' (meaning "brothers" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) is a musical work by the Estonian composer

Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in pa ...

exemplifying his

tintinnabuli Tintinnabuli (singular. ''tintinnabulum''; from the Latin ''tintinnabulum'', "a bell") is a compositional style created by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, introduced in his ''Für Alina'' (1976), and used again in ''Spiegel im Spiegel'' (1978). ...

style of composition. It is three-part music, written in 1977, ''without fixed instrumentation'' and has been described as a “mesmerizing set of variations on a six-bar theme combining frantic activity and sublime stillness that encapsulates Pärt's observation that "the instant and eternity are struggling within us".Arvo Pärt
Sinfini Music website

Structure

Structurally, ''Fratres'' consists of a set of nine

chord sequence In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practic ...

s, separated by a recurring

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

motif (the so-called "refuge"). The chord sequences themselves follow a pattern, and while the progressing chords explore a rich harmonic space, they have been generated by means of a simple formula. ''Fratres'' is driven by three main voices. The low and high voice are each restricted to playing notes from the D

harmonic minor In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

scale (D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C#); the middle voice is restricted to the notes of the A minor triad (A, C, E). The entire piece is accompanied by drones in A and E, which are primarily heard in the refuge between each sequence. The chords are created by the movement of the three voices: the low voice starts at C#; the high voice starts at E. Both the low and high voices are moved up or down the D harmonic minor scale at the same time, with the direction of the movement depending on the position within the sequence. The middle voice starts at A and plays a different pattern (A, E, E, C, C, C, C, A, A, E, E, C, C, A). The generated chords create harmonic ambiguity, since both C# and C are present, yielding an A major or A minor feel.

Versions

Although often performed by violin and piano, versions for larger ensembles, such as a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...

, are also common. Performances by

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

specialists have also been endorsed. Versions for ensembles include: *chamber orchestra (1977) *four, eight, twelve, etc. cellos (1982) *string quartet (1989) *winds and percussion octet (1990) *string and percussion orchestra (1991) *band of metal instruments (2004) *three recorders, percussion, and cello or viola da gamba (2009) *saxophone quartet (2010) Versions for solo instrument and accompaniment: *violin and piano (1980) *cello and piano (1989) *violin, string orchestra, and percussion (1992) *trombone, string orchestra, and percussion (1993) *cello, string orchestra, and percussion (1995) *guitar, string orchestra, and percussion (2000) *viola and piano (2003) *four percussionists (2006) *viola, string orchestra, and percussion (2008)

In films

The composition has been used for many films and documentaries. Notable usages include: *1987: ''

Rachel River ''Rachel River'' is a 1987 comedy-drama film about a young journalist who returns to her Minnesota hometown to reexamine her life. The film was directed by Sandy Smolan, and stars Pamela Reed, Viveca Lindfors, Željko Ivanek, James Olson, and C ...

'' directed by

Sandy Smolan Sandy Smolan is an American feature film, television, and documentary film director. Early career His critically acclaimed debut feature film ''Rachel River'' was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and took awards ...

*1992: ''

Sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

'' directed by

Phil Alden Robinson Phil Alden Robinson (born March 1, 1950) is an American film director and screenwriter whose films include ''Field of Dreams'', ''Sneakers (1992 film), Sneakers'', and ''The Sum of All Fears (film), The Sum of All Fears''. Early life and educatio ...

*1996: ''

Mother Night ''Mother Night'' is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, first published in February 1962. The title of the book is taken from Goethe's ''Faust'' (and ultimately from the Egyptian Goddess Nuit, mother of Osiris, Horus, Isis, Set, and Nephth ...

'' directed by

Keith Gordon Keith Gordon (born February 3, 1961) is an American actor and film director. Early life Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Mark, an actor and stage director, and Barbara Gordon. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family. Gordon was insp ...

; ''Fratres'' is performed by Tasmin Little (violin) and Martin Roscoe (piano) *1997: ''

Winter Sleepers ''Winter Sleepers'' (german: Winterschläfer meaning "hibernators") is a 1997 German film directed by Tom Tykwer. It was premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival. Plot The film is set in the deeply snowy alpine winter resort of Berc ...

'' directed by

Tom Tykwer Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films ''Run Lola Run'' (1998), ''Heaven (2002 film), Heaven'' (2002), ''Perfume: The St ...

*1999: eight-part

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

documentary '' New York: A Documentary Film'' directed by

Ric Burns Ric Burns (Eric Burns, born 1955) is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. He has written, directed and produced historical documentaries since the 1990s, beginning with his collaboration on the celebrated PBS series '' The Civil War'' (1 ...

*2001: ''

A Knight's Tale ''A Knight's Tale'' is a 2001 American medieval adventure comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, win ...

'' directed by

Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...

, *2005: six-part

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

documentary '' Auschwitz: The Nazis and the ‘Final Solution’'' produced by

Laurence Rees Laurence Rees (born 1957) is an English historian. He is a BAFTA winning historical documentary filmmaker and a British Book Award winning author of several books about Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and the atrocities committed, especially by them, ...

, used the composition performed in 1997 by the

Hungarian State Opera The Hungarian State Opera is the national opera company of Hungary. Located in Budapest, it is a busy institution, with over 200 operas each calendar year, on top of extensive educational programs, ballet, and musical theatre. The company employs 1 ...

Orchestra, conducted by

Tamás Benedek Tamás () is a Hungarian, masculine given name. It is a Hungarian equivalent of the name Thomas. The given name may refer to: * Tamás Bognár (born 1978), Hungarian footballer * Tamás Gábor (1932–2007), Hungarian Olympic champion épée fenc ...

*2006: ''

La Morte Rouge LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' directed by

Victor Erice The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

*2007: ''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel ''Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a Silver mini ...

'' directed by

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with ''Hard Eight (film), Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' ( ...

*2013: ''

To the Wonder ''To the Wonder'' is a 2012 American experimental romantic drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem. Filmed in Oklahoma and Paris, the film chronicles a couple ...

'' directed by

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...

*2013: ''

The Place Beyond the Pines ''The Place Beyond the Pines'' is a 2012 American epic crime drama film directed by Derek Cianfrance, and written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder. The film tells three linear stories: Luke (Ryan Gosling), a motorcycle stunt rider ...

'' directed by

Derek Cianfrance Derek M. Cianfrance (; born January 23, 1974) is an American film director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for writing and directing the films '' Blue Valentine,'' ''The Place Beyond the Pines and The Light Between O ...

*2013: '' Violette'' directed by

Martin Provost Martin Provost (born 13 May 1957) is a French film director, writer and actor. He wrote and directed films such as '' Séraphine'' and ''Le Ventre de Juliette''. '' Violette,'' his 2013 biographical drama about author Violette Leduc Violette ...

*2015: ''

El Club ''The Club'' ( es, El Club) is a 2015 Chilean drama film directed, co-produced and co-written by Pablo Larraín. It was screened in the main competition of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Jury Grand Prix. It was selec ...

'' directed by

Pablo Larraín Pablo Larraín Matte (; born 19 August 1976) is a Chilean filmmaker. He has directed nine feature films and co-directed one television series, including the Academy Award-nominated films ''No (2012 film), No'' (2012), ''Neruda (film), Neruda'' ...

*2017: documentary film ''

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

'' directed by

Jennifer Peedom Jennifer Peedom is a BAFTA-nominated Australian director. Her documentary ''Solo'' (co-directed with David Michôd) won the 2009 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Documentary in Under One Hour. Her film ''Sherpa'', which was filmed ...

*2017: '' Félicité'' directed by

Alain Gomis Alain Gomis (born 6 March 1972) is a French-Senegalese film director and screenwriter. His 2017 film '' Félicité'' was selected as the Senegalese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, making the December shortlis ...

In other compositions

Jazz pianist

Aaron Parks Aaron Parks (born October 7, 1983) is an American jazz pianist. Career A native of Seattle, Parks studied at the University of Washington at the age of 14 through the Transition School and Early Entrance Program as a double major in computer sc ...

incorporated elements of ''Fratres'' into his composition "Harvesting Dance," heard on his album '' Invisible Cinema'' and on Terence Blanchard's album '' Flow''.

References

External links

The 1997 release
by the ''Hungarian State Opera Orchestra'', used in the 2005

documentary ''Auschwitz: The Nazis and the ‘Final Solution’''
An Official Video
of London-based violinist

Lana Trotovšek Lana Trotovšek (born September 5, 1983) is a London-based Slovenian violinist. She is a soloist and chamber musician performing in U.S.A., U.K., China, Japan, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, and Se ...

performing the version for violin and piano with pianist Yoko Misumi
Free recording of Fratres for Cellos
by the Columbia University Orchestra.
A Remixed version for Violin and Piano by Beats Antique of Oakland California

Mari Samuelsen with the Trondheim soloists
NRK1 Christmas concert in Vang church 2011 and 2012 {{Authority control Compositions by Arvo Pärt 1977 compositions