Arvo Pärt's Spiegel in Spiegel.
One of my favorite composers is the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. He invented a style of minimalist composition called tintinnaboli, based on bell-like sounds.
Pärt uses this method frequently in many of his compositions. Tintinnaboli often uses two lines that either contrast or accommodate: The first is called “the voice,” and the second called “the triad.” This can be heard in one of my favorite pieces by Pärt, called Spiegel in Spiegel for piano and either violin or cello. The piano plays the triad, whereas the violin or cello is the voice. Spiegel in Spiegel means “mirror in mirror.”
Yo Yo Ma, in the video I am including in this post, points out that two mirrors facing each other created infinite images and that the cello poses a series of questions. He played this piece at UNESCO, which is next door to the European Space Agency, with accompanying cosmic pictures from the JWST telescope. He views the piece as addressing the infinitude of our cosmos.
I am more inclined to another interpretation.
Arvo Pärt is a committed Orthodox Christian. The Voice thus represents imperfection, or our deepest human need to encounter the Divine, whereas the Triad represents the Perfection of the Trinity. As we look in the mirror, we see, instead of ourselves, the image of Jesus. We encounter ourselves as we face Perfection. We, the Voice, pose questions to the Divine, and the Divine responds.
The minimalist style of Arvo Pärt’s tintinnaboli, its the bell-like sounds, especially in the Triad, speaks to how basic this human need of ours is.
Here is a link to one of my favorite PBS shows with Yo Yo Ma playing Spiegel in Spiegel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVRBfDHSy2w