Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten (sampleⓘ) is a short canon in A minor, written in 1977 by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, for string orchestra and bell.

Its appeal is often ascribed to its relative simplicity; a single melodic motif dominates and it both begins and ends with scored silence.

[3] It is perhaps Pärt's most popular piece, and a 1997 recording by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra conducted by Tamas Benedek has been widely distributed.

Due to its evocative and cinematic feel, the piece has been used extensively as background accompaniment in both film and television documentaries.

The former "always signifies the subjective world, the daily egoistic life of sin and suffering, [the latter] meanwhile, is the objective realm of forgiveness.

The idea of musical modes was known to the ancient Greeks, and each was said to have a specific character which could strongly affect the mind.

After the bell has struck there is a brief pause for three beats of silence, and then the first violins begin setting the pattern which the rest of the ensemble will follow at slower speeds.

This creates a swirling effect of increasing tension which is relieved by dropping the note.

Then the violas, which are the only voice not doubled, join in at quarter speed and another octave lower, the cellos at one eighth, and finally the contrabasses as one sixteenth.

Similarly the other voices gradually find the note that they have been seeking and once reached, they play it continuously until the end.

At that moment, the bell is struck very quietly (pianissimo) so that the striking itself is not heard, but only the reverberations as it dies away.