The most known works of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (*1935) have been written in his individual compositional style called tintinnabuli. The style was formed in 1976 as a result of a significant crisis Pärt had experienced after his last dodecaphonic composition. At that point the composer realized that dodecaphony and other contemporary techniques are no longer inspiring for him and decided search for a new direction for his music. In 1976–1980, after some years of exercising and studying early music, he presented several works, mostly instrumental, introduc-ing a new stylistic quality. The compositions are based on a precise system of regulations which has determined many aspects of Pärt’s musical language. The melodic material is limited to two scales: one diatonic and one ‘triad scale’, the latter having been created on the basis of triad struc-ture. The form has been constructed by using a simple mathematical procedure — a sequence, although some external formal models are also involved. The rhythm is often based on a repetitive scheme which can be interpreted as a reference to a medieval isorythm. It is the very detailed and consequent system of those and others technical principles that make the pieces composed during the early period of tintinnabuli style consistent and recognizable.
The aim of this paper is to present and analyse data received from Polish Society of Authors and Composers (ZAiKS), concerning the presence of Arvo Pärt’s(b. 1935 in Paide, Estonia) works on Polish radio stations in 2005-2010. The analysis will make it possible, e.g., to select the most popular pieces by Pärt and the radio stations that broadcast them most often. In 2005-2010 Polish radio stations broadcast a total of 53 out of 115 pieces (as of 2010, source: Universal Edition) by the Estonian composer 552 times. The most frequently broadcast pieces are ones written using the tintinnabuli technique: Fratres (1977) – 88 broadcasts, Tabula rasa (1977) – 68, Festina lente (1988/1990) – 42 and Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem (1982) – 39. The leader in radio broadcasting of Pärt’s music in Poland in 2005-2010 is Polskie Radio Program II (310 out of 552 broadcasts, 56% of the whole). It is the main Polish radio channel dedicated to classical music, which makes it possible to promote Arvo Pärt’s works among numerous potential recipients. The absence of these works on RMF Classic, regional stations of Polskie Radio in Kraków and Wrocław, as well as on religious radio channels (excluding Radio eM), comes as a disappointment.
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