John Tavener

:"Not to be confused with John Taverner" Sir John Tavener (born 28 January 1944) is a British composer,
knighted in 2000 for his services to music.

Biography

Tavener was born on 28 January 1944 in Wembley, London, England, and is a direct descendant of the sixteenth century composer John Taverner. He attended Highgate School (where a fellow pupil was John Rutter) and later studied 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, memorably 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 [See p. 30 of cite news|last=Morrison|first=Richard|title=99 Names for God : John Tavener Turns his Back on Orthodoxy|publisher=BBC Music|date=November 2004 Tavener is quoted as saying, "It strikes me now that all religions are as senile as one another." See also cite web|last=McCleery|first=David|title=The Beautiful Names : John Tavener|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/symphonyorchestra/performances/Tavener_biog.shtml|publisher=bbc.co.uk|accessdate=2007-06-22] 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 though his brother, Roger, tended towards Sufi. [cite news|last=White|first=Michael|title=Christian Composer, Inspired by Allah's 99 Names|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/arts/music/17whit.html?ex=1339646400&en=f75f55d704550bbd&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink|publisher=The New York Times|date=2007-06-17] In 2003 he composed the exceptionally large work "The Veil of the Temple", 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 premier 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 powerful installation 'Centre + Circumference' (2008, Wallspace, All Hallows on the Wall, City of London [http://www.wallspace.org.uk/exhibitions/current/index.html] ).

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.

Temenos 08 A Celebration of the Music of Sir John TavenerA three-day celebration of the music of John Tavener will be staged in Ireland this autumn 2008.

Louth Contemporary Music Society’s Temenos Festival takes place from 24 to October 24 to 26 in venues around Louth. Festival highlights include the first Irish performance by Anonymous 4 with the Irish string quartet Rothko 4, the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste performing The Protecting Veil with Marta Sudraba and a world premiere of John Tavener’s O My People performed by Polyphony conducted by Stephen Layton, plus Patricia Rozario and the Oriel Trio in Tavener’s Yeats-influenced work To a Child Dancing in the Wind. [http://www.louthcms.org]

Career highlights

*1969 - "The Whale" premièred by the London Sinfonietta and subsequently recorded on The Beatles' Apple label.
*1971 - "Celtic Requiem" recorded by Apple.
*1973 - "Thérèse", the story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, commissioned by the Royal Opera, London.
*1989 - première of "The Protecting Veil"at the Proms in London.
*2000 - received a knighthood in Millennium Honours List.
*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 Church, London.
*2005 - première of "Laila (Amu)", Tavener’s first dance collaboration, with Random Dance company and Wayne McGregor's choreography.
*2006 - contributed "Fragments of a Prayer" to the Alfonso Cuarón film "Children of Men".
*2007 - première of "The Beautiful Names" by the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra at Westminster Cathedral. The work, sung in Arabic, is a setting of the 99 names of Allah found in the Qur'an. Awarded honorary degree by the University of Winchester.

Key works

* "The Whale" (1966; soloists, speaker, SATB choir, children's choir, orchestra)
* "The Protecting Veil" (1988; cello, strings)
* "Ikon of the Nativity" (1991; SATB choir, a cappella)
* "Song for Athene" (1993; SATB choir)
* "The Veil of the Temple" (2002; soprano, SATB choir, boys' choir, ensemble)
* "Schuon Lieder" (2003; soprano, ensemble)
* "Laila (Amu)" (2004; soprano, tenor, orchestra)

ound files

Selected recordings

* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=636 "The Protecting Veil"] - Virgin 561849-2
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=2013 "Schuon Lieder"] - Black Box BBM1101
* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2441&State_2934=2&discId_2934=976 "The Veil of the Temple"] - RCA 82876661542

Notes

Further reading

*cite web|last=Stewart|first=Michael|title=John Tavener Talks to Michael Stewart about the Recent Festival "Ikons of Light"|url=http://www.imageandmusic.co.uk/news.htm|publisher=Image and Music|date=2000|accessdate=2007-05-23
*cite web|last=Sheahen|first=Laura|title=Sell Cleverness, Buy Wonder : The Music of Sir John Tavener : Composer Tavener, a Devout Orthodox Christian, Believes that Neither Music nor Religion can be Exclusive|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/98/story_9888_1.html|publisher=Beliefnet|accessdate=2007-06-22

External links

* [http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2431&State_2905=2&composerId_2905=1567 John Tavener at ChesterNovello]
* [http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/acc/tavener.html John Tavener at Classical Net]
* [http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~snc/tavener.htm John Tavener] – a fansite by Simon Crutchley
* [http://www.louthcms.org Louth Contemporary Music Society]

Persondata
NAME = John Tavener
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = British composer
DATE OF BIRTH = 28 January 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH = Wembley, London, England, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =