This eight-minute English-language work was composed in 1996 for the 900th anniversary of Norwich Cathedral in England (Pärt likewise composed the Kanon Pokajanen for the 750th anniversary of Cologne Cathedral), and received its premiere recording as the title track of an album by the American early-music ensemble Theatre of Voices, under the direction of Pärt's longtime champion, Paul Hillier. The polyglot Pärt has composed a number of works in English. Written for unaccompanied voices, the work offers a striking twist on Pärt's "tintinnabuli" technique, based, as the name implies, on bell-like sonorities. Here the composer offers music that, with modification, could almost pass for a Tallis motet. In the middle of the work, however, pedal tones begin to creep in while the polyphonic lines continue as before; the pedal tones then slowly fade away and the music returns to its initial texture. The effect is similar to that experienced by a hearer who gradually becomes aware of the overtones generated by a large sound source, and then hears them diminish. The text of the piece comes from John 15 in the Bible: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser …," from the same speech of Jesus to the disciples that contains the metaphor of the many mansions within the Father's house.

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