Composing using a sequence of chords:

Fratres – Arvo Pärt

Estonian-born Arvo Pärt is one of today’s most popular classical composers, renowned for
the hypnotic tranquillity of his music. Fratres (meaning Fraternity) has a mysterious
ritualistic feeling about it.

- It is based on a sequence of
chords, repeated seven times.

- A sense of continuity is achieved

through a very simple way of
varying the chords.

- The first time the chords are

heard, they are played in a very
high ethereal register of the
string quartet and then, with
each repeat, they sink into a
lower register until their final
dark mysterious repeat.

- The sequence is, more or less,

made up of four-part chords and
the interest is maintained by
revoicing them each time they are heard (for instance, transferring the cello, viola or 2 nd
violin voice to the top line and so forth).

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