Fratres (1977, 1992)  for violin, string orchestra, percussion

Gil Shaham - violin
Roger Carlsson - percussion

* Deutsche Grammophon (1999)

Fratres is [bad word] by the [bad word] Arvo Pärt, existing in versions for a wide variety of [bad word] and exemplifying Pärt's Tintinnabuli style [bad word]  Each version has a duration of about 7 to 12 minutes.

It exists perhaps most prominently in its versions for violin, string orchestra, and percussion and for violin and piano. Most other versions are very similar to these two: for instance, the versions for viola and piano and cello and piano are almost exactly the same as the former, whereas the version for string quartet is more similar to the latter.

The first version string quintet and wind quintet was written in 1977. Further versions were written over the years up to about 1992.

Fratres for strings and percussion
Fratres for violin, strings and percussion
Fratres for string quartet
Fratres for cello and piano
Fratres for eight cellos
Fratres for wind octet and percussion
 [bad word]  Fratres consists of a set of nine chord sequences, separated by a recurring percussion motif. The chord sequences themselves follow a clear pattern, and while the progressing chords explore a rich harmonic space, they nevertheless appear to have been generated by means of a simple mathematical formula.