Published
De profundis
Pärt composed the work a year after he left Estonia, first for Vienna and then Berlin. He set Psalm 130 in Latin, a text speaking of profound distress which has inspired composers through the centuries, from polyphonic settings by Josquin des Prez to use in an opera of the 21st century by Lera Auerbach. Pärt composed the work in his personal tintinnabuli style, using simple means of expression.
They begin in low register, rising and reaching a passage of unison of the four parts, before returning to silence, marked by a final sound of a bell.
Dedicated to the Austrian composer Gottfried von Einem.