Arbos (Latin for “tree”) is one of Pärt’s early tintinnabuli works from 1977. Initially composed without a specific instrumentation, Arbos was premiered by the Early Music Ensemble Hortus Musicus with Andres Mustonen, to whom the the work is dedicated.
The musical structure of Arbos reflects the branching of a tree: a single trunk divides in two branches, which, in turn, divide in two, and so on. The attentive ear of the skilled listener is able to identify various layers in music. All voices start and finish their movement at the same time and the melodic fabric thickens as the descending melodic line gradually extends. This temporally differentiated movement paradoxically creates a sense of majestic immobility. It is as if we would see a s…
Arbos (Latin for “tree”) is one of Pärt’s early tintinnabuli works from 1977. Initially composed without a specific instrumentation, Arbos was premiered by the Early Music Ensemble Hortus Musicus with Andres Mustonen, to whom the the work is dedicated.
The musical structure of Arbos reflects the branching of a tree: a single trunk divides in two branches, which, in turn, divide in two, and so on. The attentive ear of the skilled listener is able to identify various layers in music. All voices start and finish their movement at the same time and the melodic fabric thickens as the descending melodic line gradually extends. This temporally differentiated movement paradoxically creates a sense of majestic immobility. It is as if we would see a single large tree, at the same time noticing its separate branches.
Arvo Pärt: „This is a proportional canon in three parts: the first part represents the trunk of an imaginary tree, then comes the second voice, twice as fast as the first, then the third, twice as fast as the second. Everything is organised rhythmically in a simple way, interrupted by rests. It is pure mathematics – mathematics applied to musical instruments.“ (Enzo Restagno et al., Arvo Pärt in Conversation, 2012, p. 42)
As these were the years of close creative collaboration with Andres Mustonen, the founder and leader of Hortus Musicus, the composer was able to help fine-tuning his earliest tintinnabuli works and preparing these for performance. Arbos premiered at the Student Club of the Riga Polytechnical Institute on 28 October 1977.
The piece is currently listed in Pärt’s list of works in two versions: Arbos for seven or eight recorders and ad libitum triangle, and a version for eight brass instruments and percussions.
