hypersongs

Alina

Three versions of Spiegel im Spiegel and two of Für Alina, recorded with Pärt present.
Arvo Pärt, 1999

ECM New Series 1591, recorded in July 1995 at the Festeburgkirche in Frankfurt with Pärt and Eicher present. Vladimir Spivakov, to whom Spiegel im Spiegel is dedicated, plays violin, with Sergej Bezrodny and Alexander Malter on piano and Dietmar Schwalke on cello. The tracklist is Spiegel im Spiegel (10:36), Für Alina (10:47), Spiegel im Spiegel (9:12), Für Alina (10:53) and Spiegel im Spiegel (9:48); two Spiegel versions are for violin and piano and one for cello and piano. Jeremy Eichler wrote in the New York Times in 2005 that it captures his early tintinnabuli style at its most pared down and essential, and Rob Cowan of Gramophone called it the voice of internal exile, self-communing and highly personal but wholly accessible for anyone willing to listen. ECM's page shows a 2026 date, which is a reissue.

Track listing

  1. Spiegel im Spiegel10:36
  2. Für Alina10:47
  3. Spiegel im Spiegel9:12
  4. Für Alina10:53
  5. Spiegel im Spiegel9:48

More from Arvo Pärt

Tabula Rasa (1984), The Hilliard Ensemble - Gidon Kremer, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Thomas Demenga - Brass Ensemble Staatsorchester Stuttgart*, Dennis Russell Davies - Arbos (1987), The Hilliard Ensemble - Passio (1988), The Hilliard Ensemble, Orchester Der Beethovenhalle Bonn - Miserere (1991), Philharmonia Orchestra, Neeme Järvi - Collage (1993), Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Tõnu Kaljuste - Te Deum - Silouans Song - Magnificat - Berliner Messe (1993), Tasmin Little • Martin Roscoe • Richard Studt • Bournemouth Sinfonietta - Fratres (1994), Litany (1996), Theatre Of Voices, Paul Hillier - De Profundis (1996), Summa (1997), Kanon Pokajanen (1998), Polyphony · Stephen Layton - Berliner Mass · Magnificat · Seven Magnificat Antiphons · De Profundis · The Beatitudes (1998), Orient & Occident (2002), Tonus Peregrinus, Antony Pitts - Passio (2003), Paavo Järvi, Truls Mørk, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra - Pro & Contra (2004), Lamentate (2005), Elora Festival Singers • Noel Edison - Triodion • Ode VII (Memento) • I Am The True Vine • Dopo La Vittoria (2006), Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Paul Hillier With Christopher Bowers-Broadbent - Da Pacem (2006), In Principio (2009), Symphony No. 4 (2010), Benjamin Hudson, Sebastian Klinger, Jürgen Kruse - Spiegel Im Spiegel (2010), Adam's Lament (2012), Vox Clamantis - The Deer's Cry (2016), NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, Tõnu Kaljuste - The Symphonies (2018), Kurzak*, Scholl*, Alagna*, Morphing Chamber Orchestra*, Wabnic* - Stabat Mater (2022), Tractus (2023)

Sources

  1. Alina, ECM Records
  2. Arvo Pärt: Alina 30th anniversary, ECM Records (2025-07-14)