PƖRT, Arvo

Initially a tonal composer and then one of the few serial composers in his native Estonia, Pärt developed in the mid- 1970s his tintinnabuli style,derived from tintinnabulation, or the sound of ringing bells. These pieces are tonal, with gradual scalar shifts and resounding rhythms in the tradition of plainsong and Russian liturgical music; they also incorporate repetition and extended structures that are totally absent from serial music. Like ringing bells, they are filled with overtones and undertones...