Arvo Pärt “Fratres“ (original version, 1977) performed by Hortus Musicus (1979)

The legendary Early Music ensemble Hortus Musicus was founded in 1972 in Estonia - at that time part of the Soviet Union. Estonian composer Arvo Pärt wrote for them and also transcribed some of their medieval repertoire from sources available in Russian libraries, a fascinating creative collaboration in old and new music. Their first visit to the West was to perform in Helsinki in 1979, where their multi-instrumental skills, highly disciplined ensemble-playing, sustained emotional intensity combined with an under-current of unstoppable, feral artistry gripped audiences’ attention. By happy chance, the magic was caught in this live TV broadcast, as Hortus Musicus perform “Fratres“, one of Pärt’s first and best-loved compositions in his newly-invented “tintinnabuli“ style. Nowadays, we mostly hear “Fratres“ in versions derived from the 1980 violin & piano version, with its extrovert solo arpeggios. But there is another - more subtle - power at work in the inexorable intensity of this version, with its exquisitely judged variations of early music tone-colours complementing Pärt’s restrained “tintinnabuli“ variations on an elegantly simple three-voice. If you only know the “flashy Fratres“, or if you haven’t heard Hortus Musicus 1970s sound - the searing stillness of emotional intensity held in total artistic control - then this archive performance is well worth a listen. This is copyrighted material, I believe that Finnish YLE are the copyright owners. It has been released for non-commercial use on YouTube.