The Hilliard Ensemble: Arvo Pärt – Passio

Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's setting of the St. John Passion is a towering monument of minimalist architecture, recorded by Manfred Eicher in the crisp acoustic of St. Jude-on-the-Hill in London. Scored for soloists, choir, organ, and a spare instrumental quintet, the music unfolds through Pärt's tintinnabuli technique, where simple triad tones chime against deliberate melodic steps. The stark silence between vocal phrases is as imposing as the singing itself, creating an austere, meditative grandeur.