Arvo Pärt , an Estonian composer (born 1935, and still going – those hardy Estonians!), is known for his method of tintinabulli, which is not, as may first seem to some readers, setting to music the wonderful comic dramas of Georges Remi, whose pen name was Hergé (even if that would be quite delightful). Rather, Part’s technique was to unify the melody and harmony into a whole, as his article on Wikipedia puts it,  arpeggiates the tonic triad, and the second of which moves diatonically in stepwise motion.

You’ll know his minimalist style when you hear it.

For our musical selection, here is his composition of the prayer of Saint Patrick, ‘Christ With Me’, sung beautifully, as always, by Voces8:

And, in honour of Saint Joseph, here is the great Anton Bruckner’s (1824 – 1896) Os Iusti, from Tenebrae, which fits the great Patriarch, who is the Just Man:

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps will not be impeded.

 

(sources: Wikipedia and YouTube)

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