In the last twenty-five years or so, an important new thread has developed in contemporary classical music: namely, a re-integration of spiritual values into a musical language which had become disastrously over-complex and unfriendly to most listeners. The principal composers in this movement towards simplicity and direct expression are generally held to be Arvo Pärt, John Taverner, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and Giya Kancheli.

Here I'd like to recommend the ECM CD Te Deum by Arvo Pärt: in it, several of his finest works are gathered together to form a magnificent testament to his power to create stunning works of musical art from the simplest triadic materials.

One particularly significant aspect of the works is his use of moments of silence: these pauses give us time and space both to reflect on what has gone before, and to develop our anticipation for what is to come. To me, this alternation of silence and music precisely mirrors the non-dualistic spiritual model: from the silence/Absolute/Is emerge the sounds/Transient/Is Not, with the latter returning to the former having had its necessary expression.

All the works on the disc are excellent, my personal favourites being Silouan's Song for string orchestra, and the Berliner Messe for chorus and orchestra. The performance and recording are outstanding: without a doubt, this would be a desert island disc for me, and I recommend it unreservedly. Click the image above to hear samples of the disc on Amazon.

I am so in LOVE with the Hundred Thousand Angels music! Her voice is divine, and the music reaches places within you that you didn't even know existed. The music seems undeniably timeless!

I totally recommend it too! Big thumbs up!!! It's great for helping to unwind the stresses of a busy life, for movement meditation and whenever else you feel like it.

Love
Turtle