Arvo Pärt

Listening to Litany by Arvo Pärt, based on the 24 prayers of St. John Chrysostom - one for each hour of the day.

Arvo Pärt in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, 2008
(from the Wikipedia entry)

"In the Soviet Union once, I spoke with a monk and asked him how, as a composer, one can improve oneself. He answered me by saying that he knew of no solution. I told him that I also wrote prayers, and set prayers and the texts of psalms to music, and that perhaps this would be of help to me as a composer. To this he said, "No, you are wrong. All the prayers have already been written. You don't need to write any more. Everything has been prepared. Now you have to prepare yourself.""

Arvo Pärt