Arvo Pärt: And Then Came the Evening and the Morning

Arvo Pärt’s compositions combine elements of minimalism, the avant-garde, and sacred music, none of which particularly pleased the old Soviet cultural ministers. Yet, he became the world’s most performed composer in the years 2011-2018 and yet again in 2022. He wasn’t there yet in 1990, but Dorian Supin was present to document Pärt just as his international renown was about to explode. Supin’s intimate profile also keenly reflects the austere aesthetics of its subject. Fittingly, Supin’s Arvo Pärt: And Then Came the Evening and the Morning screens tomorrow at Anthology Film Archives, as part of a new record release.

The film starts while Pärt and his family were still in exile in West Berlin, so obviously much has changed since then. Supin had up-close, personal access, being Pärt’s brother-in-law. He also clearly understands Pärt’s music, especially its deeply spiritual resonance. Indeed, he intuitively grasped the need to hear his music as it is intended to be heard, rather than mere snippets. For instance, playing “Pari Intervallo” over the closing credits, gives it time to sink in, so the audience can get it.

Supin follows Pärt as he rehearses with large orchestras and chorale groups throughout Europe. Ironically, he contrasts Pärt’s growing prestige with man-on-the-street segments, in which nobody recognizes the composer’s name—not even musicians. Again, much has changed.

In some ways, Pärt appears to be a singular, almost saintly figure. For instance, when one gushing fan tells the composer: “Its as if God were here with us,” he responds: “He is. I mean it. How could it be otherwise.” However, Supin also shows us Pärt’s humorous side, as when he performs the old banana phone gag.

Viewing Supin’s documentary with the benefit of thirty-five years of hindsight, we can appreciate the unlikeliness of Pärt’s triumph. He remains one of the world’s most important composers, who had to endure censorship during Estonia’s dark Soviet Socialist years. Yet, Pärt better represents self-reflection than self-promotion. Highly recommended as an aptly representative portrait of the artist, Arvo Pärt: And Then Came the Evening and the Morning screens tomorrow night (3/19) at Anthology Film Archives.