Reviewed by John Irvine

No, you read the artists' name correctly: the artists formerly known as the Soviet-something-or-other are strapped for cash these days and desperate to raise funds somehow. This is very good news for enterprising budget-priced label Naxos. What better way to create a catalogue of classical recordings with very little capital outlay. The philosophy has paid off big bucks allowing the label to record with some Western artists, but more importantly to invest in recordings of contemporary music - still within copyright and therefore more expensive to produce. This is one of the new recordings, featuring the instrumental works of Arvo Part. Or I should say. four pieces by Part: of the nine tracks here filling up nearly 80 minutes of disc space, six are arrangements of the same music material, "Fratres", which, in its varying forms, has proved to be one of Part's most enduring and popular instrumental works. The idea is simple: since the piece is so popular, why not do a recording with as many versions on it as possible with some fillers to pad it out and break up the monotony? Unfortunately, it doesn't work: the versions of "Fratres" available elsewhere - cello ensemble (track 7), string quartet (track 4) and cello/piano duet (track 5) - do not compare well, and the cello/piano version while suitably restrained has some painful moments. It also differs from the score I have in the opening arpeggios, which I found to be bizarre. The first two versions - for strings alone and for violin and strings - are far too similar to sit side by side without tedium setting in. The versions of "Festina Lente". "Summa" and "Cantus" used here to separate the various versions of "Fratres" are adequately performed, but fail to redeem the collection as a whole. Avoid.

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