Arvo Pärt
Adam’s Passion

source: robertwilson

Estonian Arvo Pärt is one of the three most performed contemporary composers worldwide. His music has been described as contemplative, sacred, and timeless. “Time for us is the time of our own lives. It is temporary. What is timeless is the time of eternal life. Like the sun, we cannot look at these two directly, but my intuition tells me that the human soul is connected to both of them—time and eternity,” says Pärt. Much like Robert Wilson’s own universe, where time and space are the basic architecture of everything, it is as if these two artists have been waiting to collaborate with one another! ADAM’S PASSION will be a journey into the worlds of sound, light, visual art and performance. It will celebrate Arvo Pärt’s 80th birthday—all in a spectacular venue, the Noblessner Foundry, a vast, old industrial building by Tallinn’s harbor.

ADAM’S PASSION by Arvo Pärt and Robert Wilson
Tonu Kaljuste (musical direction); Tilman Hecker (co-direction); Serge von Arx (co-set design); Carlos Soto (costumes); AJ Weissbard (co-light design); Konrad Kuhn (dramaturgy); performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Lucinda Childs, Michael Theophanous and Ensemble.

Since the late 1960s, Robert Wilson’s productions have decisively shaped the look of theater and opera. Through his signature use of light, his investigations into the structure of a simple movement, and the classical rigor of his scenic and furniture design, Wilson has continuously articulated the force and originality of his vision. Wilson’s close ties and collaborations with leading artists, writers, and musicians continue to fascinate audiences worldwide.]
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source: estonianworld

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt and American theatre visionary Robert Wilson will come together for a new creation of modern music theatre titled “Adam’s Passion”.

The musical core of the production consists of three main works by Pärt, selected by the maestro himself: “Adam’s Lament”, “Tabula Rasa” and “Miserere”. “Sequentia”, a new work specially composed by Pärt, will blend the monumental landscape into a powerful story of depths and splendour of the humankind. Wilson’s staging will be a personal reading by the great theatre visionary of the music of the performance, born in close collaboration of two peerless authors.

The live event for the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, Lucinda Childs, Michael Theophanous and other soloists and actors, local drama and dance students, designed for the unconventional space of the Noblessner Foundry in Tallinn will premiere on 12 May.

Pärt has selected three major works to be included in the production – two choral works – “Adam’s Lament” (2010) and “Miserere” (1989/1992) – and a double violin concerto – “Tabula Rasa” (1977). “Tabula Rasa” was one of the first compositions of Pärt’s distinctive ”tintinnabuli” style. Pärt chose this name for his method of composing that he developed in the 1970s, and to which he adheres to this very day. The term refers to the Latin word “tintinnabulum”, meaning “little bell”. Pärt turned to this personal style after having composed using dodecaphonic techniques in the 1960-s. He then remained silent for several years until 1976. “Tabula rasa” was recorded and released as a CD on the German independent label ECM New Series in 1984. It was this CD that led to Pärt’s international breakthrough. “Miserere” is a typical example of how Pärt starts from text. In this case he uses a section of the catholic liturgy that can be summarised as a cry to God for mercy, containing also the “Dies Irae”, a section about the day of last judgment.

“I could compare my music to white light, which contains all colours.” – Arvo Pärt

“Adam’s Lament” is Pärt’s most recent work to this date (2010). It is based on a text written by the Russian orthodox monk Saint Silouan (1866-1938), who lived in a secluded monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. This work depicts Adam lamenting the loss of paradise and expressing his deep grief that he has lost the God’s love due to his sin. Beholding his son Abel having been slain by his brother Cain, he foresees all the cataclysms of mankind and feels guilt. In the end, Adam begs once again for God to give him divine love – “love” being the last word of the piece.

Wilson, ”the Sun King of American avant-garde performance art” (The Times) is the founder and artistic director of The Watermill Center, a laboratory for performing arts in Watermill, New York. Since the late 1960s, Wilson’s productions have decisively shaped the look of theatre and opera. A master of modern theatrical language and one of the main founders of avant-garde theatre, Wilson has remained on top of the international scene since his breakout production of “Einstein on the Beach” (with Philip Glass, 1976).

Wilson described the staging of “Adam’s Passion” in August 2014. “In the process of staging ‘Adam’s Passion’, I am mostly intrigued by lighting solution. Without light there is no space, therefore it is important to find a solution full of light. I hope we will be able to reach a state of released senses in order to welcome the flow of ideas suitable for enjoying Pärt’s music.”

Tõnu Kaljuste, a leading Grammy-awarded international choir and symphonic conductor, a lifelong close collaborator with Arvo Pärt and one of best performers of his works, is the musical director and conductor of “Adam’s Passion”.
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source: arvopartro

Pärt este, la ora actuală, compozitorul contemporan cel mai difuzat din întreaga lume. Cu toate acestea rar apare în public, preferând să păstreze tăcerea asupra compoziţiilor sale şi simţindu-se ca acasă în pădurile Estoniei natale. De aceea şi se identifică, poate fără să vrea, cu imaginea unui sihastru, care i se tot atribuie.
«Paradisul pierdut», s-a construit avându-l pe Pärt aproape de noi timp de un an întreg şi urmându-l în Estonia sa natală, în Japonia și Vatican. Documentarul reflectă şi perioada în care s-au pus bazele „Patimilor după Adam”, o piesă de teatru muzical bazată pe povestea biblică a căderii lui Adam pusă în scenă de regizorul american Robert Wilson în mai 2015, într-o fostă fabrică de submarine din Tallinn“ au declarat realizatorii documentarului.

Dezvăluind procesul creativ al întregului spectacol, documentarul „Paradisul pierdut“ oferă spectatorului imagini unice din lumea uneia dintre personalitățile cele mai fascinante ale muzicii mondiale.

„Fie şi numai prin chipul său Pärt, ce-şi va sărbători cea de a 80-a aniversare pe 11 septembrie, emană o aură de mistic sau ascet. Deși a declarat deseori că nu este «nici profet, nici cardinal, nici monah şi nici măcar vegetarian», Pärt este, cu siguranţă, un om înduhovnicit“.
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source: derstandardat

“Adams Passion” ist eine Zusammenstellung dreier Hauptwerke des Komponisten: “Adams Lament”, “Tabula Rasa”, “Miserere” sowie einer extra für diese Aufführung geschriebenen (und Robert Wilson gewidmeten) “Einleitung” namens “Sequentia”.

Das der Gesamtunternehmung den Namen gebende “Adams Lament” für gemischten Chor und Streichorchester basiert auf einem Text des russisch-orthodoxen Berg Athos-Mönchs Silouan, in dem Adam den Verlust des Paradieses und den Verlust der Liebe Gottes beklagt. “Unser Stammvater Adam hat alle Katastrophen der Menschheit vorausgeahnt und sich selbst die Schuld dafür gegeben, zuletzt aber wieder die Liebe Gottes gesucht”, meint Pärt dazu.

Schöpfungs – und Zerstörungsgeschichte

Und Wilson nimmt das als Ausgangspunkt, um eine Schöpfungs – und Zerstörungsgeschichte zu erzählen, vom ersten, nackten Mann bis zu Kleinkindern mit Spielzeugmaschinengewehren. Stilistisch kehrt der Weltmeister der Langsamkeit fast zu seinen Anfängen zurück, als er, damals auch als Darsteller, eine Stunde brauchte, um die Bühne von links nach rechts zu überqueren. Diesmal benötigt der Grieche Michalis Theophanous als Adam ca. zehn, gefühlte 20 Minuten, um sich auf einer Art Laufsteg in Richtung Publikum zu bewegen, und dann nochmals so lang, um sich von den Zuschauern, jetzt einen begrünten Zweig auf dem Kopf balancierend, zu entfernen.

In einem ähnlichen Tempo – aber diagonal – durchquert anschließend die majestätische 75-jährige Tanz-Ikone Lucinda Childs das Geschehen. Viel zu viel wallender Trockeneisnebel, grüne Zweige, kahle Bäume, schiefe Leitern, weiße Ziegel, Gerippe von Häusern, Kalaschnikows aus Holz, ein junger Mann im Adamskostüm, ein alter Mann im Anzug – es geht manchmal arg symbolisch zu in dieser Produktion. Und zumindest szenisch etwas eintönig. Und äußerst heilig. Obwohl doch der Komponist immer wieder betont hat, dass seine Werke nicht religiösen, sondern spirituellen Inhalts wären.

Meditative Kraft

Wie dem auch sei: Pärts Musik entfaltet jedenfalls – ungeachtet jeder Optik – auch hier weiterhin ihre ungebrochene meditative Kraft und nachhaltige Faszination. Was natürlich in erster Linie dem “Ersten Apostel” des Meisters, dem Dirigenten Tönu Kaljuste, zu verdanken ist, der sich seit Jahrzehnten dem Pärtschen Schaffen widmet.

Hier vollbringt er gemeinsam mit dem Tallina Kammerorkester und dem Eesti Kammerkoor – und mithilfe der hervorragenden Akustik dieser heruntergekommenen Industriekathedrale, dieses riesigen U-Boot- Grabes – erneut Großartiges.

Im Herbst wird Kaljuste auch die “Pärt-Tage” veranstalten. Denn am 11. September wird Arvo Pärt, der meistgespielte Komponist der Gegenwart, der “Philipp Glass des Ostens”, der estnische Nationalheld, der wegen seines ästhetischen Widerstands gegen die Sowjets 30 Jahre lang ins Exil gezwungen wurde, 80 Jahre alt. Zu diesem Jubiläum wird Arte auch eine Dokumentation über sein Leben sowie eine Aufzeichnung von “Adams Passion” ausstrahlen. Die Produktion selbst soll nach der Premiere in Tallinn auf Welttournee gehen.
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source: youtube

Adam’s Passion is the moving first collaboration between two “masters of slow motion who harmonize perfectly with each other” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). In the spectacular setting of a former submarine factory, American director and universal artist Robert Wilson creates a poetic visual world in which the mystical musical language of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt can cast its meditative spell. Three of Pärt’s major works – Adam’s Lament, Tabula rasa, and Miserere, as well as Sequentia, a new work composed especially for this production – are brought together here using light, space, and movement to create a tightly-woven Gesamtkunstwerk in which the artistic visions of these two great artists mirror each other.