Svyati - Steven Isserlis plays the music of John Tavener

The success of Tavener’s The Protecting Veil for cello and strings has inevitably meant that every major recording company feels obliged to have its own version. Sony now makes its bid with Yo-Yo Ma and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, director David Zinman. Ma has been working hard of late to promote his image as an intelligent, sensitive cellist (but listen to how he plays and this seems unnecessary). With Zinman he has won a 1997 Grammy for recordings of new cello concertos by Danielpour, Kirchner and Rouse, so the Tavener seems a natural choice. It’s partnered by Wake Up... and Die, the world premiere recording of a work that is dedicated to Ma and written for solo cello and orchestral cello section. The seven sections of The Protecting Veil challenge performers to capture the repose of Tavener’s mystical style, while retaining a sense of forward momentum without which most listeners will switch off. Though lacking a concerto’s rhetoric, the piece can still benefit from the special tone and sense of propulsion that an experienced soloist will bring to it. This is Ma’s strength; his playing is fuller and slightly more driven than that of the richly poetic Isserlis on Virgin’s benchmark original. Couplings may also be important. With Wallfisch and the RPO come Eternal Memory and Thrinos, two other Tavener cello works, finely played; with Knight and the English Sinfonia, Nyman’s Strong on Oaks. Even so, if your aim is to update your original purpose, Ma looks like a firm favourite.

Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5)

-- Nicholas Williams, BBC Music Magazine


Since making an immediate impact at its world premiere at the 1987 Proms concerts, John Tavener's The Protecting Veil has gone on to great critical acclaim and popular success. The widespread reception of Tavener's work has been aided in large part by the eloquent advocacy of its first interpreter, Steven Isserlis, whose Virgin recording continues to rack up the sales. Indeed, it is the sensitivity and spiritual intensity of Isserlis's premiere performance and subsequent best-selling recording that has made Tavener's meditative work the most popular cello concerto written in the modern era. Now, with the first recording by a certified international star cellist of the stature of Yo-Yo Ma, the future of The Protecting Veil seems assured.

A work of quiet, at times, ascetic meditation, Tavener's opus rises to moments of transcendent beauty and a spiritual exaltation rarely heard in music of our cynical postmodern age. Redolent of the incense and religious mystery of the British composer's Russian Orthodox faith, The Protecting Veil is cast in a single, broad, 45-minute span, divided into eight sections. The work is a staggering technical as well as interpretive challenge for the soloist, who is called upon to explore a wide yet often subtle range of expression, with barely a bar's rest throughout.

More remote and otherworldly than Isserlis's in the long opening solo, Ma's playing is consistently gentle and inward, his tonal coloring more subdued, as one might expect from an artist who seems most inspired exploring a minute range of quiet expression. Yet Ma's playing is less moving than Isserlis's at the opening, where the British musician's plaintive, febrile solo has an almost human vocal quality. Zinman's accompaniment is more assertive (or less pointedly refined— Rozhdestvensky's finely judged support is terrific), yet echoes Ma's every turn of phrase like a glove. Still, for all his laserlike focus and intensity, Ma's playing here is strangely missing in the spiritual element that is so essential to this contemplative music.

Either it's an editorial lapse or John Tavener has rethought the structure of The Protecting Veil, since the booklet divides the work into seven parts, not the previous eight. (The second section, "The Nativity of the Mother of God," is now enfolded into the eponymous opening section, which in its quarter-hour length now comprises about a third of the entire work.) In the section formerly known as "The Nativity," Isserlis conveys more of Tavener's startlingly inventive writing, suggesting a Middle Eastern bazaar milieu, yet Ma scores in his rather jaunty "Annunciation," which is quite different from Isserlis's. Yo-Yo Ma is a wonderful musician, but here, as at other times I must confess, I find his committed, even strenuous intensity sometimes eclipses the musical essence of the work he is playing. Ma's more spacious conception of the long central solo, "The Lament of the Mother of God at the Cross," seems better judged to me than Isserlis's relatively fleet account—the one aspect of Isserlis's performance that doesn't seem quite right. Yet despite adding nearly two and a half minutes, Ma doesn't find any greater spiritual mystery and sorrow in this section. Most crucially, the opening up at the start of "The Resurrection"—likely the most striking representation of pure spiritual exaltation written by any composer in the last 20 years—doesn't have any of the sense of joyous release, power, or exhilaration of the Virgin performance, sounding merely loud and busy. In the ensuing section of "The Dormition," however, Ma is superbly moving, and his withdrawn, expectant playing is most impressive. Yet it is just that kind of insight that is missing elsewhere in this performance. The final apotheosis is powerful and resonant, but I must confess I expected more from this performance and was disappointed. While there are moments of insight, I don't feel that Yo-Yo Ma is entirely inside of this music as Steven Isserlis so clearly is, evident by the natural eloquence and unique authority of his playing.

Where this new Sony issue does score is in the world premiere recording of Wake Up. . . And Die, commissioned by Sony for its star cellist. Tavener's work is scored for solo cello against an ensemble cello accompaniment. The opening palindromic solo is rather meandering, but at 4:48 a quick upward run by the soloist heralds the emergence of the backing cellos, and from then on the music becomes consistently more interesting. In fact, Wake Up. . . And Die is an inspired work with moments of striking beauty, expertly realized by Ma, and it makes a suitable coupling for its celebrated discmate.

Yo-Yo Ma is never less than interesting, and the many who admire the quiet eloquence of The Protecting Veil will snap this disc up for Wake Up. . . And Die, as they should. Yet in the main work, Steven Isserlis and Rozhdestvensky remain without peer, conveying more of the spirituality and beauty of Tavener's "lyrical icon in sound" than any rival. In fact, listening again to Isserlis's recording, my normally rambunctious West Highland White Terrier was mesmerized, silent, and transfixed by the long, singing line of Isserlis's opening solo. (I don't recommend this as an everyday critical technique, but it certainly was interesting.)

Superb recorded sound. And a special plaudit for the striking cover photos by Annie Liebovitz. The back shot of Ma's cello alone in an ethereal glowing light could not convey more perfectly the mystery and religious solace of the music. Would that all cover art were this apt and inspired.

-- Lawrence A. Johnson, FANFARE [1/1999]

Innocence

This beautiful disc juxtaposes the work of two composers whose names are frequently placed together for their combination of minimalist and early music elements as well as their Orthodox spirituality. Estonian Arvo Pärt has the sparer style, elements pared down to the most basic chords, notes alternated like bells against a quiet, static background, while Englishman Tavener is the more outwardly ecstatic, using winding, chant-influenced melodies to achieve a kind of rapture.
Andrew Parrott's Taverner Choir, famed for their performances of early music, gives oustanding performances of these modern works with ancient roots, providing the perfect, clear, non-vibrato sound for the Pärt, while also delivering the more tremulous expression needed for the Tavener. A highlight of the program is the seldom-heard 'Canticle of the Mother of God' by Tavener, an early piece that actually employs serial methods yet clearly points in the direction of his later music.

14.99

This release explores the works of British composer John Taverner (1944-2013). Taverner is particularly noted for his output of religious music. His "The Protecting Veil" was recorded by Steven Isserlis and became a best selling album, and his "Song for Athene" was performed at the funeral of Princess Diana. Matthew Owens is the Organist and Master of the Choristers of Wells Cathedral. Owens is responsible for the choral tradition of daily worship at Wells Cathedral, and has also toured widely and recorded extensively with the Choir. In 2011, the Choir was named by a Gramophone international jury as the best choir in the world with children, and the sixth best overall. This release features multiple world-premiere recordings, most of which were commissioned especially for the choir. Among these are the "Preces and Responses" as well as "They Are All Gone into the World of Light".

“I regard The Veil of the Temple as the supreme achievement of my life and the most important work that I have ever composed.” -- Sir John Tavener

Signum Records re-releases the landmark recording of Sir John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple. This 2-CD set captures the concert version of this 8-hour work, composed to last through the night until dawn in the manner of the grand vigils of the Orthodox Church. Combining the psalms of a number of different religious traditions, Tavener skillfully blends together a work that is truly all-encompassing in its scale and spiritual fervor. Originally released on RCA, 2003.

TAVENER: John Tavener - A Portrait (MCCLEERY)

Despite the mystic beauty of his music, John Tavener's place in Western music is a controversial one. His desire to create musical ikons for a time in which he believes 'man has lost his belief not only in God, but also in himself' is provocative. Yet part of the attraction of his music must surely arise from its symbolic nature, a reflection of his deeply-held Orthodox faith. This collection covers a wide range of Tavener's celebrated choral output and includes his immediately popular setting of William Blake's The Lamb, and the luminously spiritual, Ikon of Light.

Sir John Tavener describes the Lament for Jerusalem as a mystical love song. The Lament brings together Christian, Judaic, and Islamic texts and is sung in Greek and English. The musical structure is that of a lattice whose proportions are carefully designed so that the listener is invited to focus on key points of the text which are themselves supported by transcendental melodic, harmonic, and textural devices. The simplicity of the work's form and it's logical progression through a series of seven linked, self-referential tableaux allow the Lament to grow in power and beauty during it's course. The American composer Steve Reich has described some of his own music as purveying 'a kind of dynamic stasis' and that aptly sums up the effect of Tavener's Lament for Jerusalem. The Lament is rooted in grim tradition, yet it looks longingly into the future to a time when beatific vision is restored, and, as in much of the very greatest art, form and content are inseparable.

John Tavener describes his music as resembling ‘ikons in sound’ – a window on to the Divine world. On the album, the London-based ensemble known as The Choir sing a program devoted to Tavener's hauntingly beautiful a cappella choral music..

"The power of the performances is overwhelming and the credit goes to James Whitbourn and his vocal ensemble The Choir" - The Organ.

John Tavener studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Sir Lennox Berkeley and David Lumsdaine. In 1968 his dramatic cantata The Whale took it's audience by storm and led to his music being recorded on The Beatles' Apple label. Since that time Tavener has continued to show an originality of concept and an intensely personal idiom, making his a voice quite separate from those of his contemporaries. Over the years, the contemplative side of his nature has led him in more spiritual directions and his commitment to the Russian Orthodox Church, which he joined in 1977, is now evident in all his work. In an interview published in his recent book The Music of Silence, Sir John Tavener wrote. "If you listen to the music of the East, somehow the divine is already there. It is - which is a parallel with the eternal 'I am."' What this means in practical terms is that Tavener, in aiming at writing music suitable to convey the theology and the spirituality of the Orthodox Church, to participate in some way in that "eternal 'I am"', creates music of what one might call "dynamic stasis". In other words, the long phrases of eastern chant (of various traditions), the harmonic transparency and the stillness of his work runs counter to what the composer sees as the more "active" spirit of western sacred music; nevertheless, Tavener's western background inevitably and naturally plays it's part, and the unique sound of the fusion of these two is characteristic of all of the works on this disc.

TAVENER Ex Maria virgine. Birthday Sleep. O Do Not Move. A Nativity. Marienhymne. O Thou Gentle Light. Angels • Timothy Brown, dir; Clare College Cambridge Ch • NAXOS 8.572168 (63:46 Text and Translation)


Two of the selections are first recordings: Ex Maria virgine , the major work at 38 minutes, and Marienhymne . The other works are not widely available, for Birthday Sleep was recorded by Stephen Layton (28:4), A Nativity by Matthew Greenall (not issued over here), and Angels by David Hill (23: 2). I cannot find the first recordings of the other two pieces.


Marienhymne is sung in German, while O Thou Gentle Light is sung in Greek (the ancient hymn Phos hiláron , which Dom Lucien David also set as a neo-Gregorian chant). The earliest work on the program, Angels , dates from 1985.


The major work is a setting of nine age-old texts in Latin or English separated by a refrain, “Ex Maria virgine,” the first movement being repeated at the end. One movement has a Greek refrain, the original of “hail, Mary,” but the first word is pronounced “kay-ray” rather than “ky-ruh.” The composer has a devoted following, so these accomplished performances will delight them.


FANFARE: J. F. Weber

SWR2 New Talent is a promotion and support programme of the broadcasting station SWR aiming to help exceptional young talents to launch their career.

Tavener’s cello concerto “The Protecting Veil” is a deeply spiritual instrumental piece that puts the life and work of the Virgin Mary to music. It was premiered at the BBC Proms in 1989 with cellist Steven Isserlis, for whom Tavener had written the concerto. At the time Tavener wrote the composition he was 45 years old and had already converted to Orthodox Christian faith whose mysticism appealed to him. In “The Protecting Veil” he refers to a special type of Orthodox icon: to Maria Pokrov, the Mother of God with the protecting veil.

In John Tavener’s numerous vocal works mythical and spiritual topics play a major role. Since the 1980s the British composer has been mainly focussing on sacred choral music. One of the most important works of this creative period is “Svyati”, a composition for 12 voices and cello from 1995. The choir sings in ecclesiastical Slavonic*, a traditional liturgical language that is partly still used in the Orthodox Church.

Since 2021 the cellist Lionel Martin has been the “SWR2 New Talent”. For three years the broadcasting corporation Sudwestrundfunk is promoting him through concerts, studio productions and media presence. In 2017 Anne-Sophie Mutter accepted Lionel Martin for her foundation of young, exceptional musicians. Since then he has repeatedly performed with her on stage and has been on tour together with her and her scholarship holders throughout Europe, North and South America – there he played in big concert halls, but also for social projects in churches and old people’s homes.

This important release once again demonstrates Steven Isserlis's deep commitment to the music of John Tavener. The realization of the album is movingly detailed in a booklet note which provides an eloquent counterpoint and commentary to the performances.