The logo for Cappella Romana’s Arvo Pärt Festival, which begins on Sunday, has some hidden meanings we’d like you to notice.
First, the P in Pärt and the T in Festival are aligned in order to form a Staurogram, a ligature in ancient Christian manuscripts for the noun “cross” or its verb form “crucify.”
The V, Ä, and V are also aligned in order to form the early Christian “fish” or ichthys symbol. The ichthys made its first appearances as early as the 2nd century.
The final embedded element in the logo is the vertical word “ora,” which is the imperative form of the verb “pray” in Latin.
The music of Arvo Pärt is also embedded with initially hidden meanings and structures – which we hope you will discover during the festival!
The Arvo Pärt Festival
The first-ever festival in North America dedicated to the music of Estonian Orthodox composer Arvo Pärt will take place February 5 – 12, 2017 in Portland, Oregon, presented by the Northwest’s leading professional chamber choir, Cappella Romana. Arvo Pärt is the most performed living composer in the world. Full information.
The Arvo Pärt Festival features eight (8) live performances of music by Arvo Pärt with chamber music (including Spiegel im Spiegel), the complete organ works, a cappella choral works (including selections of the Kanon Pokajanen), a late-night performance of the Passio by candlelight, the Missa Syllabica sung in a Latin mass, and a festival finale featuring Pärt’s Te Deum for three choirs, strings, and prepared piano, Da Pacem Domine (commissioned by Jordi Savall in memory of the victims of the Madrid terrorist bombings in 2004), and the US premiere of Alleluia-Tropus celebrating St. Nicholas.
The live events of the festival will be preceded with a screening of the new film “Arvo Pärt: Even if I lose everything” at Whitsell Auditorium, NW Film Center.
The Arvo Pärt Festival also features two free public lectures, including “The Words Write My Music,” by Peter Bouteneff, professor of theology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York and author of the new book Arvo Pärt: Out of Silence.
Lead Sponsor: Ronni Lacroute.
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