' (''Hail Holy Queen'', literally: Hail, Queen) is a Marian

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

, a setting by

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 ...

of the Latin

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

" Salve Regina" for mixed choir and organ in 2001. It was first performed in Essen Cathedral on 22 May 2002. It was published by

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...

in 2002. Pärt arranged the composition for choir, celesta and string orchestra in 2011 for a celebration of 150 years of Italian unity.

History

' was commissioned for the celebration on 22 May 2002 of 1150 years since the foundation of '' Stift Essen (Essen Abbey)'' and the city of

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

. The day was also the 75th birthday of

Hubert Luthe Hubert Luthe (22 May 1927 – 4 February 2014) was a German Roman Catholic bishop. Ordained to the priesthood in 1951, Luthe was appointed titular bishop of ''Egabro'' and auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany. In 1 ...

, then Bishop of Essen, to whom the work is dedicated. It was Luthe's wish to have a setting of this text to venerate the

Golden Madonna ''Golden Madonna'' (Italian: ''La madonnina d'oro'') is a 1949 British-Italian drama film directed by Luigi Carpentieri and Ladislao Vajda and starring Phyllis Calvert, Tullio Carminati and Michael Rennie. It was considered a lost film and was o ...

. ' was performed by three choirs of the cathedral with the organist Jürgen Karsawa, conducted by Wolfgang Endrös. The work in one movement takes about 12 minutes to perform. It was published by

in July 2002. Pärt arranged the composition for choir,

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

and

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

in 2011 for a celebration of 150 years of Italian unity. It was commissioned by the cities of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and was first performed at the .

Music

The work in E minor is mostly in 3/4 time. After an instrumental introduction of 12 measure, all parts sing the greeting "" in unison, marked ''piano'' (soft). After four instrumental measures the theme is continued, again in unison with a falling line of even long notes: "" (mother of mercy), after two instrumental measures followed by "" (sweet life), after two more measures "" (and our hope, hail). For the following petition, the voices are divided in an upper choir of three women's voices, singing "" (To you we cry), and a lower choir of three men's voices continuing "" (exiles, sons of Eve), alternating as in psalm recitation. While the instrumental interludes and accompaniment move in even quarter notes, sometimes even livelier, the voices stay on each note for at least a measure, often for several measures on one syllable. The dynamics remain soft, intensified to no more than ''mp'' (mezzo-piano) in the middle of the phrases. For the next petition, the upper chorus is formed by soprano, alto and tenor, singing "" (To you we sigh), continued by alto, tenor and bass: "" (mourning and weeping in this valley of tears). The petitions are repeated, more intensely by a division in eight vocal parts, but still ''piano''. Only tenor and bass begin a new section, marked ''mp'': "" (therefore, our advocate). The text "" (your merciful eyes towards us turn) is expressed, marked "" (slowing) and ''mf'', in

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

, with the voices picking up the instrumental quarter note movement. In contrast, "" (and Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb) is rendered in mysterious pianissimo unison, followed, after a general pause by a sudden strong outburst: "" (to us after this exile show), on mostly dissonant chords, one every measure, ending on an eight-part unresolved chord. The final line is soft again and for the first time in 4/4 time. The text "" (O merciful, o good, o sweet virgin Mary) is divided in four parts, separated by instrumental measures. While the sopranos and altos sing long chords, the tenors and basses repeat in unison each phrase three times, the last one, in 6/4 time, even five times, slowing down ('). After a last instrumental phrase, the composer requests a full measure of silence. A program note comments: "it builds very gradually to a late, majestic climax—unison vocal lines at the outset, broader harmonies later, some intriguing eccentricities in the organ part along the way".

Recordings

The first recording of ' is part of ''Pärt: Triodion & other choral works'', performed by

Polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

, conducted by

Stephen Layton Stephen David Layton (born 23 December 1966) is an English conductor. Biography Layton was raised in Derby, where his father was a church organist. He was a chorister at Winchester Cathedral, and subsequently won scholarships to Eton College a ...

, and published by Hyperion. It was recorded in 2003 in the presence of the composer at London's

Temple Church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...

. ' is part of a collection of music by Pärt titled ', performed by the

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princip ...

, conducted by

Paul Hillier Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-foun ...

, with organist

Christopher Bowers-Broadbent Christopher Bowers-Broadbent is an English organist and composer. Biography Christopher Bowers-Broadbent was born on 13 January 1945. He was a chorister in the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and went on to study organ and composition at ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salve Regina (Part) Compositions by Arvo Pärt

Part Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer *Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) an ...

2001 compositions Compositions in E minor