De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

Here’s the Arvo Pärt (“Passio” - his own setting of St. John’s telling of the Passion narrative, John 18:1-40). This recording by the Hilliard ensemble is still my favourite, 30 years after it’s release. Pärt, a living Estonian composer born in 1935, is, together with Henryk Gorecki, one of the best known exponents of a musical style that is, at once, ancient and modern, that some call “Holy Minimalism”. The final moments of his Passio, when Pärt adds an extra line of text sung by the Chorus to round things off, breaks me every time I hear it, and I’m sure today will be no different. “You who have suffered for us, have mercy upon us. Amen."  

Anyone in need of help finding a way into prayer or of simply unwinding after a stressful day should watch this YouTube video which brings together the beautifully meditative minimalism of Arvo Pärt's Spiegel Im Spiegel (in its version for 'cello + piano), a selection of stunning nature photos and some well chosen quotes. Sit back, relax and enjoy this (full screen and on headphones if you're not connected to decent speakers). The music was recently used at a key point in Richard Curtis' film "About Time" which I wrote about in a previous article.