“Their choral sound throughout is exquisite: listen out for those bass notes. They really are a superb and sensitive vocal ensemble. Highly recommended.”
“I have discovered that it is enough when a single note is beautifully played. This one note, or a silent beat, or a moment of silence comforts me.”
In 2016, we had the privilege of performing Pärt’s music to the composer himself and his wife Nora. Their kind and encouraging words about our interpretations inspired us to keep exploring Pärt’s music and this recording project is the culmination of that exploration.
Arvo and Nora Pärt with SANSARA’s Artistic Director Tom Herring and former Associate Conductor Benjamin Cunningham, 2016.
The decision to record this programme was not an easy one: there are plenty of fantastic recordings of Pärt’s music. But the combination of viols and voices brought something unique to our approach and so - with Pärt’s permission - we have recorded our versions of Stabat Mater and Da pacem Domine, alongside some of Pärt’s well-known a cappella works and Fretwork’s signature arrangements of Fratres and Summa.
Our title ‘sublime calculations’ refers to Pärt’s signature musical language - tintinnabuli - and his idea that “the way to the most intense concentration on the essence of things” is found through reduction.
This process of distillation to find a place of inner peace is surely one of the reasons why Pärt’s music has such broad appeal: it is an invitation to discover a personal feeling of belonging which is at once individual and universal. We are always making decisions or forming opinions based on our own calculations. Pärt’s music encourages us to search for the island within, the sublime home of our shared humanity.
- Tom Herring
The full album will be released on 5 September 2025.
Members of our Friends Circle have access to the full album in advance of the official release date. Join our chorus of supporters today by heading over to our support page and make a regular donation of as little as £3/month.
“I wanted to try and capture something close to the mathematical precision which underlies Arvo Pärt’s music. The lines on the painting represent the 9 tracks on the album, each on a sublime piece of musical calculation.”
© Tom Herring
