, St Luke
Magnificat
Arvo Pärt
Recording
Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier
- Album
- De Profundis
- Year
- 1996
- Length
- Period
- 20th c. & modern
- Listen
Painting
Hans Burgkmair
Saint Luke Painting the Virgin, 1507
The piece
Pärt set the Latin text of Mary's song from the first chapter of Luke's Gospel in 1989, for unaccompanied choir. It is written in his tintinnabuli style, with the melodic lines moving over the notes of a single triad.
The recording
Theatre of Voices recorded it under Paul Hillier in California in May 1996 for Harmonia Mundi. Hillier had sung Pärt's music with the Hilliard Ensemble and wrote the Oxford study of the composer published in 1997.
Other recordings
Tõnu Kaljuste's recording with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir on the ECM New Series album Te Deum is the other one to know.