A Far Cry - Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten (1977)

[Soupwhistle]

Each listen reveals greater depths and different ways to hear the piece. So many paths to explore.

[SxAxMxIxRx]

2 Guys are deaf...

[GADAN4537]

merveilleux

[DCTenor]

What a brilliant performance.  Bravo!

[Mooseman327]

How was this recorded? How many mics...and where? If the acoustics are as good as you say they are, then perhaps just one or two mics hanging in front of the stage might have been enough...you know, how they used to record in the "old days." Anyone know?

[METAMORPHOSISasha]

This is the best orchestra I've ever heard! Bravo

[OkkieTrooij]

Fantastisch

[AEFic]

Oh my god. This is absolutely perfect. Aesthetically, it's beautiful, but it also contains the mathematical beauty of a math equation, and the shifting atmosphere from the start to the end has a gorgeous flowing quality.

[velo220957]

Bellissimo

[xeriphism]

I still maintain you can hear every element of life's poignancy in this piece.

[GeoffreyWoodward]

Thanks JPAdlP, this is beautiful.

[shubus]

I DO WISH "A FAR CRY" would get out a recording of this......as this performance more than any other of this piece I completely emjouy.

[SrNutritivo]

I'm crying... motherfuckers...

[Fjacmans]

Brilliant! 

[Fjacmans]

Brilliant! Simply brilliant!

[frankcisyarmi]

Imponente solemne mistico y acogedor principio emociana realmente brillantegenial memorial a B Britten

[montefanno]

Absolutely amazing, I'm so greatful hollywood hasnt butchered this music and has left it relatively unharmed and hidden from the mainstream.

[dannnyluu2]

absolutely amazing

but one thing. the bell at the end?

[kourzanov]

@dannnyluu2 there is a bell, only not as pronounced as in the other recordings...

[Chipchik]

What do you say about something as exquisite as this? I mean, honestly, do words do justice? I think not, but for some reason, appreciative silence is so hard to convey in a space reserved for comments. Having said that, I'm going to watch and listen to this again, and just keep quiet when its done.

[thescribe2009]

I am lucky enough to live in the area of Boston where A Far Cry is based. I get to hear them play live a lot! I adore them.

[theoden707]

A Far Cry is God's gift to the world.

[sanneke8888]

waanzinnig....

[MatteusNova]

This piece is a dream sequence put into tones. It's very easy to fall asleep to it. :)

[lovesGenet]

This is my dream performance .Not to large a group so the voices come out. Isn't this band wonderful.Heard there Mozart and wished and hoped they would do something contemporary . Wow.I would travel a 100 miles to see them.They need to come to Miami!!!

[violinflu]

@lovesGenet We'll be in Florida quite a bit this year, including... MIAMI on February 12. Hope to see you there!

[ZenPicking]

This song makes me feel like I am melting through the world. Falling endlessly into despair, seeing all of my life flashing by on the way down, all of the memories passing. And yet, it is a happy dread as I am falling down, as if my life is complete and nothing more needs to be done.

[coolhype]

LOVE! And love! the hanging, stone still silence at end-before the mood interrupting applause!

But I must say: feels weird to even comment. An articulate, adequate response--feels unreachable, inept.

[ichtusknex]

beautiful!!!! whew!!!!

[HorseSafety]

My throat is choked listening to it again. I heard it live by the Monterey Symphony

in 2001 at a concert in Salinas......

[hanenburgB]

this song pierces right through me. even when i'ts over it's still there, haunting me. exceptional playing as well!

[TheTundrawolf]

Sometimes anymore I am tempted to live in the wonderful and beautiful sorrow of music like this but I cannot. Turning back to the real world is as painful as pulling a knife out of ones soul.

[richlook1]

BBC Pops programmed this composition earlier this summer and I just heard it for the first time rebroadcast on the radio the other night. In searching for available recordings I came across this clip and I shall seek no further. It is absolutely riveting. Profoundly sad in a very satisfying sort of way. Being able to watch these wonderful players perform it puts it over the top. And the acoustics!! Thank you thank you for posting this.

[maksmail]

This tune reminds me what me and my sister used to when we were kids. One lays on the back and closes eyes. Other takes his/her leg and raises it up all the way and starts to let it go down very slowly. Then the one who is laying down feels like the leg is sinking through the floor into the endlessness.

[AnneVAlmeida]

Wondeful music

[CCMusicComposition]

Beautiful video and music

[Sanvean0]

Lovely to see this beautiful piece live. Thank U for sharing!!

I have the cd version posted on my channel since 2007. And other pieces of Arvo Pärt too.

[xeriphism]

yes, it is an extremely addictive piece of music executed superbly, and when you understand the story behind it it makes it all the more poignant!

[shnimmuc]

Great piece. I get the same basic feeling from Cummings` Lacrymosa for the victims of 9/11

[tizithecat]

It is so breathtaking...

[RATM4LYFE]

Very moving, a wonderful piece of music and a performance to match.

This is the sort of thing that heals the world, person by person.

Thank you.

[pieternooten]

flawless performance of one of the most moving pieces of music i know.

[Descalabro]

At first I wasn't paying attention and it looked like a photo of the musicians, then they started moving and playing, then at 6:09 they froze again, as if they had become part of the photo again. Sometimes having a very simple and regular framing and a not so great image quality can make wonders.

[igallacher1970]

Thank you for posting this. First time I've cried listening to this piece

[yourforte]

Absolutely beautiful.

[mongio66]

meraviglioso. Esecuzione di grandissima classe e sobrietà.

[EdwardWhelanPiano]

Only Arvo Part can make a descending A minor scale sound so haunting.

[kazuerobert]

美しき悲しみが力いっぱいに演奏されとても心の深くを動かされま­した。

[batdoguk]

The only disappointment is that the final strike of the tubular bell is difficult to pick out. Could be my hearing though! I guess the audience heard it as they must have waited until the reverberations had stopped before applauding. Otherwise wonderful!

[Clewsmonkey]

The final strike isn't meant to be heard, you're only meant to hear the reverberations as the strings suddenly stop playing.

[Planetman1z]

@batdoguk Relax... relax... all humanity is imperfect, yet this is so, so well done. I understand your concern, yet this is well done!

[AltheFolker]

The applause somewhat ruins the atmosphere, but very well deserved!

I notice the audience took a moment to applaud. That says something!

[shubus]

Regretfully, "A Far Cry" chose NOT to record this on their debut album. Let's hope they record it soon, AND IN THIS HALL.

[askthemailman]

great performance, I think standing is good!

[kelrodjr]

If ever the emotional concept of despair could be expressed in musical form, this would be it. Simply incredible.

[fernandajime]

aqui respiro respiro profundo

no habia respirado asi

Gracias infinitas

[shubus]

I keep coming back to this performance of this piece, and it is just so amazing. This remarkable piece in this amazing hall.....and I have 4 CD's of different performances, but this is the one I cherish. It is also rather rare to have nearly all performers standing--which somehow enhances the effect.

[666Eva]

I agree, and its such a physical performance, truly outstanding.

[inafantasy]

@shubus When musician's of any variety can stand or at least move freely whilst performing, you see the true artistry in becoming the music. It's a greater stage presence, and you can see how every individual is moved differently, both by their own individual lines and the entire sonic moment that is being experienced. When this happens in any group, the music as a whole is one as well, and overwhelming at that.

[Tanru2000]

*jaw-droppingly amazing*

[videozero1]

all very good

[nemohove]

Well, that's a useful insight and contribution...

[maccawally]

Demais, o movimento dos músicos contrasta com os segundos de silêncio do final! Maravilha!

[danneeh123]

omg. absolutely breathtaking. mindblowing.

=]

[Rockinghorseshart]

Heard this on BBC R3 this morning as I was driving and nearly had to pull over. Said that Arvo Pärt was perhaps one of the few that truly realised what civilisation had lost in BB in 1976. This piece captures this loss perfectly.

[MrPermadrunk]

This is the most Moving peice of music i have ever heard...

Re Ryon Collins

This IS what i want at my funeral

(morbid i know but justified i believe)

[FlowersInHisHair]

I heard this piece performed live last year, and just like here, the audience remained absolutely still and quiet until the last overtones of that tubular bell note have died away to nothing. It's the closest I've ever come to what some might call a religious experience.

This performance measures up in every way to the orchestra I heard last year. Well done everyone; it's a stunning performance.

[shubus]

Being totally unfamiliar with Arvo Pärt it a wonderful find for me. This piece is a truly stunning performance. I like very few 12 tone works, but this piece is completely captivating and seems to express a deep longing sadness--which I myself have felt for many years over the loss of Britten. This beautiful wall of sound here is a profound memorial to Britten in a very beautiful performance.

[anvb5a1]

very beautiful performance indeed... makes me wonder how amazing it must feel to be a part of this, to "feel" and play this piece together, hands on the wood... wow

[erudofker]

I'm sorry you don't like 12-tone works. But this piece only has 7.. so I hope you like 7 tone works.. lol

[nadja1316]

beautiful!!! Saved to favorites ...

[nmichaels71]

weird the violins are standing