Arvo Part - Fur Alina
(Mississippi)

Mississippi Records latest is a carefully curated compilation album of some of the labels most beloved pieces of music by Arvo Part. This label has consistently shed light on artists who may not have an extensive discography or little-to-no notoriety, but have an essence that deserves a greater opportunity of exposure. This is not the case with Arvo Part. He may very well be considered the main composer of contemporary sacred music, largely because his work seems to exist outside of the evolution of modern music. Fur Alina is made up of several solo piano pieces as well as a few duets with various string instruments, held together by a delicate thread of ethereal eeriness with an air of melancholy on the verge of total beauty. For an artist that is not so easy to find on LP, this comp is a definitive introduction and overview. Although purists may disagree, Fur Alina seems to exemplify Arvo's purpose and aesthetic. His music manages to feel simultaneously massive but fragile, fully realized while barely happening. The man himself may have said it best as it reads in the liner notes, “You can kill people with sound. And if you can kill, then maybe there is also the sound that is opposite of killing. And the distance between these two points is very big. And you are free -- you can choose. In art everything is possible, but everything is not necessary.” (Adam)
Check out a track here.