{"id":9880,"date":"2024-09-11T19:24:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T19:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=9880"},"modified":"2024-09-11T20:33:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T20:33:08","slug":"between-two-sounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/11\/between-two-sounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Two Sounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Cry of the Heart<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A new graphic novel depicting the life of composer Arvo P\u00e4rt creates striking visual resonances for both music and prayer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Review by Micah Clark<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A monk-ish silhouette climbs a steep white line across a pitch-black page. His disconnected thoughts float around him inside perfect white circles. He feels the weight of Calvary on his shoulders. \u201cThis road to Golgotha will last an eternity,\u201d he cries. He reaches the edge of the line and rests his hands on his knees, a skeptic before the abyss.<\/p>

The next page is white, and a swirling black line descends from heaven, coming to rest as a black circle\u2014is it a musical notehead?\u2014just above infant Arvo P\u00e4rt\u2019s head. As the story continues, the lines and circles move beyond simple musical notation mimics to represent the essence of anything that can\u2019t be reduced to pictures and words. They\u2019re ideas.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Joonas Sildre\u2019s graphic novel Between Two Sounds: Arvo P\u00e4rt\u2019s Journey to His Musical Language<\/em> is a book about a man\u2019s lifelong quest to transcribe prayer onto the musical page\u2014not just words<\/em> of prayer, but the deep, inexpressible cries of the heart. If it is impossible to draw the experience of writing and listening to music, then a graphic novel that attempts to do so is a ripe format to engage this tension. Sildre limits his color palette to black, white, and beige. Three colors, the hues of a spiritual and creative desert, one for each member of a musical triad, or for each member of the Trinity. His art style is as restrained as the music of his subject.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The creative process is not typically an interesting thing, nor is prayer.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The narrative is divided into four parts: Prologue, Credo, Silentium, and Tabula Rasa. It\u2019s a common tale of the USSR: P\u00e4rt grows up musically gifted but stifled by the watchful eye of the state. Estonia is far from Moscow and, because the state had to squint to see him, P\u00e4rt enjoys greater freedom than most. In his youth, he is tutored by a faithful piano teacher who first plants the seed that studying music is the path to a deeper understanding. Upon his graduation, she writes, \u201cthe ability to notice and the talent to fully hear a single note are components of wisdom.\u201d The writer of the Proverbs says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and music is how God will reveal himself to P\u00e4rt.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Sildre sketches many vignettes of musical genesis, the burgeoning of what George Crumb calls one\u2019s \u201cmusical DNA.\u201d P\u00e4rt gets a job as a sound engineer at a lenient national radio station where he gains access to banned broadcasts. He accompanies children\u2019s music groups and writes film music for cartoons. His personal compositions experiment with collage and modernism as he tries to forge his own voice. His audiences note that he has a \u201cspecial aura\u201d about him.<\/p>

Despite all this, it\u2019s important to Sildre that we experience the boring parts of P\u00e4rt\u2019s story: the creative process is not typically an interesting thing, nor is prayer. Artists slave away in practice until the mundane becomes the joyful. Saints pray until they feel what they say deep inside them. At one point, P\u00e4rt describes composing as \u201cbloodletting.\u201d Softening the heart is a long process. Liturgy is a slog. His wife, Nora, encourages him to thank God for the chance to fail. Eureka moments don\u2019t really occur for P\u00e4rt. It\u2019s more like fumbling in the dark hoping to find something. Sildre\u2019s drawing of one such moment recalls the black abyss of the opening, but this time it\u2019s not in the abstract:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

What once seemed a curse is now an opportunity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This is where Sildre\u2019s minimalist aesthetic is most impactful: it communicates that practice and prayer can be agonizing. When the black abyss motif occurs a third time, it is not a moment of personal triumph, but a leap into God\u2019s hands. What once seemed a curse is now an opportunity.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It turns out to be Nora who prods P\u00e4rt to convert to Orthodoxy from Lutheranism, and here is where the figurative desert Sildre has been sketching becomes literal. He draws a story that P\u00e4rt reads in a foundational Orthodox text about a monk who lived in a cave praying without ceasing, then ties this to a new piece P\u00e4rt writes about the biblical figure of Sarah receiving a revelation from God. The circular symbols dwindle to eyeballs, no longer representing an idea but an absence of an idea: silence. Sildre uses the circle to carry us through\u00a0P\u00e4rt’s transition: the scene transforms around the circle so it is recontextualized first as silence, then the monk’s eyeball, P\u00e4rt’s eyeball, and finally the kernel of a baby in Sarah’s womb. \u201cSarah Was Ninety Years Old\u201d becomes P\u00e4rt\u2019s first major work after a ten-year period of silence. The subtlety of Sildre\u2019s visual language fits the theme of the story perfectly. No musical work or textual biography could capture it quite like this.<\/p>

For that matter, no music theory class could plumb these depths. Sildre largely stays away from the technical details of P\u00e4rt\u2019s new tintinnabuli technique, but he does illustrate\u00a0P\u00e4rt’s music moving from dense textures to light ones. At performances of his early works, abrasive walls of lines and dots rush at the overwhelmed audience, and Sildre uses the full spread as a single large panel.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Contrast with where he ends up:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The new sound is difficult for P\u00e4rt to articulate when he’s asked. He claims his creative process has not changed, but he himself has been transformed. He says music contains a “great secret\u2026 only in music can I express it” and admits he doesn’t know what the secret is. He talks about composition like he is gaining access to some mystery, not that he himself is creating.<\/p>

To read the novel is to seek after that mystery. If P\u00e4rt is showing me what prayer sounds like, Sildre shows us how talking to the Savior can be drawn. His style in the book is like P\u00e4rt\u2019s music: the closer you look at his simple drawings, the more details appear. It\u2019s an invitation to meditate with P\u00e4rt on the mysteries of what it means to speak to God. I left the book thinking not of swirling dots or lines but of P\u00e4rt’s humble devotion throughout his life. As a boy, he looked up to the loudspeaker in the town square to absorb the music. As an adult, he looks heavenward for God\u2019s direction in his style. Whenever Sildre depicts one of P\u00e4rt\u2019s concerts, he never shows the audience respond at the end. For P\u00e4rt, no earthly ear matters. He plays for an audience of one.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Micah Clark<\/strong> is a composer who lives outside Chicago. You can find his music at www.soundcloud.com\/micahsclark<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Between Two Sounds: Arvo P\u00e4rt\u2019s Journey to His Musical<\/strong> Language<\/em> was released in English, translated by Adam Cullen, by Plough Publishing House on September 3, 2024. Fare Forward<\/em> appreciates their provision of an advance copy to our reviewer. You can purchase a copy here<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new graphic novel depicting the life of composer Arvo P\u00e4rt creates striking visual resonances for both music and prayer. Review by Micah Clark<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-newsletter","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Between-Two-Sounds-3D.jpg?fit=1500%2C1383&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9880"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9902,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9880\/revisions\/9902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}