Fratres (meaning "brothers" in Latin) is a musical work by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt exemplifying his tintinnabuli style of composition.[1] It is three-part music, written in 1977, without fixed instrumentation and has been described as a "mesmerizing set of variations on a six-bar theme combining frantic activity and sublime stillness that encapsulates Pärt's observation that 'the instant and eternity are struggling within us'".[2]
Structure
Structurally, Fratres consists of a set of nine chord sequences, separated by a recurring percussionmotif (the so-called "refuge"). The chord sequences themselves follow a pattern, and while the progressing chords explore a rich harmonic space, they have been generated by means of a simple formula.[3]
Fratres is driven by three main voices. The low and high voice are each restricted to playing notes from the D harmonic minor scale (D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C#); the middle voice is restricted to the notes of the A minor triad (A, C, E). The entire piece is accompanied by drones in A and E, which are primarily heard in the refuge between each sequence.
The chords are created by the movement of the three voices: the low voice starts at C#; the high voice starts at E. Both the low and high voices are moved up or down the D harmonic minor scale at the same time, with the direction of the movement depending on the position within the sequence. The middle voice starts at A and plays a different pattern (A, E, E, C, C, C, C, A, A, E, E, C, C, A). The generated chords create harmonic ambiguity, since both C# and C are present, yielding an A major or A minor feel.
Versions
Although often performed by violin and piano, versions for larger ensembles, such as a string quartet or chamber orchestra, are also common. Performances by early music specialists have also been endorsed.[4]
Versions for ensembles include:
chamber orchestra (1977)
four, eight, twelve, etc. cellos (1982)
string quartet (1989)
winds and percussion octet (1990)
string and percussion orchestra (1991)
band of metal instruments (2004)
three recorders, percussion, and cello or viola da gamba (2009)
saxophone quartet (2010)
Versions for solo instrument and accompaniment:
violin and piano (1980)
cello and piano (1989)
violin, string orchestra, and percussion (1992)
trombone, string orchestra, and percussion (1993)
cello, string orchestra, and percussion (1995)
guitar, string orchestra, and percussion (2000)
viola and piano (2003)
four percussionists (2006)
viola, string orchestra, and percussion (2008)
In films
The composition has been used for many films and documentaries. Notable usages include:
Jazz pianist Aaron Parks incorporated elements of Fratres into his composition "Harvesting Dance," heard on his album Invisible Cinema and on Terence Blanchard's album Flow.[5]
References
^Zivanovic, Rade (2012). "Arvo Part's Fratres and his Tintinnabuli Technique". 40 S. hdl:11250/138506.
