Arvo Pärt

De profundis

De Profundis was the first new composition written after Pärt's emigration, and belongs more with the Estonian tintinnabuli works, with their unwavering adherence to a simple unfolding of material in basic tintinnabuli manner, than to the relatively more intricate manner of the later Latin works. It is scored for male voices (TTBB), organ, and percussion (bass drum, E bell, and tam-tam) - the percussion is marked 'ad lib', though much would be lost by its omission. The organ provides a relentless walking bass beneath alternate phrases, while the voices declaim the text in steady minim beats throughout. (Paul Hillier)Psalmus 130 (129)De profundis clamavi ad te Domine: Domine ex audi vocem meam. Fiant aures tuae intendentes in vocem deprecationis meae. Si iniquitates observaveris Domine: Domine quis sustinebit. Quia apud te propitiatio est: et propter legem tuam sustinui te Domine. Sustinuit anima mea in verbo eius: speravit anima mea in Domino. A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israel in Domino. Quia apud Dominum misericordia: et copiosa apud eum redemptio. Et ipse redimet Israel ex omnibus iniquitatibus eius.