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Spiegel im Spiegel

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Spiegel im Spiegel
Chamber music by Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt in 2008
KeyF major
Composed1978 (1978)
Scoring
  • violin or other melody instrument
  • piano

Spiegel im Spiegel (German for 'mirror(s) in the mirror') is a composition by Arvo Pärt written in 1978, just before his departure from Estonia. The piece is in the tintinnabular style, in which a melodic voice (operating over diatonic scales) and a tintinnabular voice (operating within a triad on the tonic) accompany each other. The piece is about ten minutes long.

Description

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Pärt's first published musical compositions were complex and challenging, and lacked traditional melodies. During the 1970s, he wrote music that was minimalist and meditative in its style, Spiegel im Spiegel being an early example. Pärt coined the term tintinnabuli to describe the style of his compositions.[1] Spiegel im Spiegel was written for piano and violin, though the violin can be replaced with a cello or a viola.[2][3]

The piece is an example of minimal music. It was written in the scale of F major in 6/4 time. The piano plays a seemingly endless series of rising triads, as exemplified by the introductory first three bars:

{\clef treble \key f \major \tempo 2=54 \time 6/4 {c'' f'' a'' c'' f'' a'' c'' f'' a'' c'' f'' a'' c'' f'' a'' c'' f'' a'' }}

An infinity mirror on display at the National Museum of Technology, Warsaw. The title of the composition refers to an infinity mirror.

The violin melody consists of slow F major scales that rise or fall; they increase in length during the piece, all ending on the same note[4] The alternation between ascending and descending phrases pivoted on the note A, along with the overturning of the final intervals between adjacent phrases (for example, ascending sixth in the question—descending sixth in the answer), contributes to give the impression of a figure reflecting on a mirror and walking back and towards it.[citation needed]

Initially, the melody consists of only two notes, with another note being added with each of the following phrases, thus creating a seemingly endless continuum. After each distancing, the melody returns to the central pitch of A, which, according to the composer, is like "returning home after being away". The piano part accompanies the melody part at each step like a "guardian angel", as the composer himself likes to say. In addition to the accompaniment, the piano part includes tintinnabuli notes—like little bells that alternately sound above and below the melodic line, following a fixed formula.[5]

The German phrase Spiegel im Spiegel ('mirror in the mirror' or 'mirrors in the mirror') refers to an infinity mirror,[4] which produces an infinity of images reflected by parallel plane mirrors.[6] The title directly describes the music, as descending melodic line mirrors every ascending phrase.[5]

Performance

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Spiegel im Spiegel received its premiere in December 1978 at the Moscow Conservatory with the composer as the soloist and Boris Bekhterev accompanying at the piano.[5]

The composition poses a challenge to the soloist, as, according to Pärt, "Everything redundant must be left aside. Just like the composer has to reduce his ego when writing the music, the musician too must put his ego aside when performing the piece." Purity and innocence are the qualities valued by the composer in the performance of his music.[5] According to the violinist Tasmin Little, the work is difficult for the soloist to perform because the mood it conveys can depend so much on how it is played.[4]

Adaptations

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Film

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YearTypeTitleDirectorreference
1996filmMother NightKeith Gordon
2001filmIn Praise of LoveJean-Luc Godard
2001filmThe Officers' WardFrançois Dupeyron
2001filmWitMike Nichols[7]
2002filmGerryGus Van Sant[7]
2002short filmDans le Noir du TempsJean-Luc Godard
2002filmHeavenTom Tykwer[7]
2002filmSoldados de Salamina (Spain)David Trueba
2002filmSwept AwayGuy Ritchie[7]
2002filmOn the Occasion of Remembering the Turning GateHong Sang-soo
2004filmDear FrankieShona Auerbach[7]
2004mini-seriesNorth & SouthBrian Percival
2005filmTime to LeaveFrançois Ozon
2005documentaryAuschwitz: The Nazis and 'The Final Solution'Laurence Rees and Catherine Tatge
2008filmElegyIsabel Coixet[7]
2011filmBurning ManJonathan Teplitzky
2011filmThis Must Be the PlacePaolo Sorrentino[7]
2011documentaryThe Umbrella Man - New York Times Op-DocsErrol Morris
2012filmThe LetterJay Anania[7]
2012trailerSilent House
2013filmAbout TimeRichard Curtis[7]
2013trailerGravityAlfonso Cuarón
2013filmThe EastZal Batmanglij[7]
2013filmMovie 43Peter Farrelly and others[7]
2014filmThe Way He LooksDaniel Ribeiro
2015filmArabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless OneMiguel Gomes
2017filmFoxtrotSamuel Maoz
2021filmYou Won't Be AloneGoran Stolevski

Dance

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YearPerformance byCountryTitleChoreographer
2009Northern BalletUKDraculaDavid Nixon
2007PilobolusUSRushes
2005After the RainChristopher Wheeldon
1985OthelloJohn Neumeier
1995Sylvie Guillem and Niklas EkSmokeMats Ek
1998Ballet AustinStephen Mills

Theatre

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YearLocationTitlePlaywright
2007New YorkEurydiceSarah Ruhl
2007Venezuela120 vidas x minuto ("120 Lives a Minute")Gustavo Ott
Czech RepublicForgotten Light ("Zapomenuté světlo")Jakub Deml
2016FranceThe Glass MenagerieTennessee Williams
2012St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, CanadaOthelloWilliam Shakespeare

Recordings

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In 2011, Spiegel im Spiegel was the focus of a 30-minute BBC Radio 4 programme, Soul Music. During the programme, the violinist Tasmin Little discussed her relationship with the piece.[8]

YearArtistsAlbumLabel
1980Gidon Kremer and Elena KremerKonzert nach dem KonzertEurodisc
1999AlinaECM New Series[note 1]
2016Niki Vasilakis and Deanna DjuricSacred
2009Nicola BenedettiFantasie

Notes

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  1. ↑ The album was recorded with the participation of Pärt. It includes three versions of Spiegel im Spiegel (two for violin and piano, and one for cello and piano). The tempo of the first version of Spiegel im Spiegel is 69 bpm and has a more sombre feel. The tempo of the second version is faster at 85 bpm and gives the sense of pushing forward. The tempo of the third version is faster than the first and slower than the second at 78 bpm.[9]

References

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  1. ↑ "Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel". Classic FM (UK). Global Media & Entertainment. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  2. ↑ Hillier 1997, p. 209.
  3. ↑ "Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel for violin and piano". Universal Edition. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Spiegel im Spiegel". BBC. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Works: Spiegel im Spiegel". Arvo Pärt Centre. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Look Into Infinity: Images of images of images can repeat forever". Exploratorium. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Spiegel im Spiegel (Arvo Pärt)". MoviePilot (in German). Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "Spiegel im Spiegel". Radio 4: Soul Music. BBC. Archived from the original on 1 December 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Arvo Pärt: Alina". ECM Records. Retrieved 12 November 2020.

Sources

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Further reading

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