Arvo Pärt

Fratres

(meaning "brothers" in Latin) is a musical work by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt exemplifying his tintinnabuli style of composition. It was composed in 1977. It is written for three parts without

Structure#

Structurally, Fratres consists of a set of nine chord sequences separated by a recurring percussion motif. The chord sequences themselves follow a pattern and were generated by means of a simple formula. Fratres is driven by three main voices. The low and high voices are each restricted to playing notes from the D harmonic minor scale (D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C#); the middle voice is restricted to the notes of the A minor triad (A, C, E). The entire piece is accompanied by drones in A and E, which are primarily heard in the percussion “refuge” motif between each sequence. The chords are created by the movement of the three voices: the low voice starts at C#; the high voice starts at E. Both the low and high voices are moved up or down the D harmonic minor scale at the same time, with the direction of the movement depending on the position within the sequence. The middle voice starts at A and plays a different pattern (A, E, E, C, C, C, C, A, A, E, E, C, C, A). The generated chords create harmonic ambiguity, since both C# and C are present for an A major or A minor chord.

Versions#

Although often performed by violin and piano, versions for larger ensembles, such as a string quartet or chamber orchestra, are also common. Performances by early music specialists have also been endorsed. Versions for ensembles include: *chamber orchestra (1977) *cello ensemble (1982) *string quartet (1989) *winds and percussion octet (1990) *string and percussion orchestra (1991) *band of metal instruments (2004) *three recorders, percussion, and cello or viola da gamba (2009) *saxophone quartet (2010) Versions for solo instrument and accompaniment: *violin and piano (1980) *cello and piano (1989) *violin, string orchestra, and percussion (1992) *trombone, string orchestra, and percussion (1993) *cello, string orchestra, and percussion (1995) *guitar, string orchestra, and percussion (2000) *viola and piano (2003) *four percussionists (2006) *viola, string orchestra, and percussion (2008) *piano (2025)

In popular culture#

The composition has been used for many films and documentaries. Notable usages include: *1987: Rachel River directed by Sandy Smolan *1992: Sneakers directed by Phil Alden Robinson *1996: Mother Night directed by Keith Gordon; Fratres is performed by Tasmin Little (violin) and Martin Roscoe (piano) *1997: Winter Sleepers directed by Tom Tykwer *1999: New York: A Documentary Film directed by Ric Burns *2001: A Knight’s Tale directed by Brian Helgeland *2005: Auschwitz: The Nazis and ‘The Final Solution produced by Laurence Rees; uses a performance from 1997 by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra conducted by Tamás Benedek *2006: La Morte Rouge directed by Victor Erice *2007: There Will Be Blood directed by Paul Thomas Anderson *2013: To the Wonder directed by Terrence Malick *2013: The Place Beyond the Pines directed by Derek Cianfrance *2013: Violette directed by Martin Provost *2015: El Club directed by Pablo Larraín *2017: Mountain directed by Jennifer Peedom *2017: Félicité directed by Alain Gomis

In other compositions#

Jazz pianist Aaron Parks incorporated elements of Fratres into his composition “Harvesting Dance”, heard on his album Invisible Cinema and on Terence Blanchard’s album Flow.

Composer: Arvo Pärt