L'abbé Agathon

Composed to grace the senses of both soprano and eight violoncellos, "L’abbé Agathon" draws its inspiration from the venerable Maladrerie Saint-Lazare, a bastion of antiquity among Europe's leper hospitals. These timeworn remnants, bearing the weight of centuries since the 12th, repose in proximity to the quaint enclave of Beauvais.

Pärt's serendipitous encounter with a 4th-century legend, ensconced within the pages of a compendium chronicling the sagas of Desert Fathers—those devout Christian ascetics of Egypt's wastelands—kindled the spark for this opus. The legend, a vestige of antiquity, recounts a profound parable, the encounter betwixt the recluse Agathon and a leper, who scrutinized the essence of Agathon's being in a symphony of trials. Only upon the crucible of these tribulations did the leper unfurl his true form, an ethereal emissary dispatched by the Divine.

In "L’abbé Agathon," Pärt deftly weaves a sonic tapestry, entwining history, faith, and the crucible of existential trial into harmonious strains—a paean to the mystical union of mortal and celestial.

Arvo Pärt: “St. Agathon is associated with several legends involving lepers. One of the best-known says that Agathon’s love was so great that he was willing to exchange his body with that of a leper. Three musical situations dominate the piece: Agathon on the way to the market, characterized by his gait heavy with the leper on his shoulders, the dialogues between the leper and Agathon, and life at the market. The coda is a surprising dramaturgical turning point – but also a logical conclusion to the idea which brings the entire notion of Agathon to a head.”