Listeners often speak of a certain mystery in the way that Arvo evokes spirituality through his music, but no one has taken a sustained, close look at how he achieves this. Arvo: Out of Silence examines the powerful interplay between music and the composer own deep roots in the Orthodox Christian faith a relationship that has born much creative fruit and won the hearts of countless listeners across the globe.

Praise for Out of Silence

A luminous engagement of music, philosophy, and belief.

LAURIE ANDERSON, Composer, musician, performance artist

Many of us have written about it, but one thing was missing, the view from within the Orthodox Christian tradition that has guided work since the 1970s. This has now been provided by Peter Bouteneff, writing with clarity, precision, and the graceful authority of one who knows what he is talking about.

PAUL HILLIER, Co-founder, the Hilliard Ensemble, author, Arvo (Oxford, 1997)

By parsing the connections between music and the Christian faith, Bouteneff demonstrates the central paradox of the phenomenon: that a musician so deeply rooted in the particulars of a rich Christian tradition can, precisely on that basis, create music that continues to appeal to listeners across religious and cultural lines. This book is a triumph.

ROBERT SALER, Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis

This illuminating meditation on the pillars of music word, silence, and bright sadness gives voice to what many intuit in the music and is a game changer for scholarship. Unafraid to traverse the same boundaries of religion, spirituality, and popular culture as music, Bouteneff's book is essential reading for those devoted to music and interested in the place of Orthodox Christianity in public

JEFFERS ENGELHARDT , Amherst College

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A professor of theology and a conservatory-trained musician, Peter Bouteneff has been an ardent and attentive listener of Arvo PÌ music ever since he came to know the composer personally in 1990. He teaches systematic theology and spirituality at St Vladimir Seminary, where he also co-directs the Arvo PÌ_rt Project.