Fratres (meaning "brothers" in Latin) is a musical work by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt exemplifying his tintinnabuli style of composition.[ Arvo Pärt, Sinfini Music website]
Structure
Structurally,
Fratres consists of a set of nine
, separated by a recurring
percussion motif (the so-called "refuge"). The chord sequences themselves follow a pattern, and while the progressing chords explore a rich harmonic space, they have been generated by means of a simple formula.
Fratres is driven by three main voices. The low and high voice are each restricted to playing notes from the D Minor scale 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 refuge 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, yielding an A major or A minor feel.
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)
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four, eight, twelve, etc. cellos (1982)
-
string quartet (1989)
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winds and percussion octet (1990)
-
string and percussion orchestra (1991)
-
band of metal instruments (2004)
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three recorders, percussion, and cello or viola da gamba (2009)
-
saxophone quartet (2010)
Versions for solo instrument and accompaniment:
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violin and piano (1980)
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cello and piano (1989)
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violin, string orchestra, and percussion (1992)
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trombone, string orchestra, and percussion (1993)
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cello, string orchestra, and percussion (1995)
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guitar, string orchestra, and percussion (2000)
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viola and piano (2003)
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four percussionists (2006)
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viola, string orchestra, and percussion (2008)
-
piano (2025)
In films
The composition has been used for many films and documentaries. Notable usages include:
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.
External links
