“Between Two Sounds” by Joonas Sildre is a thoughtful and beautiful graphic novel that takes a look at the life and music of the famous Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. The book starts with Arvo’s childhood and continues to describe his personal as well as artistic life and journey in finding his unique style as a composer. The book focuses on how Pärt developed his unique musical style called tintinnabuli. This style is simple yet beautiful, using quiet, peaceful sounds that create a sense of calm and spirituality. The author, Joonas Sildre, does a great job explaining how Pärt’s music is influenced by his personal experiences, especially his deep religious beliefs. The book shows how Pärt went through a long period of silence in his life, where he stopped composing music. This silence was important because it helped him find a new way to write music, focusing on simplicity and depth. It also shows what life was like for musicians and other creative people in Soviet Estonia, where creativity was tightly controlled. Making anything spiritual or religious was banned under the Soviet regime and could lead to serious consequences. What makes this book special is that it gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Pärt’s creative process and the reasons behind his musical choices. It also explores how his music connects to the sounds of bells and ancient church music. I recommend this book to anyone interested in music, especially classical or spiritual music. I also suggest it for people who are new to graphic novels, as the illustrations and dialogue are easy to follow. If you already enjoy Arvo Pärt’s music, this book will help you understand his work more deeply. And of course, the reading experience can be enhanced by playing his music in the background.
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Editor: Aile Tooming
Translator: Adam Cullen
Published: Plough Publishing House, 2024
Check availability in our libraries : „Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt’s Journey to His Musical Language“ in ESTER, original in Estonian „Kahe heli vahel : graafiline romaan Arvo Pärdist“ ESTERis
Elo Pruss
Liivalaia library
