The Tallis Scholars have long incorporated the music of Arvo Pärt (b1935) into their programmes of Renaissance polyphony. The mix works because, despite the span of centuries, the musical language for these unaccompanied religious works is not dissimilar (well explained by director Peter Phillips in his CD note). This disc is devoted to the Estonian composer alone, in celebration of his 80th birthday. The title comes from Pärt’s own harmonic technique, inspired by the sounds of bells, first the strike, then the retreating overtones. From the Magnificat to The Woman With the Alabaster Box and I Am the True Vine, the Tallis Scholars bring their own unblemished radiance to this glowing music.
