Vox Clamantis - Arvo Pärt: The Deer's Cry (2016) Hi-Res

This is a gorgeous collection of music by this Estonian "holy minimalist" composer. Most of the music is for chorus a cappella, with a few pieces accompanied by organ or a small ensemble. The album is notable on several fronts. It contains mostly music written after 2000, with just a few of the Pärt classics, and this is the only thing that might give pause to a listener interested in an initial foray into the Pärt discography. So for those interested in what Pärt has been up to in his old age, this is an essential release; he seems, on the basis of these mostly commissioned works, to be moving in the direction of a newly direct simplicity. Sample the limpid Virgencita, which, like other works on the album, are given in the booklet only in their original languages, some of which are not in Latin script. But the real news here is the performance by the small Estonian choir (17 voices, intriguingly tenor heavy) Vox Clamantis. Typically for ECM, the booklet is more Instagram than Facebook and includes no detail about what went on, but Pärt has written for this choir and seems to have had direct input into the performances. Whatever the case, the sound is pearly (or alabaster, if you prefer), and the exceptionally smooth and controlled phrasing may be taken to represent the composer's intentions. A marvelous Pärt collection, with flawless and entirely idiomatic sound from the Tallinn Transfiguration Church. One track, recorded earlier and elsewhere, has the effect of introducing a vein of sonic color into the whole.