europe and initiated what was to become one of the most extraordinary musical careers of the late 20th century. Like many of the first generation American minimalists, he limited himself to diatonic harmonies and generated pieces by setting processes in motion, but the radical simplicity he achieved was the result of religious contemplation that was at least as, if not more, formative than his quest for a new musical aesthetic. The result was music suffused by an unhurried, luminous serenity, and while it was distinctly contemporary, it had an archaic quality that tied it to the music of the very distant past. The three instrumental pieces recorded here (one of which appears in two versions) were among the first Part wrote in his newly developed style, which came to be known popularly as holy minimalism. (The composer prefers the term tintinnabulation, because in his words, "The three notes of the triad are like bells.") Fratres, originally for chamber orchestra, is undeniably Part's most popular work and exists in well over a dozen versions, two of which are included here. Gidon Kremer and Keith Jarrett bring great nuance and sensitivity to the version for violin and piano. They play somewhat loosely with details of the score, but they are entirely in sync with the spirit of the piece, and it's a gripping performance. The violin part is hugely virtuosic and Kremer is breathtaking, particularly in the crystalline purity of the outrageously high harmonics that end the piece. The arrangement of Fratres for 12 cellos is an altogether more lyrical and meditative version, and the cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra play it with gorgeous tone and depth. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bell is at once one of the composer's most brilliantly simple and profound pieces. The first violins repeat a mournful descending figure, and each of the other sections then doubles the length of the note values of the part above it so that the note that opens the piece is held two beats by the first violins, but it is sustained for 32 beats by the double basses. There's nothing mechanical sounding about the piece, though, and by its ending, it has created a mood of devastating loss and grief. The first movement of Tabula Rasa, for two violins, prepared piano, and chamber orchestra, is the most enigmatic selection, full of unexpected long silences and flurries of frenzied activity, while the lovely, meditative second movement is more characteristic of the composer. Kremer is joined by violinist Tatjana Grindenko and composer/pianist Alfred Schnittke in a beautifully expressive performance, accompanied by Saulius Sondeckis leading the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. Produced by Manfred Eicher, the visionary who "discovered" Part and made it his mission to introduce him to Western audiences, the sound of the album is admirably clear and clean, except that there are some room noises in Tabula Rasa.

Rovi

Arvo Part delivers a brief collection of sacred music -- bold, stoic, and sober. His compositions are full of a passionate and melancholy sort of life, a life of deep humility and faith. One of his earliest releases on the ECM label, Tabula Rasa is a richly woven tapestry of string arrangements, and a good introduction to his work. The album opens with Fratres -- a signature piece for the composer that would have many re-tellings over the years. Here, ECM veteran Keith Jarrett's piano has a rich dialogue with Gidon Kremer's violin; both musicians traverse the chilled waters of Estonia with urgent staccato and contemplative grace. The piece returns later in more ominous quietude, this time whispered out by the 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This arrangement is much more meditative in nature, more reverent perhaps to Part's deity, and essentially the centerpiece of the album. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten is a loving, almost melodramatic tribute to a composer that Part wished very much to meet (though never did). Cellos and violins drip tears that cascade ever downward to a chord which seems to close infinitely, resonating with the peal of a distant church bell. Part's final selection, Tabula Rasa, follows much of the same bittersweet territory as what came before it, though it does encompass greater degrees of discord at the offset. As the 25-minute-long piece settles into night, icy clusters of prepared piano fall between the exchange of two violins and chamber orchestra to invoke feelings of sacrifice, mystery, and deliverance. This is a modest but pivotal recording to own -- the essence of Arvo Part. ~ Glenn Swan

Rovi