John Tavener
Encyclopedia
Sir John Tavener is a British
composer
, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos". He began as a prodigy; in 1968, at the age of 24, he was described by the Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while the Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he has become one of the best known and regarded composers of his generation. Tavener was knight
ed in 2000 for his services to music. He has won an Ivor Novello Award.
, London
, England, and claims to be a direct descendant of the 16th-century composer John Taverner
. He was educated at Highgate School
(where a fellow pupil was John Rutter
) and at the Royal Academy of Music
, where his tutors included Sir Lennox Berkeley
. He first came to prominence in 1968 with his dramatic cantata The Whale, based on the Old Testament story of Jonah
. It was premièred at the London Sinfonietta
's début concert and later recorded by Apple Records
. The following year he began teaching at Trinity College of Music
, London. Other works released by Apple included his Celtic Requiem
. In 1977, he joined the Russian Orthodox Church
. Orthodox theology and Orthodox liturgical traditions became a major influence on his work. He was particularly drawn to its mysticism
, studying and setting to music the writings of Church Fathers
such as St John Chrysostom.
One of Tavener's most popular and frequently performed works is his short unaccompanied four-part choral setting of William Blake
's The Lamb
, written for his nephew, Simon, on his third birthday one afternoon in 1982. This simple, homophonic piece is usually performed as a Christmas carol
. More important, however, were his explorations of Russian and Greek culture, as shown in "Akhmatova Requiem" and "Sixteen Haiku of Seferis". Later prominent works include The Akathist of Thanksgiving (1987, written in celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church); The Protecting Veil
(first performed by cellist Steven Isserlis
and the London Symphony Orchestra
at the 1989 Proms
); and Song for Athene
(1993, performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
in 1997). Following Diana's death he also composed and dedicated to her memory the piece Eternity's Sunrise, based on poetry by William Blake
.
It has been reported, particularly in the British press, that Tavener left Orthodox Christianity
to explore a number of other different religious traditions, including Hinduism
and Islam
, and became a follower of the mystic philosopher Frithjof Schuon
. While he has in recent years incorporated elements of non-Western music into his compositions, Tavener remains an Orthodox Christian, although his brother, Roger, tended towards Sufi
. In 2003 he composed the exceptionally large work The Veil of the Temple (which was premièred at the Temple Church, Fleet Street, London), based on texts from a number of religions. It is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours. The 2004 première of his piece Prayer of the Heart written for and performed by Björk
, was featured on CD and incorporated as the soundtrack to Jake Lever's installation Centre + Circumference (2008, Wallspace, All Hallows on the Wall, City of London).
In the second television series of Sacred Music, broadcast in the UK on BBC Four on Friday 2 April 2010, Tavener described himself as "essentially Orthodox".
While Tavener's early music was influenced by Igor Stravinsky
, often invoking the sound world of the Requiem Canticles and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer, his recent music is more sparse, uses wide registral space
and is usually diatonically tonal
. Some commentators see a similarity with the works of Arvo Pärt
, from their common religious tradition to the technical details of phrase lengths, diatonicism and colouristic percussion effects, though the similarities between their outputs are quite superficial. Olivier Messiaen
has also been suggested as a strong influence on his earlier work.
Tavener has suffered from considerable problems with his health. He had a stroke in his thirties, heart surgery and a tumour removed in his forties, and suffered two successive heart attacks which have left him very frail. He has Marfan syndrome
. His wife, Maryanna, broadcast a charity appeal on BBC Radio 4
in October 2008 on behalf of the Marfan Trust.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos". He began as a prodigy; in 1968, at the age of 24, he was described by the Guardian as "the musical discovery of the year", while the Times said he was "among the very best creative talents of his generation." During his career he has become one of the best known and regarded composers of his generation. Tavener was knight
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
ed in 2000 for his services to music. He has won an Ivor Novello Award.
Biography
Tavener was born on 28 January 1944 in WembleyWembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, and claims to be a direct descendant of the 16th-century composer John Taverner
John Taverner
John Taverner was an English composer and organist, regarded as the most important English composer of his era.- Career :...
. He was educated at Highgate School
Highgate School
-Notable members of staff and governing body:* John Ireton, brother of Henry Ireton, Cromwellian General* 1st Earl of Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice, owner of Kenwood, noted for judgment finding contracts for slavery unenforceable in English law* T. S...
(where a fellow pupil was John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
) and at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
, where his tutors included Sir Lennox Berkeley
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
. He first came to prominence in 1968 with his dramatic cantata The Whale, based on the Old Testament story of Jonah
Book of Jonah
The Book of Jonah is a book in the Hebrew Bible. It tells the story of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah ben Amittai who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission...
. It was premièred at the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
's début concert and later recorded by Apple Records
Apple Records
Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
. The following year he began teaching at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
, London. Other works released by Apple included his Celtic Requiem
Celtic Requiem
A Celtic Requiem is a requiem by the English composer John Tavener, written in 1969. It is written for soprano, children's choir and orchestra....
. In 1977, he joined the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. Orthodox theology and Orthodox liturgical traditions became a major influence on his work. He was particularly drawn to its mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, studying and setting to music the writings of Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
such as St John Chrysostom.
One of Tavener's most popular and frequently performed works is his short unaccompanied four-part choral setting of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's The Lamb
The Lamb
"The Lamb" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789. Like many of Blake's works, the poem is about Christianity.-Background:...
, written for his nephew, Simon, on his third birthday one afternoon in 1982. This simple, homophonic piece is usually performed as a Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
. More important, however, were his explorations of Russian and Greek culture, as shown in "Akhmatova Requiem" and "Sixteen Haiku of Seferis". Later prominent works include The Akathist of Thanksgiving (1987, written in celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church); The Protecting Veil
The Protecting Veil
The Protecting Veil is a musical composition for cello and strings by British composer John Tavener. Completed in 1988, the work was at first a suggestion from cellist Steven Isserlis and subsequently commissioned by the BBC for the 1989 Proms season...
(first performed by cellist Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis CBE is a British cellist. He is distinguished for his diverse repertoire, distinctive sound and total command of phrasing. He studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and was much influenced by the great iconoclast of Russian cello playing, Daniil Shafran...
and the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
at the 1989 Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
); and Song for Athene
Song for Athene
"Song for Athene" is a musical composition by British composer John Tavener with lyrics by Mother Thekla, an Orthodox nun, which is intended to be sung a cappella by a four-part choir...
(1993, performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
in 1997). Following Diana's death he also composed and dedicated to her memory the piece Eternity's Sunrise, based on poetry by William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
.
It has been reported, particularly in the British press, that Tavener left Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
to explore a number of other different religious traditions, including Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and became a follower of the mystic philosopher Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon, was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality....
. While he has in recent years incorporated elements of non-Western music into his compositions, Tavener remains an Orthodox Christian, although his brother, Roger, tended towards Sufi
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
. In 2003 he composed the exceptionally large work The Veil of the Temple (which was premièred at the Temple Church, Fleet Street, London), based on texts from a number of religions. It is set for four choirs, several orchestras and soloists and lasts at least seven hours. The 2004 première of his piece Prayer of the Heart written for and performed by Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, was featured on CD and incorporated as the soundtrack to Jake Lever's installation Centre + Circumference (2008, Wallspace, All Hallows on the Wall, City of London).
In the second television series of Sacred Music, broadcast in the UK on BBC Four on Friday 2 April 2010, Tavener described himself as "essentially Orthodox".
While Tavener's early music was influenced by Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, often invoking the sound world of the Requiem Canticles and A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer, his recent music is more sparse, uses wide registral space
Register (music)
In music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...
and is usually diatonically tonal
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
. Some commentators see a similarity with the works of Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, from their common religious tradition to the technical details of phrase lengths, diatonicism and colouristic percussion effects, though the similarities between their outputs are quite superficial. Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
has also been suggested as a strong influence on his earlier work.
Tavener has suffered from considerable problems with his health. He had a stroke in his thirties, heart surgery and a tumour removed in his forties, and suffered two successive heart attacks which have left him very frail. He has Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome
Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. People with Marfan's tend to be unusually tall, with long limbs and long, thin fingers....
. His wife, Maryanna, broadcast a charity appeal on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in October 2008 on behalf of the Marfan Trust.
Career highlights
- 1969 - The Whale premièred by the London SinfoniettaLondon SinfoniettaThe London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
and subsequently recorded on The BeatlesThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' AppleApple RecordsApple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...
label. - 1971 - Celtic Requiem recorded by Apple.
- 1973 - Thérèse, the story of Saint Thérèse of LisieuxThérèse de LisieuxSaint Thérèse of Lisieux , or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun...
, commissioned by the Royal Opera, LondonRoyal Opera, LondonThe Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
. - 1989 - première of The Protecting Veil at the Proms in London.
- 2000 - received a knighthood in Millennium Honours List.
- 2001 - composed the soundtrack of Werner HerzogWerner HerzogWerner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
's short documentary PilgrimagePilgrimage (2001 film)Pilgrimage is a 2001 documentary film by Werner Herzog. Accompanied only by music the film alternates between shots of pilgrims near the tomb of Saint Sergei in Sergiyev Posad, Russia and pilgrims at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico... - 2003 - première of the all-night vigil The Veil of the Temple by the Holst Singers and the Choir of the Temple Church at the Temple ChurchTemple ChurchThe Temple Church is a late-12th-century church in London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. In modern times, two Inns of Court both use the church. It is famous for its effigy tombs and for being a round church...
, London. - 2005 - première of Laila (Amu), Tavener’s first dance collaboration, with Random Dance company and Wayne McGregorWayne McGregorWayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer of contemporary modern dance. His work is highly distinctive in its vocabulary of movement, for its integration of dance with film and visual art, and for his active interest and incorporation of computer technology and biological science...
's choreography. Animation and visual effects were created by Mark HatchardMark HatchardMark Hatchard is a director of the Hotbox Studios animation and design company and is involved with the contemporary arts and music festival group, Festival Republic, through Hotbox Studios' sister company Hotbox Events...
of Hotbox Studios and Hotbox EventsHotbox EventsHotbox Events is a company that recruits and manages staff and volunteers for UK festivals such as the Leeds Festival, Reading Festival, Latitude Festival and The Big Chill...
in collaboration with Iranian artist Shirazeh HoushiaryShirazeh HoushiaryShirazeh Houshiary is an Iranian installation artist and sculptor. She is a former Turner Prize nominee, and lives and works in London.-Life and work:Shirazeh Houshiary left her native country of Iran in 1973... - 2006 - contributed Fragments of a Prayer to the Alfonso CuarónAlfonso CuarónAlfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...
film Children of MenChildren of MenChildren of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
. - 2007 - première of The Beautiful Names by the BBC Symphony ChorusBBC Symphony ChorusThe BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London. It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though it performs with other national and international orchestras....
and OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
at Westminster CathedralWestminster CathedralWestminster Cathedral in London is the mother church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster...
. The work, sung in ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, is a setting of the 99 names of AllahAllahAllah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
found in the Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. Awarded honorary degree by the University of WinchesterUniversity of WinchesterThe University of Winchester is a British public university primarily based in Winchester, Hampshire, England. Winchester is a historic cathedral city and the ancient capital of Wessex and the Kingdom of England.-History:...
. - 2008 - World premier of "the anthem" sung in St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
- March 2009 - The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia presents the world première of Tu ne sais pas, a work for mezzo-soprano, timpani, and strings. Katherine Pracht will sing the texts, which are drawn from poems by French poet Jean Biès, (one of the work's dedicatees), and from Islamic and Hindu sources.
Key works
- The Whale (1966; soloists, speaker, SATB choir, children's choir, orchestra)
- Celtic RequiemCeltic RequiemA Celtic Requiem is a requiem by the English composer John Tavener, written in 1969. It is written for soprano, children's choir and orchestra....
(1969; soloists, SATB choir, children's choir, ensemble) - The Protecting VeilThe Protecting VeilThe Protecting Veil is a musical composition for cello and strings by British composer John Tavener. Completed in 1988, the work was at first a suggestion from cellist Steven Isserlis and subsequently commissioned by the BBC for the 1989 Proms season...
(1988; cello, strings) - Ikon of the Nativity (1991; SATB choir, a cappella)
- Song for AtheneSong for Athene"Song for Athene" is a musical composition by British composer John Tavener with lyrics by Mother Thekla, an Orthodox nun, which is intended to be sung a cappella by a four-part choir...
(1993; SATB choir) - Lamentations and Praises (2001; 12 male voices, string quartet, flute, bass trombone, percussion)
- The Veil of the Temple (2002; soprano, SATB choir, boys' choir, ensemble)
- Schuon Lieder (2003; soprano, ensemble)
- Laila (Amu) (2004; soprano, tenor, orchestra)
- Lament for Jerusalem (2006; soprano, countertenor, SATB choir, orchestra)
Sound files
| Year | Song title | Work | Instrumentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 1968 in music -Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design.... : |
"Section A" |
In Alium | Soprano, Strings, Tape |
| 1985 1985 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV... : |
"The Lamb" |
The Lamb | Chorus |
| 1993 1993 in music This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992.... : |
"Song for Athene" |
Song for Athene | Chorus |
| 1996 1996 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact... : |
"Innocence" |
Innocence | Chorus, bell |
Selected recordings
- The Protecting Veil - Virgin 561849-2
- Schuon Lieder - Black Box BBM1101
- The Veil of the Temple - RCA 82876661542
- Songs of the Sky Signum Records SIGCD149