Arvo Pärt (ur. 1935)
Spiegel im Spiegel for violin or cello and piano

The oeuvre of Arvo Pärt has evolved from neoclassicism, through an adaptation of dodecaphony, sonorist experiments and fascinations with the Bach system towards “new simplicity,” “new asceticism,” or “new spirituality.” These terms are usually used to define the Estonian composer’s mature music, inspired by medieval and renaissance aesthetics and symbolised by his technique of tintinnabuli (Latin for “little bells”).
Spiegel im Spiegel of 1978 is Pärt’s last piece composed before leaving his native Estonia and emigrating with his family to Western Europe. The title of the work, Mirror within Mirror, reveals the strategy adopted by the composer in the process of organising the course of music. The part of the piano has been anchored in F major (diatonic order). The cello departs from A and extends the melodic phrase over the subsequent steps of the scale, yet it returns to the initial tone that functions as the central axis of the tonal order. Thus reflection is focused in a single point, as by a lens. Mirror sound effects also occur in the piano’s top register.
This piece shows three features characteristic of Pärt’s music: a reduction of composing means; a repetition of selected combinations of tones helping the audience to enter a state of meditation, of a trance; and euphony. These features are related to the concept of prolonged or even arrested time, aimed at a contemplation of recurring notes and motives.
The ruling principle here is to remain in a definite state of non-emotion, a state of no change. The Eastern experience of non-active time might be the key to the understanding of Pärt’s music. Spiegel im Spiegel is a kind of a “son without words," its moment reflected here and now...

Małgorzata Janicka-Słysz