Great works: Arvo Pärt's Passio
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- Start Date: 30 Mar 2026End Date: 30 Mar 2026Mon (Daytime): 11:00 - 13:00In PersonFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00
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What is the course about?
On this short course we will explore Arvo Pärt's 1982 composition, Passio and it’s premier recording by The Hilliard Ensemble, et al. Paul Hillier: conductor. ECM New Series 1370. (1988)
“With this album, The Hilliard Ensemble and Arvo Pärt proceeded first to capture and then bottle the zeitgeist. Remarkable for the synchronicity of vision between the warm telepathy of the Hilliard sound, the uncluttered repetitions of Pärt’s music and the elegant simplicity of ECM’s sleeve design, it ushered in the 90s with a magical fusion of sacred music and Conran Shop aesthetic.
Time appears to stand still as the Hilliards and their shadow-instruments allow Pärt’s mystical tintinnabulations to unfold. At times you might hear wind howling around the church of St-Jude-on-the-Hill lending an extra-musical dimension to the bleakness of Good Friday.” [Edward Breen, Gramophone magazine, April 2015.].
What will we cover?
- Brief biography of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt
- Brief biography of The Hilliard Ensmble
- Structure of the work Passio
- Pärt’s compositional technique ‘tintinnabulation’.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Form an overview of the history and format of this work
- recognise the structure of this work
- feel confident using some technical language to describe this work
- observe key features of modern recorded performances.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for absolute beginners. However, we will look at some music manuscripts and learn to identify key features of music notation (how many voices are singing, etc…) so this course will be most suitable for those who are curious and ambitious to learn.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
This sessions will comprise a combination of lecture, discussion, quizzes, guided listening, video and score study. Course materials (handouts, scores, links to online videos) will be shared via Google Classroom.
You will be encouraged to do extra reading and listening after class.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You may also wish to purchase some of the music books or recordings discussed in class, links to these materials will be available online after the session.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
To find out more about music history classes Music history courses in London and online which lists our full programme of classes ordered by term, and by day of the week. You may then click on each title to read the full course outline.
Edward teaches music history and theory at City lit. His specialism is early music (medieval, renaissance and baroque) and he completed a PhD in historical musicology at King's College London (2013) on the performance of medieval music. Outside of teaching, Edward is a regular contributor to Gramophone magazine and has lectured for Dartington International Summer School, London's Southbank Centre and The British Library. He has also worked as a researcher for BBC Proms and written for the journal Early Music (OUP). His essays are published in: The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Historical Performance in Music, (Cambridge University Press); The Montpellier Codex: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music 16 (Boydell Press); Recomposing the Past: Representations of Early Music on Stage and Screen (Ashgate 2018); and 30-Second Classical Music (Ivy Press).
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
