“Keep Your Mind in Hell and Despair Not”: Dealing with the Wounds and Complicities of 20th Century Orthodoxy in Estonia Through the Theology of St Sophrony (Sakharov) and Arvo Pärt

The story of Estonian Orthodoxy, as often told through the narrative of collective trauma, is not homogeneous and uncontested. The co-existence of two Orthodox communities in present-day Estonia, each insisting on exclusive canonical legitimacy and holding different views of the past, the incomplete work of transitional justice, and the untold story of political collaboration appear as irreconcilable differences that challenge the ideals of Christian unity. In order to address these unresolved problems of a traumatic past, the paper will turn to the ascetic theology of twentieth-century Orthodox saints St Silouan (1866–1938) and St Sophrony Sakharov (1896–1993) and to the musical oeuvres of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (b. 1935). The approach of these Orthodox ascetics, the article argues, provides an important perspective on Christian mission in a wounded world.

Jurisprudencialismo e Idiomas Vizinhos - Diálogos com Castanheira Neves

Como todas as Obras maiores, a pensamento filosófico-jurídico de António Castanheira Neves impõe-se-nos com o esplendor matinal de uma luz branca, capaz de estimular uma dinâmica de receção infinita e de estabelecer um luminoso (mas nem por isso menos exigente) diálogo com outras vozes e outros discursos (e com os prismas de refração-decomposição que estes geram). Esta referência directa a um conhecido dictum de Arvo Pärt (invocando uma luz branca que contém todas as cores) faz especial sentido quando nos confrontamos com a presente monografia e com o espectro de vinte autores (dos dois lados do Atlântico) que lhe dá vida. Os ensaios agora reunidos percorrem na verdade dimensões capitais dessa Obra e da concepção jurisprudencialista do Direito que esta propõe, mas assumem perspectivas e frequentam fronteiras muito distintas (quando não discutem diversas projecções na realidade e no seu law in action), garantindo assim à «imagem» do conjunto o sentido e a autenticidade (mas também a produtividade) de uma conversação responsável.

Arvo Pärt’s Music: Facets of the Tintinnabuli Technique

"This article comprises an analysis of two of the religious works signed by the Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt, both written in the tintinnabuli technique, 9 years apart - De profundis and Miserere. After an overview of the tintinnabuli concept and after indicating their technical features, I have observed how the minimalist compositional method, specific to Pärt, has acquired elasticity, as years went by. Nonetheless, the hermeneutical principles which the composer intended to soundly integrate in his composition style are preserved, regardless of how the tintinnabuli technique arises (strict or elastic). In both musical works analyzed, the tintinnabuli technique (technique used in composition since 1976) does not refer to serialization of sound parameters, but addresses the algorithmizing process of the musical material, which originates from formal and philosophical thinking. Keywords: tintinnabuli, minimalism, holy minimalism, Arvo Pärt."