Between Two Sounds, the Arvo Part Graphic Novel

Artists like to pretend they are dissenters, but they usually move in lock-step with their social environment. However, if being out-of-step signifies greatness, Arvo Part might be the greatest composer of all time. A solid case can also be made on pure musical grounds. He composed Fur Alina, after all. Unfortunately, Part faced resistance and sometimes outright censorship from the Soviet regime, but the Estonian composer still achieved greatness. Writer-artist Joonas Sildre chronicles Part’s life, while explaining the development of his music in Between Two Sounds: Arvo Part’s Journey to his Musical Language, translated by Adam Cullen, which goes on-sale this Tuesday

Even as a young boy, Part exhibited prodigious musical talent. Of course, growing up during the war was difficult. Things were just as bad under the new Communist regime. Fortunately, his mother and step-father’s modest means kept them living under the regime’s radar. However, the more Part’s musical career advanced, the more the Party bureaucracy constrained him.

Nevertheless, Part was blessed with teacher’s who encouraged his experimental studies. Yet, in his early professional years, many of his most important works only premiered because they slipped through the system. In one instance, the musical union authorities were literally outside Estonia for a Soviet conference. After discovering Gregorian chants, Part began melding forms of ancient liturgical music with his avant-garde minimalist conceptions, which from the perspective of Soviet propaganda, was the worst of two worlds.

Despite their antagonism, Part became arguably the greatest living composer of our time. You might not think you know his work, but if you saw Avengers: Age of Ultron, There Will Be Blood, The Thin Red Line, or Michael Mann’s The Insider than you have heard licensed Part compositions. Regardless, Sildre does a fantastic job explaining the technical aspects of Part’s music, such as his doubling of voices.

Between Two Sounds also fully explores Part’s conversion to Orthodox Christianity. In fact, it was their faith that made Part and his wife Nora (who converted first) almost immune to the state’s repression. Ironically, the Communist Party essentially forced them to apply for permission to immigrate to Israel (presumably because of Nora’s Jewish heritage) to be rid of them, in the only legal face-saving way then technically allowed by the Soviet Union.

Sildre wrote the graphic novel in close consultation with Part, so he had the benefit of the Maestro’s musical insights. Even if you are unfamiliar with modern classical music, Sildre does a fantastic job representing it, with both words and images. Fittingly you can see the influence of Soviet era illustrative styles on Sildre’s art, which helps evoke the era.

As a result, this might be one of the best biographical graphic novels in quite some time. It holds a great deal of visual power, while capturing the artistry and humility of its subject. The art is striking, but the substance is considerable. Very highly recommended, Between Two Sounds: Arvo Part’s Journey to his Musical Language goes on-sale this Tuesday (9/3).