Beginning in the mid 1970s, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, developed a new musical language he called Tintinnabuli—inspired by the sounds of ringing bells and influenced by the mystical experiences with chant music. This haunting sound, all the composer's own, has struck a chord with listeners all over the globe and made him one of the most popular and performed of our time. Of Pärt's popularity, composer Steve Reich has written: "I love his music, and I love the fact that he is such a brave, talented man… He's completely out of step with the zeitgeist and yet he's enormously popular, which is so inspiring. His music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion."
As celebrations take place around the world for Pärt's 90th birthday on September 11, Foley Schuler will offer some of his own essential works and recordings by this most beloved of contemporary composers—whose music speaks so deeply to our time because he so thoroughly outside of it, and, indeed, of time itself—contemplative music that will also serve as a fitting backdrop for such remembrance and reflection that attends the anniversary of the September 11 attacks of 2001.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
