Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten

• Cantus in Memorian Benjamin Britten (Song in Memory of Benjamin Britten) was one of Pärt’s first works to utilize his tintinnabuli style. He composed the work in 1977.¹

“In the past years we have had many losses in the world of music to mourn. Why did the date of Benjamin Britten’s death – 4 December 1976 – touch such a chord in me? During this time I was obviously at the point where I could recognize the magnitude of such a loss. Inexplicable feelings of guilt, more than that even, arose in me. I had just discovered Britten for myself. Just before his death I began to appreciate the unusual purity of his music – I had had the impression of the same kind of purity in the ballads of Guillaume de Machaut. And besides, for a long time I had wanted to meet Britten personally – and now it would not come to that.”

Arvo Pärt’s introduction to this work²

1. Paul D. Hillier, “Pärt, Arvo,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed November 19, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000020964.
2. “Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memorian Benjamin Britten for String Orchestra and Bell,” Universal Edition, accessed December 11, 2019, https://www.universaledition.com/arvo-part-534/works/cantus-in-memory-of-benjamin-britten-1465.