The Best of Arvo Pärt

The Best Of Arvo Pärt is a compilation album released in 2004 under the Virgin and EMI Classics for Pleasure labels, offering a comprehensive and accessible overview of the unique oeuvre of the Estonian master composer Arvo Pärt. The CD contains a total of 16 works that represent the holy minimalism Pärt is renowned for, alongside his hypnotic, bell-like tintinnabuli composition style. Included are several of the composer's most revered landmarks—such as the poignant string orchestra piece Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten, the delicate Summa, the meditative Spiegel im Spiegel, and the complete 7 Magnificat-Antiphonen composed for choir. The pieces are performed by a wide array of world-class talents: the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Paavo Järvi, is responsible for most of the orchestral works, while the Bournemouth Sinfonietta performs under the direction of Richard Studt. Vocal duties are handled by the chamber choir Vasari Singers led by Jeremy Backhouse—interpreting, among others, the choral version of Summa—and the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, helmed by Stephen Cleobury and accompanied by organist David Goode, while the album's intimate instrumental duos feature violinist Tasmin Little together with pianist Martin Roscoe.